Who's the top name in Australian retail?

Sarah and Daniel are the most popular names of staff working in the retail sector in Australia.

A study of more than 3000 customer service positions conducted this month by people identification providers Signal Advantage, analysed the popularity of names of people working in customer-facing positions in the retail sector.

Nine out of the top ten names overall were female.  According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 56% of people employed in the retail industry are female.

The five most popular names for women in retail are Sarah, Jessica, Michelle, Emily and Laura.  The most popular names for men in retail are Daniel, Alex, David, Michael and Ben. 

Name researchers, the Kabalarian Society report most people named Sarah are easy going and refined and are successful in situations where they can use their skills of diplomacy in handling people.

People named Daniel are driven with a strong inner urge to be of service.  They have high levels of empathy and make people feel at ease because of their willingness to offer constructive advice and assistance. 

Social psychology research has shown that your name has all kinds of effects on your life including the likelihood of obtaining employment in particular sectors.

Researchers Simon Laham of the University of Melbourne, Adam Alter of New York University Stern School of Business, and Peter Koval of the University of Leuven, Belgium, found that people with easy-to-pronounce names were considered more positively.

People identification expert Graham Budinger from Signal Advantage said the most important thing about names in the workplace is being able to see them and use them.

“Names are important for relationship building, so it is vital for retail customers to see the name of the staff member who is helping them.

“A name badge isn’t just there to differentiate a staff member from the public, it provides a passive introduction and creates a positive and professional impression of the organisation,” said Graham.

The Signal Advantage name study examined 3000 of its most-recent orders for name badges from the retail industry in Australia.  The study was conducted on November 1, 2013 and analysed orders from small shops and restaurants through to department stores and national franchise operations.

Top 100 names in the Australian retail sector:

1.          Sarah

2.          Jessica

3.          Michelle

4.          Emily

5.          Laura

6.          Daniel

7.          Maria

8.          Rebecca

9.          Stephanie

10.       Emma

11.       Rachel

12.       Anna

13.       Alex

14.       Kate

15.       Samantha

16.       Elizabeth

17.       Louise

18.       Amy

19.       Andrea

20.       Chris

21.       Christina

22.       Clare

23.       Hannah

24.       Jennifer

25.       Katie

26.       Natasha

27.       Amanda

28.       Angela

29.       Bianca

30.       Erin

31.       Helen

32.       Karen

33.       Lauren

34.       Sam

35.       Carla

36.       David

37.       Grace

38.       Jack

39.       Jess

40.       Lucy

41.       Melissa

42.       Michael

43.       Natalie

44.       Nicole

45.       Susan

46.       Belinda

47.       Ben

48.       Chloe

49.       Christine

50.       Claire

51.       Danielle

52.       Fiona

53.       Georgia

54.       John

55.       Kelly

56.       Kim

57.       Linda

58.       Lisa

59.       Margaret

60.       Sandra

61.       Tim

62.       Alexandra

63.       Andrew

64.       Brooke

65.       Diana

66.       Gabrielle

67.       Liz

68.       Luke

69.       Matthew

70.       Olivia

71.       Paula

72.       Tania

73.       Vanessa

74.       Alexander

75.       Alexia

76.       Amelia

77.       Anastasia

78.       Caitlin

79.       Catherine

80.       Chelsea

81.       Christopher

82.       Eleni

83.       Jenny

84.       Paul

85.       Sally

86.       Sophie

87.       Victoria

88.       Alexis

89.       Alison

90.       Anne

91.       Ash

92.       Cassandra

93.       Charlie

94.       Denise

95.       Sophia

96.       Alana

97.       Cathy

98.       Aaron

99.       Adam

100.    Adrian