Seeing the “Me” in a Name

Growing up in the UK you get used to the idiosyncrasies of the summer sporting calendar.  One of the strangest obsessions is The Grand National (“The National”), which runs this Saturday - an annual horse race where roughly 40 runners and riders race around Aintree racetrack, typically watched by thousands in the stands and millions at home.  

The most curious feature of the event is the gambling.  Each year an estimated 13 million people in the UK bet on The National.  For many this is the only bet they’ll place in a year - simply picking a name they like.  This year it might be Discorama, Lord Du Mesnil, or Acapella Bourgeois who romp to the finish.  

It turns out that betting on a name may be a good strategy.  A 2018 survey of 1,000 UK punters showed that betting purely on a horse’s name yielded 32.17 GBP on average compared to random (28.82), jockey name (24.67) or jersey colour (21.14).  Some 50% of the gamblers surveyed usually select a horse based entirely on what it is called.  

Horse racing may not be the only field where people place bets purely based on a name.  

Research in the Journal of Financial Economics found companies with short, easy to pronounce names have higher breadth of ownership, greater share turnover and higher valuation ratios.  Some names themselves are valuable – brands like CocaCola or FedEx for example.  However, beyond that a simple company name carries more cache. 

Property prices can fluctuate wildly based on the name of the street.  In the US descriptive street names increase the value of homes (Lake Shore Drive is favored to 2nd Street),  in a Chinese study one word street names were associated with a nearly 12% premium compared to longer names; and in the UK royal sounding street names carried a premium compared to those without blue blood.

People’s names are probably the biggest area where a moniker can make or break the chances of success. 

When it comes to dating, some names are just “hot” – soliciting more swipes right than other names. Other studies found that unpopular names are equally likely to hurt your chances, with Freakanomics stating:  “A user with the most popular name (Alexander) received on average double the number of contacts as someone with the least popular name (Kevin).”  Sorry to any single Kevins.  

Name not hot?  Fear not.  If you have a name in the 1st half of the alphabet you will also do better.  Search results are typically in alphabetical order and we tend to assume those lower down a list are worse.  Congratulations to any Aaron out there.  

This inadvertent ranking extends beyond online dating and into academics.  Stephan Jurajda and Daniel Munich found that those higher up the alphabet the more likely they are to get into top schools.  Kurt A. Carlson and Jacqueline Conardestablished those lower down the alphabet also tend to be impulsive shoppers – a lifetime at the back of the line results in a desire to jump fast at any opportunities. 

Studies have shown that easier to pronounce names occupy higher status positions; middle initials made people appear more intelligent; and royal or noble sounding names tend to do better than the average person, and are thought to be more intelligent.  Want to be a CEO?  If you are male shorten you name – Bob beats Robert - but if you are female use your full name – Deborah instead of Deb.   

Sadly, as has been well reported. this name-bias also underpins significant racial inequities. White sounding names received 50% more call backs than black sounding names.  Those immigrants who have Americanizaed their name did better in the job market.  Mostly shockingly perhaps a white sounding name is worth as much as eight years of work experience. 

So, what can be done?  When it comes to the Gee-Gees you can study the form guide rather than placing a punt based on name alone.  A company’s cash flow statement beats their cognomen when making a margin call.  Local and national real estate reports should inform property decisions.  

In our personal and professional lives we must challenge our own biases.  Don’t let denomination dictate your dating decisions – dig further into profile data.  Avoid selecting for professional opportunities based on familiar sounding names – instead dive into professional experiences through a rigorous review process, and use tools like blinded resumes to reduce the risks of name-bias in selection decisions.  

By going beyond the name, and digging into our decisions in more depth, we stand a better chance of making our investment decisions succeed, whatever the arena.  Now, should I go for Takingrisks, or Lake View Lad at Aintree on Saturday?   They both sound like winners to me!