David and Rebecca can expect to do well but it’s been tough for Richard
SOME of the UK’S top jobs go to people named David, research has found, with David emerging as the top name among British MPS, lawyers and millionaires.
Davids are also most likely to enforce the law, with the name appearing most commonly among Met Police officers.
For women, Rebecca tops the list of high achieving names, appearing most commonly at both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. In fact, women with names ending in the letter “a” are most likely to end up at the top universities, with Anna and Emma also appearing near the top of the list of students’ names.
For men, James and Thomas appear most commonly at top universities. However, Matthews are more likely to be found at Cambridge, while Alexanders appear more commonly at Oxford.
Steve and Peter are the top names among men leading FTSE 100 companies. For women, Alison appears most frequently among FTSE 100 CEOS. But it’s bad news for Richards, who are the least likely to have business success in 2018, with the name ranking most highly among those claiming insolvency in the last three months.
John is the most common name among criminals. However, it’s not all bad for men named John – there are 500 more doctors named John in the UK than any other name.
Those named William are most likely to be creative, often becoming artists and authors, whereas those called Chris and Laura are the sportiest in the country, with these names appearing frequently among British Olympians, Sir Chris Hoy being a prime example.
The insights, which have been compiled using data from trade bodies, university databases and court records, have been put together by My Nametags, a manufacturer of durable sticker and iron-on name labels. They demonstrate several patterns among the names of Britain’s highest achievers.
Linda Blair, clinical psychologist, said: “Parents are often convinced the names they choose for their children reflect only their own personal preferences and family history, without any regard to those around them. In truth, however, we’re all heavily influenced by the people we see around us, particularly those in prominent positions. Without realising it, we come to like certain names because we admire the achievements of the individuals who have those names – achievements and abilities we may then encourage in our own children.
“And it doesn’t stop there.
A recent study [2017] by Yonat Zwebner and colleagues at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, carried out using both Israeli and French participants, suggests that we may also – again, without being aware of doing so – copy the appearance of others who share our name.
“Clinically speaking, it is my impression we can also be influenced by the behaviour of others who have the same name as us. If this is the case, and I suspect it is, our name certainly can have an impact on our chances of success in life.”