“What’s in a name?” That is one of the million-dollar questions, like “where do we come from?” and “do aliens really exist?” (well, do they???) Ok, so yes, names. Who would’ve thought that your name could affect your life so extensively, but it does.
Think of it this way: Do you think Kelly Slater would be 11-time world surfing champion if he had stuck with his birth-name of Robert. And Brad Pitt would never have hooked Angelina (and those 6 kids…7 kids..nope, 6 six kids…) if he hadn’t decided to use his second name, ultimately dropping the William. Would Madonna be ‘Madonna’ if she hadn’t ditched her last name? Whoopi Goldberg would’ve been an unknown Caryn Elaine Johnson, just a regular everyday women, probably walking around, still not wearing a bra…So if a name can mean the difference between fame and anonymity, success or failure, then what could it be doing to your love life? Well a lot it turns out…
As the Business Insider reveals, a study was undertaken which proved that those people with an online dating profile, and somewhat of an unpopular name, didn’t get as much attention from other online dating site-users as those with more popular names. As shallow and simplistic as it sounds, our brains tend to associate ‘popular, trendy, attractive’ words with more positive attributes. Think of it this way; if you saw a girl on Facebook who’s name was Kelly, you’ll more than likely add her over a girl named, Rainbow, for example (cause let’s be honest, we associate a girl called Rainbow with hippies and smoking pot). Likewise, if you were introduced to two guys at the same time, one who’s name was Matt and the other who’s name was Harold, you’d automatically think “Harold, really, is this day and age??”
According to Russiantx.com, there is a list of ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ in love names. Singles called: Jacob, Alexander, Charlotte, Emma, Hannah or Max, were the luckiest in love, while Kevin, Mandy or Chantal’s have a rough time when it comes to meeting others interested in dating them. These findings came from a team of psychologists at Berlin’s Humboldt University. Seems legit, although a few people have called the findings “rubbish”.
However, even if you happen to have one of these love-blessed names, it could still affect you negatively in the world of dating and casual hook-ups. If you’ve got the same name as somebodies ex, and they had a traumatic/bitter/unpleasant experience with this individual, then you don’t stand a chance - every time they say your name, see it come up on their phone screens or as comments on their Facebook statuses, they will think of that person who break their heart, slept with their best friend or keyed “d**khead” onto the side of their car. But it’s not all bad news, if they’ve had a great experience with a person of the same name, they’ll be more likely to take a chance on you