“All British people have plain names, and that works pretty well over there.”
Paris Hilton
Does your name have any real impact on your career and life success? If so, we should take a look at the top baby names for 2011 in the United States:
Boys: Aiden, Jackson, Mason, Liam, Jacob, Jayden, Ethan and Noah
Girls: Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia, Ava, Lily, Chole and Madison
Based on the name, any idea who is most likely to succeed in the world of work?
I’ve written earlier about the link between our names and work/life success. In case you missed it, the research suggests that children having first names starting with “A” do better in school than those with “D” or “F” so better make sure if you name a baby this year you consider this research and a new study.
A team of U.S and Australian researchers conducted a series of 5 experiments exploring the relationship between the name of a person and work success ((Laham, S, Koval, P. and Alter, A. (2012). The name-pronunciation effect: Why people like Mr. Smith more than Mr. Colquhoun. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 752-756)). The researchers conducted these studies and controlled for ethnicity and found the following:
- Talent with more pronounceable names (e.g., Jenkins versus Leszcyznska) were evaluated more positively overall.
- People with simple names were more likely to be voted into political offices.
- Attorneys with easier sounding names were promoted significantly faster than those with more difficult sounding names.
Earlier research found that people tend to predict career success based on how well a person’s name matches the gender associated with their vocation. Ohio University researchers asked participants to read descriptions of people—including their name and occupation—and found that they deemed women with a more feminine name such as Emma more likely to be successful in traditional female occupations such as nursing, while men with a more masculine name like Hank were expected to excel at jobs like plumbing—traditionally considered a male career ((Buchanan, B. A., & Bruning, J. L. (1971). Connotative meanings of first names and nicknames on three dimensions. Journal of Social Psychology, 85, 143-144)).
The results suggest that people with names that don’t “fit” their desired career might have more difficulty finding work than equally qualified colleagues with more stereotypically fitting names. I guess today’s parents can avoid such mistakes by consulting a number of Internet sites that each claim to be the unique baby name guides by the “world’s leading experts.”
Finally, here are some personal anecdotes about names: My mom and dad both don’t have middle names and when I meet kids, I often tell them my “real” name is the same as theirs and this always is received well. If they don’t believe that I just tell them that my “real” name is Tikkitimbonenosorimbonehariharibriskitomtompuccigomaruchi (my mom told me that one) and professional name is “Dr. Averd Kretch.”
Neither of those seem to go over very well in either social or professional circles so I guess I will stick with Ken (although 4 out 10 people still call me “Ed”)….Be well….
Ken Nowack
Kenneth Nowack, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist (PSY13758) and President & Chief Research Officer/Co-Founder of Envisia Learning, is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Ken also serves as the Associate Editor of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. His recent book Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don’t Get It is available for free for a limited time by signing up for free blog updates (Learn more at our website)
