There is even a Latin proverb for the phenomenon: Nomen est omen – and the examples are bountiful:
– Racing driver Scott Speed,
– TV gardening presenter Bob Flowerdew,
– Singer Bill Medley,
– Golfer Tiger Woods,
– Poet William Wordsworth,
– Former White House spokesman Larry Speakes, and
– Sue Yoo, a lawyer.
There are many ironic examples as well: former Archbishop of Manila Cardinal (Jaime) Sin, pain relief expert Dr Richard Payne and the British urologist Nicolas Burns-Cox.
Sometimes a name can denote disappointment.
Psychologist Ernest L Able (who says, yes, he is an earnest person) cites research showing that professional baseball players whose first or last names begin with a “K”, the letter that denotes a strikeout, are more likely to strike out than others.
Students pursuing MBA degrees whose names begin with a C or D have lower averages than those whose names begin with A or B, and one study even suggested that people whose names spell out negative words like P.I.G. were more likely to die prematurely, while those with positive initials like V.I.P live longer.
In a further twist, people named Louis are disproportionally represented in the city of St Louis, and statistics show that people even tend to marry partners whose first or last names resemble their own.