My Dear Namesake

Randy Garner was about to toss a Red Cross form letter when he noticed it was signed by a "Randall," one whose last name began with a "G." He thought, "'Hmm. Maybe I'll take a look at this.'"

Garner, a professor at Sam Houston State University in Texas, was aware of people's preference for their own initials—"the name-letter effect," discovered 20 years ago. He wondered if his response to the charity's appeal, which bore not only his initials but a similar moniker, meant that we ascribe positive qualities to namesakes. He found it to be true: Students who read stories featuring similarly named protagonists thought better of the characters than control subjects did.

What's more is that the name effect influences behavior: When Garner sent fake surveys to his colleagues, 56 percent of those who received a cover letter signed with a name like theirs (Cynthia Johnston got one from Cindy Johanson, for example) returned it, whereas just 30 percent of those who received the control letter—signed with a common but unfamiliar name—did so. A related name probably grabbed their attention and made them feel warmly toward the stranger behind the survey, Garner says. "But no one identified 'name similarity' as a reason for their compliance."

From the Name Research Files...

• The bias toward one's own initials holds steady across languages and cultures.
• Most people prefer brand names that start with their initials.
• Women named Louise are disproportionately likely to live in Louisiana, even if they weren't born there.
• In one study, owners of hardware stores were more likely to have "H" as an initial than "R," whereas owners of roofing companies were more likely to have "R" as an initial than "H."
• We are disproportionately likely to marry others who share our first or last initial.