Moniker Maladies - Myth or Method?
Written on March 12, 2008 – 3:27 am | by Paull Young
How much does your name influence who you are? I’d have thought bugger all, until The Atlantic pointed me to Moniker Maladies: When Names Sabotage Success by Leif Nelson and Joseph Simmons.
From The Atlantic:
The authors argue that our preference for our names is so strong that we unconsciously gravitate towards people, places, objects and outcomes that begin with the same letter as our moniker. Mary is more likely to marry Mark, drive a Mazda and move to Maryland than is Virginia, who is more likely to marry Virgil, drive a Volvo and move to Virginia.
The study found that professional baseball players whose first or last name started with the letter K, which apparently is the symbol for a strikeout (???), struck out 18.8 percent of the time, while other players only struck out 17.2 percent of times they headed out to the plate.
Sounds like BS? Yeah, but also consider some other research that shows MBA students with a name led with a C or a D tended to end up with lower grade point averages.
At first I smirked at this… than I remembered that my blog Young PR is not named for my career choice, but for my name - Paull Richard Young. Hmmm…. maybe if I get bored of this communication stuff I’ll try psychiatry, paleontology or perhaps something else starting with P.
Does this mirror your life? Leave a comment (but please, only if your name starts with P, R or Y).
11 Responses to “Moniker Maladies - Myth or Method?”
By Abby on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply
Paull,
Interesting post. My name does not start with a P,R or Y– but I am still leaving you a comment- is that okay?
Strangely enough, my first car was an Accord, I date someone named Aaron and my nieces/nephews are: Alivia, Avery and Ashton. Not to mention I have a great love for Aerosmith and avocados are one of my favorite snacks. Geesh. I fall right into this theory- although getting straight A’s all my life is a little far-fetched!
By Karen Russell on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply
Does this only apply to first names? Does getting married and changing last names (or, in my case, adding one) mean you have to find all new favorites?
By Pete Wann on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply
This has to apply to both names, since I do enjoy producing my podcast, and writing. There aren’t too many cars out there that start with my letters, but I must admit being drawn to the Pathfinder should I ever need an SUV. (I drive a VW now.)
I can’t think of anything that my wife, Jenna, does that’s based on her initials, though.
By Paull Young on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply
Abby - I neglected to mention in the post that the initials are apparently a better indication of negative behavior than positive behavior. (which I see mimicked by you driving an accord, though I’m sure Aaron is a good bloke ;)).
Karen - I’m not sure about that one… perhaps it depends on how much you like the new name (which I guess reflects the significant other you took it from)
Pete - Skip the Pathfinder, get a Porsche.
By Lindsey Loughman on Mar 13, 2008 | Reply
Paull,
I can’t see this one working out for me.
The best I can come up with is that I once dated another double initial (MM) and I’m LL. Past that I hate Lavender, Laboratories, and when I was an iceskater my least favorite jumps were “L” jumps: Loop and Lutz. Maybe I just have anti- L tendencies.
By Kristina Summers on Mar 14, 2008 | Reply
Paull,
Not sure if this thing is accurate for me as there really aren’t that many vehicles careers, or sports that start with K, however for some reason I think I have a D and a J fetish. Throughout my live I’ve dated a James, Jason, Jamie, Josh, John, Jacob, Don and a David, and my best friends are Dustin and Jason. Both my husbands have been D’s (David and Dustin) and my son is a James and the dog is a Jack. One of my favorite songs is Jeremy by Pearl Jam and I was on the Dive team in high school. Can you be drawn to other letters I wonder? Since everyone in my family has K names (Kristina, Klay, Kenneth, Keith and Karl) maybe I went the opposite direction.
By Jesse Jones on Mar 15, 2008 | Reply
Yeah, pretty much… I’ve been going after this girl named Jessie for awhile and not having much luck
By zoe on Mar 18, 2008 | Reply
um…i think it’s safe to say that this just won’t work for me.
zoinks!
By Kat ? The Burb Blog on Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
I just wanted to leave you comment because you said I wasn’t allowed.
Interesting post. People with the letter “K” in their name seem to strike out in a lot more than baseball. Can you find any correlation to basketball, friendships, jobs, money and life in general? Let me know what your research concludes!
By Donna Papacosta on Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
Paull, I smirked when I first spotted this study, but then I thought about it…. My partner’s name starts with a D, my first husband’s name started with a P, and I’m a Podcaster.
By Antony on May 19, 2008 | Reply
well, as for my its quite a myth cuz my friends with the name starts wite K like Kevin never plays baseball and I dont think that when the name of the person starts with T he is a great football player or some… but thats my personal expierience and opinion.=)