The term 'Nominative determinism' refers to the idea that some people are attracted to certain jobs that match up with their names. Can this phenomenon really hold weight? It sounds incredibly narcissistic to be attracted to things that remind us of ourselves, but the research suggests that your name really does have a great influence on your life choices.
One study found that people named Dennis or Denise tend to become dentists at a higher-than-average rate. Patterns were also identified among doctors, showing high incidences of fitting names in areas like urology for example, where there were a number of surnames like Cox, Ball, Dick and Waterfall. And, of course, there are the occupational surnames which suggest some kind of family legacy, like Butcher, Smith, Baker and Miller.
However, sometimes the matches are so bizarre and funny, they cannot be explained. We here at Bored Panda have collected a list of people who are unwittingly doing exactly what their names are telling them to do, along with a few others who just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Scroll down below to check it out for yourself, and don't forget to vote for your favorites!
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Neuroscientist Lord Brain
Firefighter McBurney
Lawyer Sue Yoo
At Least hide her contact information please, Else Sue will Sue you!
Cashier Ka Ching
Andrew Drinkwater
Volunteer Toogood
Physician Dr. Docktor
i work in the field of nuclear medicine and medical physic and sometimes i have to deal with a dr. doctor too ...wonder if it's the same person???
oh no it's not - different spelling, just noticed
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while at Children's Hospital Medical Center there was a friend of mine whose name was William D**k - William was called D**k so the overhead page would resonant Dr. D**k D**k, call extension 347, Call Extension 347! hahahaha it made you laugh everytime!
Now, if s/he had a PhD as well, as some of my old colleagues do, it'd be Doctor Doctor Docktor....
The hyphenated Dr. you see on the sign is not the persons first name, it's the title.... Hence, PhD already.
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Oh, Doctor Docktor, can’t you see I’m burning, burning? Oh, Doctor Docktor, is this love I’m feeling?
Actually it's Doktor Frankenstein, but smb neglected the surname
There are a few brave souls in the family who listened when someone said, "it would be so funny if you grew up to become a Doctor". No, it wouldn't be. It's hard enough when you tell people your last name is Doctor and they ask you how to spell it. As a married woman though I do hyphenate it sometimes and end up as a Dr.
There is a tradition among certain groups to name children after the job the parents hope the child will grow up to have. I have personally met three people named "Doctor", one "Teacher", and one "Umpire".
In this case it's not parents naming a child after a wished for profession. Docktor is the last name.
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Cashier Kashera
Ophthalmologist Ashley Seawright
Gastroenterologist Joshua Butt
Music Teacher Miss C Sharp
Librarian Bookendorf
Paul Paulos From St. Paul Police
Chef Tom Kitchin
Meat Manager Brad Slaughter
Jason Weed
What A Name For A Weather Presenter
Dr Mike Loosemore Talking About Need To Lose Weight
Lawyer Jonathan Law
Just To Show To All My Clients That Don’t Believe My Surname Is Barber
Runner Aaron Farr
Funeral Directors Wake And Paine
Weather Presenter Sara Blizzard
President Robin Mahfood
Doctor Atchoo
Dr Blood
Funeral Directors Thomas Grieve And Son
Archaeologist Dr Pam Graves
Scott Forrest
Amy Parks
Literature In French Editor Peter France
Dentist Rachel Pullin
Dentist L. Justin Payne
Race Car Driver Scott Speed
Todd Cutright
Hand Surgeon David J. Mitten
Assistant Deli Manager Margaret Bacon
Fiona Lander In Perth Airport
Weather Anchor L. Sprinkle
Sled Dog Champion Vickie Pullin
There's a dietician in Greece and her name roughly translates to "Maria Starve-to-death" :'D
My boyfriend saw a sign for elections this year that said "Crook for Congress." He couldn't stop laughing at it.
Wonder if his opponent ran ads saying, "I am not Crook!"
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I am a Cameraman.......We call it jobonomatopoeia . www.800kamerman.com Screen-Sho...42-png.jpg 
I used to work for an oil company and one of the leaders had the last name of Greaser.
Near where I live there's a village which name translates to "Drugs", the former mayor's name translates to "Hemp" ...
There is a hospital in Finland where is two doctors, other name is translated as Smart and other is Luck. When Smart is not enough, then Luck goes to help him.
My postman growing up was Mr. Stamps and I had an OB/GYN named Dr. Hymen
In my hometown, it could happen that you had this dream team when having your wisdom teeth removed: Dr. Lücke (= Gap) as dentist, Dr. Messer (=knife) as surgeon and Dr. Sandmann (=sandman) as anaesthetist... Another one which I drove by on my way to university was that lawyer called "Streit" which translates to "argument"
doubt this counts though we do have a doctor whose full name is Richard Hung, he goes by Dr. D**k Hung, urologist & surgeon.
I can't stop thinking 🤔 according to this coincidence profession/name ,what profession will have that girl named ABCD, will she be a teacher. ?😂😂😂
I love this post so much... I guess you can say that for some people, their occupation is truly their "calling"...?
There is (or used to be) a pathology lab in Torrance where the doctors were named Tisue and Samples
Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that fit their names. The term was first used in the magazine New Scientist in 1994, after the magazine's humorous Feedback column noted several studies carried out by researchers with remarkably fitting surnames.
German therapist called "Gisela von Hinten" which means "Gisela from behind"
Knew a Mr Capon who worked in the food industry. Worked for Herr Kopfli who exported Swiss food (on a menu creme caramel was caramel kopfli.) My family surname is Care and my brother is a psychiatric nurse
The librarian in my elementary school name was Ms. Dewey....
Not sure he will. Squires aren't really a thing anymore, and if he became a senator, he would be Senator Squire Sebastian Senator whatever his last name will be, so he'd be known as Senator (his last name), because that was just his first name.
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My mother's doctor was Dr Deathridge. There was a podiatrist here in town named Dr Trotter.
We saw an ad for Paul Schwinghammer, builder for Hallmark Homes in Indiana!
There is a pathology lab in the South Bay whose doctors are Tisue & Samples - partners in nominative determinism as well as in business.
The doctor that followed me during my last 2 pregnancies is called Larrivée, wich translate as arrival.
There is a criminologist who has written the standard handbook for judges on criminal sentencing. his name is Rob Banks: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Banks-Sentence-2018-Two-set/dp/0993202292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544971630&sr=8-1&keywords=BANKS+SENTENCING
Aptronym, interesting that people who have that sort of name are actually statistically more likely to then go into that profession.
This one been floating around for a while: https://cheezburger.com/8584659968/ditch-her-quick-and-hide-divorce-lawyers . Not sure how genuin it is though.
As someone already said, some names come from professions, so it's not unusual to find someone still doing the profession several generations later, especially if it's the family business. In my case, for example, I'm a third generation architect, because my grandpa was one, so are both my parents and one of my siblings (the other is a graphic designer). and we have a family firm. Amusingly, the other branch of the family are all doctors, and my brother originally wanted to become one, before switching back to architecture.
There's a dietician in Greece and her name roughly translates to "Maria Starve-to-death" :'D
My boyfriend saw a sign for elections this year that said "Crook for Congress." He couldn't stop laughing at it.
Wonder if his opponent ran ads saying, "I am not Crook!"
Load More Replies... I am a Cameraman.......We call it jobonomatopoeia . www.800kamerman.com Screen-Sho...42-png.jpg
I used to work for an oil company and one of the leaders had the last name of Greaser.
Near where I live there's a village which name translates to "Drugs", the former mayor's name translates to "Hemp" ...
There is a hospital in Finland where is two doctors, other name is translated as Smart and other is Luck. When Smart is not enough, then Luck goes to help him.
My postman growing up was Mr. Stamps and I had an OB/GYN named Dr. Hymen
In my hometown, it could happen that you had this dream team when having your wisdom teeth removed: Dr. Lücke (= Gap) as dentist, Dr. Messer (=knife) as surgeon and Dr. Sandmann (=sandman) as anaesthetist... Another one which I drove by on my way to university was that lawyer called "Streit" which translates to "argument"
doubt this counts though we do have a doctor whose full name is Richard Hung, he goes by Dr. D**k Hung, urologist & surgeon.
I can't stop thinking 🤔 according to this coincidence profession/name ,what profession will have that girl named ABCD, will she be a teacher. ?😂😂😂
I love this post so much... I guess you can say that for some people, their occupation is truly their "calling"...?
There is (or used to be) a pathology lab in Torrance where the doctors were named Tisue and Samples
Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that fit their names. The term was first used in the magazine New Scientist in 1994, after the magazine's humorous Feedback column noted several studies carried out by researchers with remarkably fitting surnames.
German therapist called "Gisela von Hinten" which means "Gisela from behind"
Knew a Mr Capon who worked in the food industry. Worked for Herr Kopfli who exported Swiss food (on a menu creme caramel was caramel kopfli.) My family surname is Care and my brother is a psychiatric nurse
The librarian in my elementary school name was Ms. Dewey....
Not sure he will. Squires aren't really a thing anymore, and if he became a senator, he would be Senator Squire Sebastian Senator whatever his last name will be, so he'd be known as Senator (his last name), because that was just his first name.
Load More Replies... My mother's doctor was Dr Deathridge. There was a podiatrist here in town named Dr Trotter.
We saw an ad for Paul Schwinghammer, builder for Hallmark Homes in Indiana!
There is a pathology lab in the South Bay whose doctors are Tisue & Samples - partners in nominative determinism as well as in business.
The doctor that followed me during my last 2 pregnancies is called Larrivée, wich translate as arrival.
There is a criminologist who has written the standard handbook for judges on criminal sentencing. his name is Rob Banks: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Banks-Sentence-2018-Two-set/dp/0993202292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544971630&sr=8-1&keywords=BANKS+SENTENCING
Aptronym, interesting that people who have that sort of name are actually statistically more likely to then go into that profession.
This one been floating around for a while: https://cheezburger.com/8584659968/ditch-her-quick-and-hide-divorce-lawyers . Not sure how genuin it is though.
As someone already said, some names come from professions, so it's not unusual to find someone still doing the profession several generations later, especially if it's the family business. In my case, for example, I'm a third generation architect, because my grandpa was one, so are both my parents and one of my siblings (the other is a graphic designer). and we have a family firm. Amusingly, the other branch of the family are all doctors, and my brother originally wanted to become one, before switching back to architecture.
