baby name for successTime to pull out the Forbes 500 list alongside the baby name books! You may not only be naming your baby, but also deciding her fate. One study shows that people gravitate towards companies, locations, and other things that have the same first letter as their own name. This idea of "implicit egotism" says that we pursue positive associations that are related to ourselves.

So if you want your baby to work at the Mayo Clinic, you might start thumbing through the 'm's to set your little one up for success. And just hope they don't choose the "mass murderer" option instead. But before you panic because your baby has an "X" name and you can't think of anything other than "X-rated" professions, there are some people who think this letter association is overblown.

A recent study of political donors in the 2004 election may have found a reason (at least in the population that has enough money to be donors to politicians) for this implicit egotism: If you own your company, you're going to name it after yourself. See? This is for people who own their own companies and donate to political races, so they've got to have some kind of bank. And even the people behind this study admit that there is something to people being drawn to other people, companies, professions, and geographical locations that are associated with their own name.

So I guess I'd better get used to the idea that my daughter will be moving to Europe to start her own e-business. And my son will probably move to Jerusalem where he will be a jock. I would have put a lot more thought into the latter if I'd known about this whole implicit egotism racket. Or perhaps I can just chalk this up to randomness that actually has nothing to do with my own children.

Of course, my name is April, I'm married to Aaron, I'm an author, and I live in (Los) Angeles.

What's your baby going to be when he grows up?

 

Image via kaatjevervoort/Flickr