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Without even trying, we all harbor opinions based solely on names. If you’ve had a bad experience with an insert-name-here, then you might find that meeting someone with the same name will come with unwarranted judgment. According to one therapist, a man’s name can even indicate whether he has the potential to be a good partner or not.

Considering names carry a lot of information about someone, it’s not completely absurd that it also shapes how people show up in relationships. This isn’t about judging anyone’s name, but about examining the correlation between that and what makes a good partner.

You can tell whether a man is a good partner just by his name.

“In all of my research, I’ve been a social worker for 15 years, and I’m licensed in five different states to do therapy.I have compiled a list of top men’s names, ranking by how good they are as a significant other and why,” explained therapist Erin Randol in her TikTok video.

She explained that tied for the number one spot for being a great partner are men named Dylan or Clay. Randol admitted that her husband’s name is Clay, but the reason why these names take first place is because they’re usually incredibly supportive, problem solvers, and are incredibly intentional. 

For the number two spot, which is also a tie, are men named Kevin and Tyler. While Kevins and Tylers tend to lack emotional intelligence, they usually love their wives wholeheartedly. They want to show up better, but they tend to come off critical and defensive. Randol pointed out that they might have some room to grow and mature a bit.

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The therapist put men with J, G, and P names on the lower end of her list.

“This may be a universal experience,” Randol continued. “But basically any name starting with J. Jeremy, Jared, Jason, etc. They’re grumpy, they can kinda have like a flat line personality mood, and they can come off like cold/lacking compassion.” 

Randol added that for spot number four, she was putting men named George there. She claimed that Georges can be quite moody to the point where they usually need to be medicated to stabilize their emotions. But things usually come to a head when their wives threaten to leave them. 

Coming in last place as the worst men to be in partnership with were men named Phil or Phillip. Randol explained that they’re usually difficult people to deal with. They’re selfish, demanding, and most things in a relationship with them are transactional. 

While Randol’s video was meant to be a bit of a playful take on names, especially for men, it does raise an interesting point about how pivotal names are to someone’s personality. After all, the first thing you learn about a person is the name that was given to them by their parents.

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A person’s first name represents their essence.

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“Because a name is used to identify an individual and communicate with the individual on a daily basis, it serves as the very basis of one’s self-conception, especially in relation to others,” explained David Zhu, a professor of management and entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, who researches the psychology of names, told BBC.

In fact, a study from the 2000s led by psychologist Jean Twenge found that, even after controlling for family background and general dissatisfaction with life, people who didn’t like their own name tended to have poorer psychological adjustment. This mostly happened because their low confidence and self-esteem led them to dislike their name, or because their dislike of their name contributed to their low confidence. 

Whether we like it or not, our names truly do shape how we see ourselves and how others see us, too. While there might not be any merit to someone’s first name dictating how good a partner they really are, it is fun to examine just how much of a story a name holds.

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.