Peter is the most popular name for a male CEO according to professional networking website LinkedIn, which conducted a review of CEO names and compared them to all other members. LinkedIn found that after Peter, Bob was the next most popular name for a male CEO, followed by Jack, Bruce, and Fred.

LinkedIn’s surveyed the names of its 100 million strong members and  found that male CEO’s tend to use one syllable versions of their names, or nicknames to “denote a tone of friendliness and openness.”  Three of the top five CEO names are the single syllable versions of full names: Bob – as in Bob Eiger, chief executive of Walt Disney Company, Jack – as in Jack Welch, former chairman of GE, and Fred – as in Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx.

Woman chief executives, however, generally use their full formal name to present a more professional image. Deborah, Sally, Debra, Cynthia, and Carolyn are the most popular names for woman chief executives.

LinkedIn’s survey found no association between long names and CEO’s but for people in the restaurant business, especially if they are French names.  Names containing seven or more letters are quite common in the food service industry. The most popular name for a professional athlete is Ryan and for a police officer, Billy is the winner.

About David John Walker

Dave has a B.A. in Mathematics, loves writing and reading about the latest developments in technology and social media, and has been working as a freelance writer for five years.