Since my friend Suman was asking for baby-name recommendations on Facebook today, here’s some interesting reading for baby-expecting friends on how our names and birthdays influence what we do and where we live:

For example, according to a Colombia university study, ”Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions”:

1. People are disproportionately likely to live in places whose names resemble their own first or last names (e.g., people named Louis are disproportionately likely to live in St. Louis)
2. People are disproportionately likely to live in cities whose names began with their birthday numbers (e.g., Two Harbors, MN)
3. People disproportionately choose careers whose labels resemble their names (e.g., people named Dennis or Denise are overrepresented among dentists)

This is a newer piece that describes how companies (and people) with easier names succeed more often:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/01/31/easy__true/