I thought this was a really interesting social experiment!
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think you “look like your name”? If someone else had your name, how similar would you expect them to be to you?
I found it most interesting that attempting this experiment cross-culturally significantly changed the outcome. Give how much people often want to be individual in their preferences, tastes, etc, it interesting to see how much influence society and culture has on the way we percieve the world - right down to other peple and if they’re name suits them in our eyes!
What do you think makes someone look like their name?
“Oh he’s such a Bruce!”… why? What quantifies a [name_m]Bruce[/name_m]? And does [name_m]Bruce[/name_m] always look like [name_m]Bruce[/name_m] because he is Bruce… or can [name_m]Bruce[/name_m] look like Mathew??
1 Like
Very interesting! I’ve also thought people do or do not look like their name, but I could not explain why. I think it has as much to do with personality. And, of course, someone’s personality affects your perception of their looks and vice versa (like that [name_u]Shel[/name_u] Silverstein poem).
I’ve never met another [name_f]Lily[/name_f]. I’ve met Lilianas and recently a [name_f]Lillian[/name_f], though. One of the Lilianas who went by [name_f]Lily[/name_f] looked a little like me (pale skin, dark brown hair) oddly enough. [name_f]My[/name_f] friends love to tell me I look like the ghost of a Victorian child soooo a vintage/timeless name suits me, I guess 
5 Likes
This is really interesting! I’ve definitely seen people that look like their name or look like they should be named something specific (sometimes I have to actively remember to call them by their name and not the other one). But other times I think sometimes they make their name suit them if that makes sense. A name that you at first couldn’t really imagine of someone like them but soon is the only type of people you could see with that name.
So my name is [name_u]Eden[/name_u]. Me personally, while I love my name and think it suits me to an extent, I don’t really think I look like my name. When people here my name just in general they usually tend to think it’s 1) a very religious name 2) a very granola, crunchy name or 3) a stripper name. I personally just think of my name as a unisex word name, true it came from the Bible but I think it’s become more of a typical word than anything else. Oddly enough though the only other girl I’ve met with my name actually looks very similar to me face wise and has a similar middle name than me. While I don’t think I look exactly like my name and I don’t really suit the expectations of what people imagine, I kind of like it honestly. I’m a bit grungy and dark, kinda of a chaotic academia type aesthetic, more chill, very Latino. I kind of like subverting peoples expectations when they meet me, most people from what I’ve seen usually expect a white blonde girl, very light and airy type and chipper people (absolutely nothing wrong with that they honestly own it), and when they see me complaining different it feels like I’m defining my own name. There’s something slightly empowering having a name that people don’t expect on you and just owning it
2 Likes
This is so interesting! I feel like my name, I don’t really know because it’s a very popular 90’s name and I’ve seen sooo many different people with it that I can’t really put one look to it. However I think my husband totally looks like his name and everyone says my son looks like his name.
[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter we had a name picked and she was born and my husband and I looked at each other and said nope she is not that name!! And picked something different 
I also feel like sometimes names have a look because of movies/shows/books so people associate widely with that. However on a smaller level I feel like so much of it is names you know people with. For example my mom and my husbands aunt have the same name - they look NOTHING alike but I associate people who resemble my mom with that name whereas my husband associates people who look like his aunt with that name.
But some I feel are universal🤣
3 Likes
Strangely most people I know, who have the same name, are similar in a way. A Birgits are literally same person, different font. I know five. Same with some other names. 
I don’t actually know if I look like my name… I think I do? I think it just depends on one’s experience with the name I guess… For one person [name_f]Helga[/name_f] is a [name_m]Bond[/name_m] villain who looks like a pin up girl and for another [name_f]Helga[/name_f] is an old grumpy [name_m]German[/name_m] lady.
1 Like
I don’t think I look like my name at all…Stephanie seems to give most people these bubbly, sporty 90s vibes and I’m a gothically pale brunette with glasses
I suppose the reason [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] gives off those vibes is that it was popular in a particular time and place, and I don’t look like I fit that context.
1 Like
I think I definitely look like my name! It’s a vintage, colorful, warm feeling name. I happen to enjoy those things and exude those vibes often—especially in any pictures I put online or when I go out! It’s also a bit ‘old lady’ and I am a bit ‘old lady’ as well.
2 Likes
I think I definitely look like my name, I’ve also found that people perceive me differently based in which nickname I go by from my given name. I also think people unknowingly mold themselves according to the style of their name, an [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] vs. a [name_u]Jade[/name_u].
1 Like
i think i look like my name! i have more defined features than some, which fits (to me) the “italian” vibe of my name… maybe if i was named something like ella then i wouldn’t have this dreadful aquiline nose 
no, in all seriousness, i do think people fit their names, or rather their names grow to fit them. i’ve known two maddie’s in my life, and the madison was very sporty, bubbly, cheerleader and the madelyn was quiet and studious and honestly could be a model. that’s now my perception of madison/madelyn respectively. (:
2 Likes
I’d say my name fits my face, even if it doesn’t fit my style or personality super well. Interestingly though most of the other girl Averys I’ve met have had a pretty similar look and it’s very different than me, so maybe it’s more that I sort of automatically think of myself as the standard even though I’m not? I’ve met less boy Averys but they tend to have more varied looks at least from what I’ve seen.
1 Like
I’m a strong believer in this. Although there are a few names that I have a specific image for in my head.
As for my own name, I think it suits me just fine and it would almost fit any kind of person. I’ve only ever met one person with my exact name and she looked very different from me, yet the name suited her just fine.
1 Like
Funny story about this. My husband met a guy in college a couple times, but the guys name did not stick in my husband’s brain. After asking him again what his name was, my husband said, “Okay, that’s why! Because you don’t look like a Derek!” And the guy was like, “That’s because my name is actually Collin! I’ve been joking about being named Derek.”
1 Like
Very interesting!! For a year or two of my life, I went by my last name with a title in front of it. It was always my favorite to get others to guess my name. I don’t think anyone actually guessed my name (because it’s not common for my age), but most of them did guess similar vibe names!
Thinking about my siblings, my sister definitely got the name that allows for more spunk and pizazz, which she definitely has. Mine is classic and more vintage, and I’m more of a laid back, collected person. And the styles for my husband’s brothers are so much different than his style, and they definitely have pretty different personalities.
1 Like
I don’t think I look like my name, but it is fine.
1 Like
I think I look like my name!
[name_f]My[/name_f] parents were between [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] and [name_f]Poppy[/name_f], and when I was born they both instantly thought I looked like an [name_f]Eloise[/name_f].
I don’t know any other Eloises though so I don’t have anyone to compare to. 
1 Like
Thaks for sharing, everyone!
I don’t think I particularly look like my name, but my husband loves my name and says of course it suits me and that’s what I should look like (bit of a chicken and egg thing, I think).
I’ve never met anyone with my name exactly, only the more common variations (Kara / Cara), and even then not many of those, so I don’t really have a baseline. I do think my name suits a redhead, because it has secretive, magical vibes to me (because of the [name_f]Valkyrie[/name_f] connection).
I’m not sure if someone said it above or not, but I think some names have a more solid “appearance” in my mind and others are more fluid. As in, if I hear [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], I get a pretty particular image in my head, but if I hear [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m], well he could look just about like anyone. Maybe this has to do with the history of the name or if I associate it with anyone in particular as a baseline.
3 Likes