Why we like names that fit faces

PEOPLE may dislike you if they think your name does not match your face, a study has found.

Names that we need to make round shapes with our lips to pronounce – such as Bob, George or Gordon – are a better fit with rounder faces, researchers claim.

And ‘angular’ names such as Mike, Vic or Kirk which involve making clicks towards the back of our throats, go better with more angular faces.

Tests show that we prefer people who have a ‘round’ name and a round face or an ‘angular’ name and an angular face. If there is a mismatch, we are less likely to take a shine to them, the scientific study has found.

The research would explain why so many people took an instant liking to the late Bob Hoskins, whose face matched his ‘round’ name. Conversely, comic Ricky Gervais has an angular name but a round face – which could lead to people being less likely to be drawn to him.

Writing in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, researchers at New Zealand’s University of Otago, David Barton and Jamin Halberstadt, said that in tests, participants matched nine out of of ten round faces with socalled round names. Eight out of ten angular faces were similarly paired with angular names. The test subjects preferred people with matching names and faces.