Studies have shown that your name can affect many aspects of your life. Common first names increase your chances of being hired, for example. Having a surname closer to the beginning of the alphabet also increases your chances of academic success.
But which names are the most likely to garner the most awards or the biggest lottery wins? The team at Prime Casino has looked into lists of sportspeople, actors, directors and lottery winners to find out.
The Male Names With The Most Wins
1) Robert Awards Won: 15
Robert is the most successful name overall, with 15 actors, directors, sportspeople, and lottery winners sharing the name. The most common category the name features in is Oscar-winning film directors, accounting for just under half the total. This includes Robert Zemeckis, best known for directing the Back to the Future trilogy and the Oscar-winning Forest Gump.
Despite the name's award-winning nature, only 362 people were given the name Robert in the UK in 2022. This makes it the 32nd most popular male name on the list.
2) John Awards Won: 14
John is next, with 14 award and lottery winners sharing the name. These include the Hollywood icon John Wayne, who won an Oscar for his performance for True Grit in 1970, and Liverpudlian music legend John Lennon, who posthumously bagged a Grammy for his best-selling solo album Double Fantasy in 1981. Only 360 people were given the name John in 2022.
3) David, Paul Awards Won: 11
Two names share third place, with celebrities and lottery winners named David and Paul, each receiving 11 awards. Notable examples include Paul Simon, who has two Grammys for Album of the Year, and Sports Personality of the Year winner (SPOTY) 1990 Paul Gascoigne. Paul was the least popular name of the top three in 2022, with only 84.
The most common categories for the name David are SPOTY and lottery winners, with four wins each. The most famous David on the list is David Beckham, who won SPOTY in 2000 thanks to his footballing prowess. Other Davids on the list include the director David Lean, who won back-to-back Oscars in the 1940s. David was the most popular name of the top three in 2022, at 930.
The Female Names With The Most Wins
1) Susan Awards Won: 5
Susan is the most successful female name, with five awards and lottery wins. Successful Susans include the Oscar-winning actresses Susan Sarandon and Susan Hayward. Sarandon won her Oscar in 1996 for Dead Man Walking, while Hayward received hers for I Want to Live! in 1959. Only 13 people were given the name Susan in 2022.
2) 6 Names Awards Won: 4
Six women’s names share second place. Angela, Emma, Frances, Helen, Katharine, and Taylor. Angela is the most common name for lottery winners but is uncommon for people born in 2022, placing 809th on the ONS list of names. Most names on the list belong to Oscar-winning actresses, except for Taylor, as Taylor Swift has won four Grammys for Album of the Year.
3) 7 Names Awards Won: 3
Seven female names are up next. Elizabeth, Jane, Julie, Karen, Michelle, Olivia and Sally. Like the names in second place, the majority of these names belong to Oscar-winning actresses. However, Karen and Michelle more often appear as lottery winners. Michelle is the most popular name of the two, with 101 people being given the name in 2022.
The Most Successful Male Names In Sports
1) Lionel Awards Won: 8
Lionel is the most successful male name in the sporting world. This is entirely down to footballer Lionel Messi, who has won the Ballon d'Or on eight occasions, more than any other player. Messi’s most recent win was last year due to his performance in the 2022 World Cup. In 2022, 18 people were given the name Lionel.
2) Cristiano Awards Won: 5
Up next is Cristiano, with five awards. All five are down to footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or wins. Three of which he won back-to-back from 2015 to 2017. Despite his footballing prowess, only 12 people were given the name Cristiano in 2022.
3) David, Steve Awards Won: 4
Sportspeople named David and Steve take third place with four awards. All four Davids are SPOTY winners spanning forty years, from show jumper David Broome in 1960 to David Beckham in 2001. Athletes named Steve are also all SPOTY winners, from middle-distance runner Steve Ovett to six-time Olympic gold medalist Steve Redgrave.
The Most Successful Female Names In Sports
1) Alexia, Mary Awards Won: 2
Alexia and Mary share the top spot as the most successful names in the sporting world, each winning two awards. Alexia Putellas have won half of the awards, winning the Ballon d'Or Féminin twice in a row in 2021 and 2022. According to the ONS, only 35 people were given this name in 2022.
2) 15 Names Awards Won: 1
15 female names share second place when it comes to sporting awards, with one award each. Of the award-winning names on the list, Ada is the most popular name in 2022, with 1,138 people given the name. The least popular is Virginia, which had only 10.
The Most Successful Male Names In Entertainment
1) Robert Awards Won: 11
The most successful male name in entertainment is Robert, with actors, directors and musicians sharing the name and receiving 11 awards. The majority are Best Director winners, with Robert Wise appearing twice for his work on West Side Story and The Sound of Music. Other notable Roberts on the list include Hollywood royalty Robert De Niro and Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant.
2) William Awards Won: 8
Up next is William, with celebrities sharing the name bagging eight awards. Like Robert, the most common winners are directors, with six Oscars. William Wyler is responsible for half of these wins. Known for directing silver screen epics like Ben Hur, he holds the record for winning the most Best Picture Oscars. The name is also one of the most popular in the UK, with 1,806 people given the name William in 2022.
3) Frank, John, Paul Awards Won: 7
Three names share third place on the list, with musicians, actors and directors named Frank, John and Paul receiving seven awards. The name Frank most commonly appears on the lists of directors and musicians, thanks to Frank Sinatra’s three Grammy wins and the directors Frank Capra and Frank Lloyd with two Oscars each.
John appears most commonly on the list of Oscar-winning directors, with five sharing the name. Also appearing on the list are the actor John Wayne and the musician John Lennon.
Of the award winners named Paul, the name appears most frequently in filmmaking, with five actors and directors sharing the name.
The Most Successful Female Names In Entertainment
1) Taylor, Katharine Awards Won: 4
Taylor and Katharine are the most successful women’s names in the entertainment world, sharing four awards each. Taylor Swift is solely responsible for the name, sharing the top spot in this category with four Grammy awards for Album of the Year. Similarly, Katharine Hepburn is also the only Katharine on the list, winning four Oscars throughout her career.
2) 5 Names Awards Won: 3
Five names, Emma, Frances, Helen, Jane and Olivia, share second place with three awards each. All the names belong to Oscar-winning actresses, but Frances McDormand is the most successful of the bunch, with three wins for Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Nomandland.
3) 20 Names Awards Won: 2
A whopping 20 names share third place, with two entertainment awards each. Of the names featured on the list, Elizabeth is the most common name, with 795 people being given the name in 2022. The second most common is Jessica, with 698.
The Luckiest Male Names
1) John Lottery Wins: 5
John is the luckiest name for lottery winners. Five Johns have won the lottery over the last few years. This includes John Wallman and John McFadden, who won £1 million on the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker draw and a National Lottery’s 50X Scratchcard, respectively.
2) David Lottery Wins: 4
Up next is David, with four lottery winners having the name. David Lawrence is the biggest winner of the group, winning £1 million in the lottery last year. This could be excellent news for the 930 people given the name in 2022.
3) 6 Names Lottery Wins: 3
Six names share third place, with winners named Dan, Mark, Michael, Neil, Paul, and Steve all winning the lottery twice. Neil could be the luckiest name in the group, as Neil Trotter won £107.9 million in 2014. However, Michaels could have a higher chance of winning as it’s the most common name in the group, with 642 people in 2022.
The Luckiest Female Names
1) Angela Lottery Wins: 4
Angela tops the list as the luckiest female name, with four winners sharing the name. The most notable example is Angela Maxwell, who, along with her husband Richard, won £53 million in 2015. They used their winnings to build a park in their local village.
2) Karen, Susan Lottery Wins: 3
Karen and Susan share second place as the luckiest women’s names, with three wins each. Karen Mitchell might be the luckiest Karen on the list, bagging £1 million with her husband Craig on the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker in October 2023.
Susan is also the second luckiest name on our list, with three wins. One lucky Susan is Susan Crossland, who won £1.2 million. She used the cash to buy a purpose-built house adapted for her siblings, who both need full-time care.
3) 7 Names Lottery Wins: 2
Seven names have all won the lottery twice. Of these seven names, Sara was the most common name in 2022, with 497 people given the name. On the other hand, Debbie was the least common name, with only four.
Methodology
To find the luckiest and most successful first names, we sourced the first names of lottery winners, Yashin Trophy winners, Gerd Müller Trophy winners, Kopa Trophy winners, Ballon d'Or winners, BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners, Album of the Year Grammy Award Winners, Best Actress Oscar winners, Best Actor Oscar winners, and Best Director Oscar winners.
We then combined these lists of names to find the most common male and female winners and split them by gender and award category. We then compared this to the number of people given these names in the UK in 2022, according to the ONS.
PRIME CASINO
Join Prime Casino and embark on your journey with a choice of welcome offers,exciting promotions, innovative features and one of the biggest selections of online casino games available. Transcend the Ordinary with Prime Casino – where exceptional experiences await!
