Can naming your baby a certain name help them become a success when they grow up? This is a question that is probably easier to answer in its negative form. Can naming your baby an inopportune name be a detriment to their future success? Some might argue that the answer is yes.
I think we all can think of someone with an “unfortunate” name. The song “A boy named Sue” comes to mind. Out of date, hard to pronounce, and guttural names “paint” a picture of us that we may have a hard time overcoming. It may be our name association with someone famous that paints the picture. When I was growing up I used to watch “The Little Rascals” and “Leave it to Beaver”. The name Spanky represented a smart, fun loving person who was a leader. Butch on the other hand represented a crooked, deceitful person. We can all picture “Wally” and “Theodore” as All-American names but who can forget “Eddie” Haskell as the scheming, weasely kid that he was.
Names change with time and also seem to go in cycles. The current top ten baby names from 2004 seem to be more conservative than just a few years ago. They almost sound like a list from the 1930′s. Here is the list.
Female names
1. Emily
2. Emma
3. Madison
4. Olivia
5. Hannah
6. Abigail
7. Isabella
8. Ashley
9. Samantha
10. Elizabeth
Male names
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Joshua
4. Matthew
5. Ethan
6. Andrew
7. Daniel
8. William
9. Joseph
10. Christopher
I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them. Can they guarantee success? No, but they probably won’t be a detriment either.
What name would you pick?
Post update: It seems that picking a pleasant but unusual name might be a big advantage in the modern web equipped world. With the advent of Google and other search engines, having an unusual name will almost guarantee higher search engine placement. An unusual name like “Danica” would rate much higher than Emily or Heather. Tie this in with an unusual last name and you might have a Google page all to yourself. Using this name in a business could result in a lot more hits and consequently… a lot more business.
Something to think about…
About John Richardson
Author, Speaker, and Digital Media Creator. Personal Development Blogger. Ideas for Success!
As someone with a very generic name, I’m not entirely convinced. Generic names are certainly inoffensive, but distinct names are more likely to stand out in a crowd. Standing out in a crowd does not necessarily lead to success, but uniqueness and success are often correlated. Having a unique name can’t hurt.
I didn’t see my name on the list
Hope you can stop by to see what I do. oldmanlincoln.modblog.com
Abraham Lincoln
Thanks for the comments Michael. I agree with you about having a unique name. It will definitely lead to higher search engine placement which could really make a difference in business. As one who suffers from a “popular” name, I find it real hard to stand out in a crowd. There are two people with my name in my workplace which really causes problems with e-mail. Unique may definitely be better.
Thanks Abraham for the post. What a great “presidential” name. You must have had a real interesting time in school with your name. I can picture the stovepipe hat now. I really enjoyed your blog. What an interesting life.
John