Have you ever wondered if your name is helping you in life — or holding you back?
A new survey from Resume.io analyzed more than 3,000 LinkedIn profiles to find out what, if any, influence a person’s first name has on making it in corporate leadership. And it turns out that some names appear more frequently in authoritative roles than others.
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The study looked at the names of people in top-level executive positions in the U.S., from CEOs to managers, on LinkedIn and found that John is the “most successful name in the business world.” Michael took No. 2, followed by David at No. 3.
Robert and Mark rounded out the top five in number of appearances. People named John had the most CEO positions, while Michael dominated CFO roles. David, meanwhile, was a popular name for managers.
Only one female name made the top 10 list (Jennifer), which took the No. 6 spot. Only one-third of the profiles Resume.io analyzed were women.
Amanda Augustine, a certified career coach and expert at Resume.io, said the report “highlights a long-standing trend in corporate leadership.”
“Certain names appear more frequently in positions of power, reflecting deeper societal and workplace biases,” Augustine said. “While skills and experience should define success, unconscious bias can influence both hiring and promotion decisions, favoring those with classic American, masculine names.”
A recent report from the World Economic Forum found that 36.4% of women were hired into leadership positions in 2024, down from the 36.9% hired in 2023.
Under female names, “Kimberly” was found to be in the middle of the pack, but “Kim” was found to be the most common name for an executive with a “director” title.
Jennifer, Lisa, and Mary topped the list.
Click here for the full Resume.io report.
