Choosing a child’s name is one of the biggest and toughest decisions new parents have to make.
We’ve been tracking name trends for over two decades, so we understand the significance of this choice better than most.
Over the years, we’ve analysed a lot of data to see if a name has an impact on someone’s path in life, and with fascinating results.
It seems a child’s name can have some influence on the person they grow up to be and how they’re perceived by the people around them.
Here’s what our research has uncovered:
The career climbers
- John: John is the most successful name in the UK, found most commonly amongst billionaires, company directors, and MPs.
- Sarah: Women named Sarah dominate among lawyers and MPs. They are also nearly twice as likely to become doctors than women with any other name.
- Harry: Harry is the most common name amongst Olympic champions, making it the perfect choice for future sporting heroes.
- Kate: Kate is most common name amongst authors, with women named Kate having written more of the best-rated contemporary British novels than those with any other name.
The academics
- Thomas: Thomas is a top choice amongst academics, with this found to be most common name amongst male students at the prestigious University of Oxford
- Anna: For girls, its Annas who are most likely to land a place Oxbridge
- Richard: It’s Richards that people expect great things of, with Brits claiming this name makes them assume someone is intelligent and likely to be successful
- Elizabeth: Elizabeth is also associated with academic and career and success
The big personalities
- Christopher: We found that Brits often assume anyone named Christopher will be funny
- Liam: Men named Liam are expected to be rebellious
- Charlotte: Women named Charlotte are often assumed to be confident personalities
Takeaways
Of course, a name alone can’t guarantee a person’s destiny, and we believe all children should grow up believing they can be whatever they want to be. However, hope our research provides some unique, fun, and, perhaps surprising, inspiration for choosing a name for a little one.
Discover the names which never go out of fashion.
