Name Dropping

Nominative Determinism. It is a wordy term which would normally cause me to lose interest within a couple of seconds of reading about it or if someone launched into a bit of a lecture on the subject. 

It is however a fun packed topic as it refers to the scientific or psychological hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that fit their names.One explanation is that this is nothing more than an expression of implicit egotism, which states that humans have an unconscious preference for things they associate with themselves. 

I have come across some wonderful examples of this phenomena in the course of my work and there are thousands if not more where there can only have been a conscious effort to study hard and succeed at great personal and family sacrifice just for the satisfaction of attaining that status of a name that matches or relates to your occupation in life.

Here are some beauties from the wider world. 

The Recruiters at the British Broadcasting Corporation seem to place a lot of emphasis on someones name in filling vacancies in that operation. In recent years there has been a television meteorologist by the name Sara Blizzard and, I joke not, a European Correspondent called Matthew Correspondent.In the United States there was a Storm Elliot Field giving the weather forecasts.

In the sporting world we are familiar with the lightning fast pace of Usain Bolt. A  French National Team goalkeeper and in fact one of the longest serving players in the French League until he retired in 1990 was Dominique Dropsy. There is no doubt about the defensive playing position of a current Belgian footballer, Mark de Man. Robbie Fowler of Liverpool actually had quite a good disciplinary record. Multi- syllable names from Russia and the old Soviet Bloc are tailor made to fit specific sports although these are only from the anglicised phonetic pronunciation. A Bulgarian hurdler in the London Olympic in 2012 has the misfortune to fall and fail to finish- her name Vania Stambilova. In direct contrast are the successful exploits of another high hurdler, although it could just be down to better technique of Marina Stepanova. A similarly athletic Russian diver had the surname Fillipova. 

The medical profession also throws up some good names. There is Dr Doktor, a Dr Atchoo, a chiropractor called McCracken, the writer of a report on Neurology was Lord Brain and my favourite combination, the pair of medics who published a thesis on Urology, Weedon and Splat (US Library of Medicine 1977).

In big business some fat cats should have been identified by their names before they got anywhere near the outrageous salaries, bonus payments and perks. Fred Goodwin is a prime example for his rough riding in the banking crisis. Bob Diamond who used to be at Barclays has a surname engendering trust. The wife of a longstanding CEO of the MacDonalds Corporation was called Patricia Turner- or Patty to her friends.

Politicians and those in public service are not exempt from nominative determinism. At the Centre for Social Justice in the UK a spokesperson was a Christian Guy. Admiral Sir Manley Power could not have had an effeminate bone in his body could he? A high up official in a charity working towards securing food supplies for the poor was called Robin Mahfood. Members of the Republican Party in the US have included John Doolittle ,Tom De Lay and Rich White. If your surname is Makepeace then you are just destined to be in the Diplomatic Service.

Law firms include the unfortunate combination of Wright Hassall and with one practitioner called Sue Yoo.

Other job titles include Brad Slaughter in charge of the meat counter in a supermarket working alongside Laura Hamm but those of the criminal class should really think about changing their names. The Weed brothers were caught in possession of drugs and a Mr Popadick was arrested for indecent exposure.

I have come across Mr Baker in pastries, Mr Whippy selling ice cream from a van, vicars by the name of Vickers but my ultimate favourite was the former Archbishop of Manila in the Phillipines, Cardinal Sin. He must have really bossed that interview.