These Are the Most Popular Names Among Ivy League Graduates, Study Says

Deciding on a name for baby can be nervewracking. You want the best for your little one and their name can become a fundamental part of their identity, behavior, potential career path, and even how others perceive them. But can baby’s name even affect their chances of being admitted to an Ivy League institution?

A recent study by Spokeo, which analyzed over 66 million LinkedIn profiles, aimed to answer that question. This study uncovered the most common first, last and full names of graduates from Ivy League universities, offering insights into names that might be worth considering if you’re dreaming of your child becoming a Yale, Princeton or Harvard grad.

The Ivy League comprises eight prestigious universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Cornell. The study uncovered some surprising—and not so surprising—findings, shedding light on which names have a strong presence among Ivy League alumni.

1. Male-Dominated Names: Seven out of ten of the most common names for Ivy League graduates are male, despite women making up 59.5% of national university admissions. None of the top 10 first names for Harvard and Princeton were female, emphasizing the gender disparity in these institutions.

Michael, John, and David were the most common names among Ivy League graduates, with Michael holding the top spot for University of Pennsylvania, Columbia and Cornell. On the female side, Jennifer, Jessica and Sarah were the most common names.

2. Common Last Names: Smith was the most common last name among Ivy League graduates, followed by Johnson and Williams. Surprisingly, despite Hispanic last names like Garcia, Rodriguez, and Martinez being among the top 10 most common last names in the U.S., none of them made it into the top 10 Ivy League last names.

3. Overall Graduation Names: When looking at the most common names across all Ivy League universities, Michael was the most common name for graduates, followed by John, which was the most popular graduate name for Harvard and Dartmouth. David came in third. A more diverse gender representation was observed across all universities, with Jennifer ranking fourth, Jessica in seventh, and Sarah in eighth. Among last names, Smith still reigned supreme, with Johnson and Williams following closely.

Harrison Tang, CEO of Spokeo, shared insights on the findings, noting the gender imbalance in Ivy League graduate names. He said, “Although we can’t make assumptions about the gender diversity of the top ten lists, we can see that for all of the college-specific top ten lists, all are much more heavily weighted toward male names.”

Tang continued, “Studies by the Wall Street Journal found that women have been significantly outpacing men when it comes to graduating college, due in part to higher numbers of female admissions and male students being more likely to drop out, particularly since the pandemic. In fact, data from the U.S Department of Education shows that as of 2021, women make up 59.5 percent of all U.S. college students.”

However, Tang also highlighted the existence of gender-affirmation recruitment practices at some institutions, where admissions favor men to maintain a gender balance. This practice, while not publicly acknowledged, may contribute to the skewed gender distribution among Ivy League graduates.

Tang also pointed out the impact of strong alumni networks on Ivy League graduates. These networks, which may have been predominantly male in the past, could influence the success and prominence of male graduates. Female alumni might face different networking challenges, affecting their visibility in top positions and the prevalence of their names among graduates.

As Tang concluded, “It would be great to see how these top ten lists continue to change in the future, and if we can see these lists show a more representative snapshot of college life for our graduates.”