Summary

Research suggests that a person's name may influence their career or hobby choices, with examples ranging from dentists named Dennis to a stuntman named Justin Sain, indicating a subconscious preference for associations with one's own name.

Abstract

The article explores the psychological concept that individuals may be drawn to professions or hobbies that have a linguistic connection to their names. It cites a study by psychologist Brett Pelham and his team, which found a correlation between people's names and their career paths, such as dentists named Dennis or lawyers named Laura. The author recounts personal anecdotes, including choosing a dentist named Dr. Hacker and meeting a stuntman named Justin Sain, to illustrate the point. The article also provides famous examples like writer Martin Waddell, whose name might have influenced his focus on animal characters, and highlights the phenomenon of aptronyms, where a person's name seems particularly suited to their occupation or circumstances, such as in the case of Glenda Standeven, a motivational speaker with one leg.

Opinions

The author implies that there is a subconscious influence of one's name on career choices, as evidenced by the patterns observed in the study and personal experiences shared.
The article suggests that people may find a name like "Dr. Hacker" for a dentist humorous but also endearing, potentially affecting their choice of service provider.
It is proposed that names can be a source of irony or inspiration in personal branding and public perception, as seen with individuals like Glenda Standeven and Justin Sain.
The author expresses a sense of wonder and curiosity about the extent to which names shape our professional paths and personal stories.
By inviting readers to share their own experiences, the author acknowledges the diversity of anecdotal evidence that might support the hypothesis that names can influence career and hobby choices.

PSYCHOLOGY

Can Our Names Influence the Types of Jobs or Hobbies We Choose?

Would you choose a dentist called Dr. Hacker to work on your teeth?

Meet Dr. Blood and Dr. Cleaver

In my husband’s hometown of Taunton, England, there was a medical practice with two doctors. When you went in to register as a new patient, the office assistant would ask which doctor you’d prefer — Doctor Blood or Doctor Cleaver.

Unfortunately for residents, these were the only two medical practitioners to choose from unless they wanted to travel to the other side of town. Did these doctors gravitate towards the medical profession because of their names?

Martin Waddell

When our children were small, one of their favourite story books was Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell. He is best known for his picture books featuring animals with human characteristics. Reading this book made me wonder if the author was drawn to writing about animals because of his name and whether our names can influence our jobs and hobbies.

Names can influence career choice

In a 2002 paper in the journal, Attitudes and Social Cognition, psychologist Brett Pelham and his team found that a person’s first and last name may influence their career choice. They proposed that we prefer, people, places, and things we associate unconsciously with ourselves.

For example, they sampled dentists in all 50 U.S. states and assessed whether dentists were more likely than the average U.S. citizen to have names such as Dennis, Denis, Denise, or Dena.

They found that people named Dennis gravitate toward dentistry, and names like Lawrence and Laura are overrepresented among lawyers. It seems the first four letters of a person’s first name can steer them towards jobs containing similar letters.

Would you pick this dentist?

A few weeks after immigrating to Canada, I bit into a piece of garlic bread and broke a tooth. The timing wasn’t great as we were short of cash, but a cracked molar leaves you with little choice but to see a dentist.

In the Yellow Pages, a dentist called Chris Hacker caught my eye. My husband and I had a chuckle at his name and registered ourselves as new patients.

At my first appointment, Dr. Hacker asked me how I’d found him and why I decided to register with him. I said I’d seen his listing in the Yellow Pages and figured a dentist named Hacker would be the most gentle dentist in Vancouver. It turned out he was, and we remained patients until we moved out of the area.

There are three words for a personal name aptly or peculiarly suited to its owner — Aptronym, Aptonym and Euonym.

Famous Examples

Examples from Wikipedia of famous people with names that match their careers include:

William Wordsworth, English poet and advocate for the extension of British copyright law
Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone
Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
Richard and Mildred Loving, plaintiffs in Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage throughout the United States
Bob Rock, Canadian music producer, best known for his works with rock acts such as Metallica and Aerosmith
Rich Fairbank, billionaire and CEO of the Capital One bank, which holds the Fairbanking Mark for offering fair banking products

Some aptronyms are ironic rather than descriptive. For example:

Glenda Standeven

One of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met is Glenda Standeven. This amazing woman lost her leg to bone cancer and has chosen to smile about it. She has a great story about leaving her leg on the beach and going swimming. Glenda is aware of the irony of having one leg and the last name Standeven. She makes sure to mention this at speaking events to get a laugh and put people at ease.

Jett versus Speed

In 2008 my husband Warren competed in the U.S. Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Spokane. After coming third in his 800 m race, he enjoyed watching many other events, including the men’s 200 m dash. He said the crowd chuckled when the announcer mentioned that Rod Jett would be competing against Johnny Speed.

John Walker

One of the greatest runners of all time is John Walker, a former middle-distance runner from New Zealand who won the gold medal in the men’s 1500 m event at the 1976 Olympics. He was also the first person to run the mile in under 3:50. I wonder if John Walker ever felt frustrated by his name or whether it inspired him to go faster.

Vania Stambalova

During the London 2012 Olympics, with the world watching, Bulgarian hurdler Vania Stambolova tripped and stumbled over while competing in the 400m hurdles event and failed to finish. The unfortunate athlete became the talk of social networking sites after living up, or rather down, to her name in this event.

Justin Sain

I run a first aid training business, and a new client, Justin Sain, registered for a Red Cross first aid course as required by his film company. He told me he was a stunt person in the movies, and I was fascinated to learn that Justin Sain was his real name.

A few weeks after his class, Justin emailed to tell me he’d already put his first aid training to use. While filming in Mexico, one of his group fell down a steep incline onto jagged rocks and knocked herself unconscious. I was so proud to hear Justin had rescued his co-worker and treated her injuries using the skills he’d learned in our class.

I wonder, would Justin Sane be a stuntman in the movies if he’d been named John Smith?

If you have a name related to your career or hobby, please share it in the comments. I’d love to hear your stories.

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