CEOs more likely to be named Peter, Bob, Deborah or Sally
A LinkedIn study looks at professions by name, and finds that your kid Claire may be more likely to work in HR than to run down fleeing bank robbers.
Want your kid to grow up to be a CEO? Name him Peter, Bob or Jack. Oh, she’s a girl? Then try Deborah, Sally or Cynthia.
At least that’s what some people are concluding from LinkedIn’s data crunch of the names of 100 million professionals on its network.
LinkedIn staff compared users’ names against their professions. They were mindful of New York Times columnist David Brooks’ claim that someone named Dennis is more likely to become a dentist and Lawrence a lawyer (which makes us wonder whatever happened to a pair of siblings in a class our aunt once taught: Harry and Rosie Bottom).
Anyone who has sat staring bleakly at the potbelly of a patrolman writing a speeding ticket may be interested to hear the top three names for cops are Rodney, Pete and Darrell.
If you’re grooming an athlete, you may wish to try Ryan, Matt or Jessica—although gender may matter: Nobody wants nose tackle named Jessica, even if there is a coach named Lovie.
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