Nominative determinism is the theory that your name can help shape your career, hobbies and overall life path. From the record-holding fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, to the president and COO of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser, not to be confused with Mario’s arch nemesis. Or the prominent British urologist Dr Nicholas Burns-Cox. The concept was first floated by the psychologist Carl Jung, who we guess was himself young once.
Whether you’re more likely to become a baker if your surname is Baker is perhaps a moot point. But there is evidence to suggest that given names can also impact your social trajectory. Several surveys have shown that men with unusual first names were overall more likely to have dropped out of school, but had an increased chance of finding themselves on a list of Who’s Who if they came from a wealthy background.