These Are the Baby Names That Could Make Your Kid a Billionaire

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Choosing a baby name is already stressful enough without wondering if it’ll impact your child’s future net worth. But what if we told you that certain names show up way more often on the Forbes billionaire list than others?

While your baby’s name obviously won’t guarantee they’ll become the next Elon Musk, the patterns are pretty interesting. Here’s what the data reveals about billionaire baby names — and why some of these findings make perfect sense.

The Boys’ Names That Dominate the Billionaire List

The clear winner for boys? Michael. A whopping 50 billionaires share this name, including tech giant Michael Dell and media mogul Michael Bloomberg. That’s roughly 2% of all male billionaires — not exactly random.

John comes in second with 46 billionaires, followed by Andrew with 31. The rest of the top billionaire boys’ names include David, Marc, George, Carl, Eric, James, Jeff, Jim and Li.

The Girls’ Names That Strike It Rich

For girls, Maria (and its variations) takes the top spot. Out of just 369 female billionaires worldwide, 10 are named Maria or something similar. That’s actually a pretty significant percentage when you think about it.

Catherine and Anna follow close behind, with several Anna billionaires being Walmart heiresses like Ann Walton Kroenke. Other wealthy women’s names include Susan, Elizabeth, Alexandra, Christine, Julia, Alice and Wu.

Here’s something that stood out: Alice might be the most powerful name on the list. While it only ranks eighth overall, Alice Walton is literally the richest woman in the world. Talk about quality over quantity.

Why These Names Actually Make Sense

Before you roll your eyes and dismiss this as pure coincidence, consider this: Many of today’s billionaires were born in the 1940s, 50s and 60s when these names were incredibly popular. Michael was the No. 1 boy’s name in America for decades, so of course there are lots of billionaire Michaels.

The Reality Check You Need

Let’s be real here: Your baby’s name isn’t going to magically turn them into a billionaire. The vast majority of people with these names are not swimming in money, and plenty of wealthy people have completely different names.

What this data really shows is that successful people often have traditional names — or they’re from generations when these names were super common. It’s correlation, not causation.

Plus, the billionaire club is still heavily male (87% men vs. 13% women) and skews older, which explains why we’re seeing names from previous decades rather than trendy modern picks.

The Bottom Line

While naming your baby Michael or Maria won’t guarantee they’ll join the three-comma club, it certainly won’t hurt their chances either. These names have stood the test of time for good reason.

But honestly? The most important thing is choosing a name you love and that feels right for your family. Your kid’s success will depend way more on the values you teach them, the opportunities you help create and their own hard work than on what you write on their birth certificate.

Though if they do become billionaires someday, feel free to take all the credit for that brilliant name choice.

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