Is Dennis More Likely to Become a Dentist?

Based on the name-letter effect, you prefer the first letter of your name. My name is Nick Kolenda, so I prefer n and k.

But there's a controversial extension — nominative determinism — which argues that you make important life decisions based on this preference. In a classic example, people named Dennis are more likely to become dentists (Pelham, Mirenberg, & Jones, 2002).

Researchers have criticized those studies for methodological flaws, but a top journal in psychology just published a new study that fixed those issues with machine learning. And it successfully replicated the effect (Chatterjee, Mishra, & Mishra, 2023).

What does that mean? It means that Liam is more likely to:

• Become a Lawyer.
• Reside in London.
• Perform other behaviors that begin with L.

Perhaps most interesting, women started choosing name-letter careers more frequently across the 20th century:

"...the difference between the genders diminished over time...for women, an increasing nominative determinism effect indicates that their ability to choose a profession that matches their name (and, thus, their self-identity) has improved" (Chatterjee, Mishra, & Mishra, 2023, p. 10)

My Thoughts

Many researchers were (and maybe still) skeptical of this idea.

But in reality, Dennis didn't wake up and shout: "I'm going to be a dentist."

Just like I won't suddenly move to Nicktown, Pennsylvania.

So how would this effect happen in the real world?

Well, I live in Cary, North Carolina. When I moved from Boston a few years ago, I considered Cary and Morrisville based on rational criteria (e.g., good weather, near Raleigh and Durham).

My PO Box in this email says Morrisville, but I chose to live in Cary because it "felt right."

But Cary could "feel right" for many reasons:

• Short and easy name
• Similarity to "k" in Kolenda
• Same length as Nick

Those reasons are trivial, but they can trigger a gut preference toward Cary.

Then I would rationalize this preference with logic: Hmm, why does Cary feel right? Guess I enjoy the vibe and location.

So, am I living in Cary because of a rational decision? Or am I living here because of stupid factors, like its name?

There's a famous quote in advertising: "Half my advertising spend is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half."

I feel the same in decision making: Half my decisions are wrongly attributed. The trouble is, I don't know which half.