The Joy of Nominative Determinism
Can an alignment of names and occupations ever involve more than simple coincidence? When I was in secondary school, our music teacher was called Mr Doe. We also had an art teacher named Mr Drewitt. This amused us as 13-year-olds, though we thought it unfortunate that Mr Hopkins wasn’t a PE teacher, and Mr Cave didn’t teach geology instead of history.
A geography teacher at a nearby school was named Mr Forecast – and he did, in fact, teach meteorology classes. Many job-appropriate surnames exist, such as the surgeon Dr Blood, a sailor named Mr Boatman, and a Lord Chief Justice called Sir Igor Judge. These examples are entertaining.
“Can this sort of alignment of names and occupations ever involve more than just simple coincidence?”
Historically, people began adopting surnames based on their occupations in the Middle Ages — Baker, Butcher, Carpenter, Weaver, and so on. But in modern times, it is possible that a surname might subconsciously influence career choices. This idea is captured in the term nominative determinism, which suggests that individuals may be drawn to professions or activities related to their family names.
“Nominative determinism is the notion that people are subconsciously drawn to professions, interests and activities which relate in some way or other to their own family names.”
This phenomenon, while often amusing, raises interesting questions about the connection between identity and career paths.
Author's summary: The concept of nominative determinism proposes that people might unconsciously choose careers connected to their names, blending historical naming traditions with modern psychology.