I decided to write about dating instead of giving thanks, since it’s that time of year and all. Hope you’ll indulge me. I came across an interesting study by online dating service Loveawake claiming that your name may make a difference in your dating life. I will note this was a French study, so maybe it’s just France. Women whose names end in “a” supposedly have more partners than women named Kate. Most women average 4.4 partners, while Tania reaches 9.6.

Laura comes in first with 9.7 partners, followed by Tania and Lola at 9.6. It’s a close race, although who knows what happened to gain that extra .1 partner? More than twice as many partners as the average is quite a difference. At the other end, Therese has only 1.1 lovers in her entire life. Francoise and Martine follow with 1.2 and 1.3. Therese is pretty much living like Mother Theresa, although maybe it’s the beret.

I’m not sure how an American name like Kelly might fare in France. Do names ending in “a” have more exotic appeal? Wouldn’t I be considered exotic to a Frenchman? Ok, likely not. I’m curious whether a name can really create a different impression before someone knows anything else about you. Perhaps a name only seems attractive because we attach certain ideas to it. Still, what a weird study. Maybe it’s just France, or maybe people really do respond differently to certain names.

I wonder if this study has women changing their names while they are signed up for online dating. Maybe the fabulous dating blogger Manshopper has some insight into the French mindset. It would be funny to see people treating a dating profile like a scientific experiment. Perhaps someone has already tried using a different name to see whether the results change. Let me know if you feel names make a difference in attractiveness. Anyone out there change your name and notice different results?