What's In a Name?

Is Your Name the Problem?: Dealing with Common Names

Most Names are Common Place. Just because you find a search result for someone you think you know,

Your name may be holding you back. Especially if it's being outshined or tarnished by your eponymous doppelganger. What's in a name? Apparently a whole lot more than Shakespeare contemplated. But, to be fair, a lot has changed in the past 426 years.

Google yourself. Are the results you find on page 1 all you and all positive?

You could change your name (We handle that too). But that's probably not ideal or necessary.

Common names can be more difficult to "brand" because they are obscured by the search results of seemingly countless others sharing the same name. But the inverse is also true: having a common name can be like an invisible cloak to protect against would-be defamers. Be on guard, however and run your own name search regularly. You want to be sure that one of your counterparts has not incurred some publicity that might be associated with you. Similarly, a more prolific marketer who shares your name may be drowning out your brand with their own.

Consider for a moment the varying search results for some of the common and not-so-common names and identifiers below. Many of these are common and require a town or profession to be included in order to narrow down the search. Are any of these names stealing your spotlight?

Sam Smith

Craig Smith

Robert Johnson

Adam Levinson and

Dr. Adam Levinson turn up many search results, for example. Don't assume it's the Adam you know.

Dr. Lance Everett Wyatt

Todd Leasure

Nathan Duane Oeming

attorney Nicole manini

Mississippi’s Jackson State University

William Bynum Jr.

David Owens Air Force Commander

Dr Jorge Zamora-Quezada

Firefighter Gary Pandolfino

Dr. John Kennedy langone

Dr. Subhash Gupta

Dr. Abner Pasatiempo

Kirkland Mallett

Tommy Gainey

Dr. Renny McDaniel

Anthony Pittman

Ivan Dochter

Gary Friedenberg

Tamir Dardashtian

Dr. Richard Obedien

Dr. Peter Malet

Dr Judd lesser

Vadim Crichton

Robert Kittleberger fdny

Judd lesser dentist

Avi Polischuk engineer

Craig Lieber stock broker

Kewho Min finance analyst

Professor Nicholas Sisti

Brad Regenbogen, attorney

Joseph burden massage

Alla Nikolaena Tkachenko dental hygenist

Dr. Matthew J. Bonanno

Dr. Dhimant Mankad, MD

Alexios Apazidis

Dr. Maurice Guerts

orthopedic surgeon, Mohammad Diab of San Francisco

Dr. Nancy C. Blake, 56,

Dr. Subhash Gupta

David Hershkowitz

Jonathan Peterkin

Geoffrey Roget

Kenneth Finkelstein

Eddie Digsby

Doctor Ayman Shahine, gynecologist

Doctor Joseph Pober, plastic surgeon
Doctor Chinwe Offor, neonatologist
Doctor Gene Sankin, internist

Doctor Mariam Rubbani, physical medicine specialist

Doctor Martin Fried, pediatrician

MILIA, MICHAEL, J GOMEZ, RUBEN, M KITTELBERGER, ROBERT, LESSER, JUDD SINGH, JASPREET DIMARIA, LOUIS FILIZZOLA, CHRISTIAN LUCIO,MARIO ARNOLD, SEAN, J MOORE, JEREMY, J TARVER, LEON REGINALD III HADER, MARK, R LEONE, JOHN, J FRIEDENBERG, GARY, H KNOTT, DAVID, M JR SINGH, HARJOT HAESEKER, RONALD, H MCCOOEY, HERBERT, J VEGA, JONATHON,S BENNETT, DAVID CANALES, HILDAGO SMITH, WILLIAM MANNING, SCOTT,W IRVING, ADRIAN LAMAR LEIBER, CRAIG FELICI, MICHAEL,J CATRINI, VAL, A POLISCHUK, AVI FRANKEL,SCOTT NEWMAN,DAVID DACOVA,JASON BURUCA, ZAUL, A BUTT, HASSEN,T GANGAPARSAD,KHEMRAJ PIO, CRAIG,T DARDASHTIAN,TAMIR

TOWN GARDEN CITY WESTBURY WANTAGH LAWRENCE BELLEROSE MANHASSET MINEOLA MINEOLA UNIONDALE FREEPORT UNIONDALE GLEN HEAD NEW HYDE PARK MELVILLE MILL NECK HICKSVILLE N. MERRICK GARDEN CITY SOUTH LONG BEACH MERRICK WESTBURY WANTAGH OCEANSIDE UPLEND PA WEST HEMPSTEAD WANTAGH ROCKVILLE CENTRE MASSAPEQUA OCEANSIDE FLUSHING WESTBURY HICKSVILLE EAST MEADOW LYNBROOK OCEANSIDE GREAT NECK

CRUCHININ,VADIM CHARLES,MICHAEL,E CAMMISULI, JOHN DELANEY,WALTER,A SCHOLL, JARED, B RAVI, RAJIV CAETANO, PEDRO, M CIOFFI, RICHARD CAGLAYAN, ERIC, R EMANUEL,ABRAHAM KOTHARY,SHRAVAN COCCHI, JUSTIN GRAFF, JOHN FLORES, KELVIN CALIENDO,FRANK VISVANATHAN, KARTHIKEYAN DIAZ, RYAN CRUZ, WILLIAM SOMEKH, RICKY HERSHKOWITZ, DAVID SMITH-HUBBARD,XAVIER RUANDO, JARRO MURPHY, TIM BRUCKNER, PAUL PETERKIN, JONATHON COLLETTI, GUISEPPE SURIZON, IZHAK BAPTISTE, MARVIN JOHNSON, RUSSELL ROGET, GEOFFROY MIN, KEWHO DOCHTER, IVAN LARA, STEVEN VICECONTE, VINCENT MONDELLA, PETER LEE, PAUL KHAN, SHAHID REMEDIOS, OSCAR FIDNARICK, ROBERT,D SISTI, NICHOLAS,J REGENBOGEN, BRAD WADE, JONATHAN RIZZA, SALVATORE,J

QUEENS VILLAGE WESTBURY FLUSHING GARDEN CITY STANFORDVILLE NY QUEENS VILLAGE MINEOLA HICKSVILLE BALDWIN UNIONDALE MERRICK MASSAPEQUA TABERNACLE NJ BALDWIN CARLE PLACE EAST MEADOW JERICHO UNIONDALE GREAT NECK MERRICK WYANDANCH HEMPSTEAD MERRICK ALPHARETTA GEORGIA MEDFORD DOUGLASTON BROOKVILLE BROOKLYN FREEPORT HOLLIS GARDEN CITY NORTH HILLS LEVITTOWN SOUTH HEMPSTEAD LEVITTOWN PLAINVIEW EAST MEADOW WELLESLEY, MA SEAFORD MINEOLA WANTAGH HEMPSTEAD CEDARHURST

HALUCHA, WALTER,D MALET, PETER,F FINKELSTEIN, KENNETH ADLER, MICHAEL,A OROZCO, GERARDO GAMBINO, ROSARIO SHERMAN, DOUGLAS,R WHITE, ANDRE OBEDIAN, RICHARD XU, JIAN HUA VERNON,LLOYD DEPPERMAN,MARK HENRY, EDWARD CANTWELL, WILLIAM IQBAL,SHEIKH SINGH,ARNICK LEROUX,JEREMY FONROSE,FRANCK CAPACE,RICHARD AJAH,ANIJAH PIERE-PAUL, REGINALD CAPUTO,WILLIAM FRICKER,THOMAS ISHMAEL,ALEXANDER DIGSBY,EDDIE

WESTBURY GARDEN CITY ISLAND PARK WEST HEMPSTEAD MINEOLA BETHPAGE ROSLYN ROSEDALE MUTTONTOWN FLUSHING COPIAGUE LEVITTOWN FRANKLIN SQUARE LEVITTOWN FLORAL PARK GLEN HEAD NEW HYDE PARK WESTBURY EAST MEADOW MANHASSET HILLS ROSEDALE WEST ISLIP PORT JEFFERSON FRANKLIN SQUARE UNIONDALE

Balinda Whittenburg

Kenneth Harp

Cookeville

Police Department

Patricia Clark

Putnam County Sheriff's Office

Jessica Jacobs, Cookeville

CPD

David Hill, of James Street,

Gallatin;

Tennessee Highway Patrol

Justin Chessher

Baxter Police Department

Amy Boston

Lakeshore Lane, Crossville

THP

Yvonne Thye

Charlie Mayberry

Jessica Miller

Carmella NowakGainesboro

Rockford seward

Peggy Smith, 57, Garelt Stahl, 75, Dr. Larry Sy, 55, Dr. Mark Myers, 52, Ronald Larson, Jr., 64, Ryan T. McMahon, 46, Steven Haas, 67, Tyson Fettes, 33.

Bruce Wanke, 71, David Babler, 76, Denis Mabie, 72, Donald Davis, 72, Harry Nebergall, 57, Howard Richmond, 53, James Athans, 80, James Thomason, 69, Javier Saavedra, 45, Larry Flynn, 67, Martin Bertagnoli, 69, Michael Aberle, 74, Randy Fox, 54, Robert Von Bergen, 52, Robert Mathison, 75, Roger Miller, 77, Scott Sutker, 56, Hector Alvarez, 57, Tom Fields, 54, Raul Pena, 52.

Dr. Larry Sy

Jim Thomason

Thomason Machine Works Inc.

Yyson Fettes,

Racine County

Community State Bank in Burlington, Wisconsin.

Jim Athans

Chemtoll Incorporated

Chicago

Lubrizol

John Childs

Equity firm J.W. Childs and Associates

John Havens

CFO of Citigroup

Johnny DelPrete

Jeffrey W. Babin (4/20/1954)

Mark C. Bope (3/29/1954)

Roger E. Buglione (7/14/1944)

Joseph M. Daniels (3/14/1982)

John N. Deora (7/14/1961)

Guy K. Eagan (9/21/1951)

Craig P. Firing (7/3/1954)

Timothy R. Goering (7/21/1966)

John P. Havens (9/12/1956)

James A. Jacobsen (11/2/1955)

John S. Johnson (11/5/1959)

Mingfu Lu (3/29/1989)

Justo M. Naranjo (3/13/1967)

Richard J. Palmer (9/21/1969)

James G. Porter (4/22/1955)

Rolf B. Resdal (10/1/1949)

Rudy Robaina (11/9/1980)

Martin J. Segal (1/8/1982)

Frank J. Velie (7/19/1939)

John A. Verrier (11/14/1946)

John O. Voirol (4/27/1964)

Alan Weinberger (7/3/1960)

Jonathan S. Weiss (11/13/1985)

Daniel R. Young (3/3/1934)

Julia Alspaugh

Yevhenia Denisova

Mitchell Allen Kennedy

Bryan Cohen

Goldman Sachs

George Nikas

GRK Fresh

Woojae Jung

Damilare Sonoiki

Mychal Kendricks

Eric Bellquist

BIll Tsai

William Tsai

Gavin Scott Hapgood

Ashish Aggarwal

Dr. Dov Bechhofer

Dr. Richard Lewkowitz

Dr. Beth Keegstra

Heather Wick

Dr. Paul Ryan

Ragheb Nouman

Dr. Michelle Herren

Peter Gade

Doctors Dennis D. Daly Jeffrey J. Davis Peter Deplas Sudipt Sureshchandra Deshmukh Daniel S. Dickinson Donovan D. Dixon Warren R. Dunn Ossama A. Elbahloul Mehmet Erk Juan W. Espindola Martin L. Evers Ali K. Fard Kenneth S. Felder Denise M. Ferrando Clarisse D. Ferrara Firman F. Gabriels Firmin F. Gabriels Michael Robert Gray Joshua L. Greenspan Robert Hallett Arvind Ahuja Tameshwar Ammar Tameshwar Ammar Neil Anand Ewald J. Antoine Michael A. Arata Mahboob A. Aslam Sean Ataee Shahab Ataee Andrew Berkowitz Stephen M. Blumberg Matthew J. Bonanno Daniel I. Borison Bruce E. Burnham Kakarla V. Chalam Yashwant S. Chaudhri Khaja N. Chisty Clarisse D. Clemons Paul H. Coleman John David Cunningham Paul J. Hannan Michael D. Hellman Bernard Duane Herring Anthony H. Horan Abby Melissa Irwin Kevin G. Jamil Subramaniam E. Khanthan Helena Kukla Hiten K. Lakhani Lawrence Merion Mandel Lavine Paul F. LeHoullier Zhicheng Li Kevin R. Loughlin Ramil Mansourov Samuel Mark Maryles Paul J. Mathieu David Alan McDonough Bernard J. Member Richard C. Mendel Leovares Mendez Muhammed Hussain Mirza Kolawole Ademuyiwa Odulaja Joseph G. Olivieri Thomas Edward Panico Deepesh S. Patel Charles A. Peralo Sareth Pinnamaneni Frank C. Purpera Milton A. Reder Karl Emory Robinson Sudeep J Ross Joseph P. Santiamo Luis A. Santos Frank C. Sauchelli Ricky J. Sayegh Murray David Schane Ronald M. Schilling Rhonaldo A. Silaban Howard M. Simon Robert Leon Steele Jud M. Stern David Syn Mark P. Tallman Martina Taylor Svetlana Trounina Gino Nicholas Vitiello Sameh Saad Wahba Aaron Weinreb Christopher White Clarence G. White Edwardo Yambo David D. Zargaroff Yaron Zedek

MICHAEL J MILIA

RUBEN M GOMEZ

ROBERT KITTELBERGER

JUDD LESSER

JASPREET SINGH
LOUIS DIMARIA
CHRISTIAN FILIZZOLA

LUCIO MARIO

SEAN J ARNOLD
JEREMY J MOORE
LEON REGINALD TARVER III
MARK R HADER
JOHN J LEONE
GARY H. FRIEDENBERG
DAVID M KNOTT JR
HARJOT SINGH
RONALD H HAESEKER
HERBERT J MCCOOEY
JONATHON S VEGA
DAVID BENNETT
HILDAGO CANALES
WILLIAM SMITH
SCOTT W MANNING
ADRIAN LAMAR IRVING

CRAIG LEIBER
MICHAEL J. FELICI
VAL A. CATRINI
AVI POLISCHUK
SCOTT FRANKEL
DAVID NEWMAN Flushing NY
JASON DACOVA
ZAUL A BURUCA
HASSEN T BUTT

KHEMRAJ GANGAPARSAD
CRAIG T PIO
TAMIR DARDASHTIAN
VADIM CRUCHININ
MICHAEL E. CHARLES
JOHN CAMMISULI

WALTER A. DELANEY
JARED B. SCHOLL

RAJIV RAVI of Queens Village
PEDRO M. CAETANO
RICHARD CIOFFI
ERIC R. CAGLAYAN
ABRAHAM EMANUEL
SHRAVAN KOTHARY

JUSTIN COCCHI
JOHN GRAFF of Tabernacle, NJ
KELVIN FLORES
FRANK CALIENDO
KARTHIKEYAN VISVANATHAN

RYAN DIAZ of Jericho, Long Island, NY
WILLIAM CRUZ of Uniondale
RICKY SOMEKH
DAVID HERSHKOWITZ of Merrick, NY
XAVIER SMITH-HUBBARDXAVIER SMITH

EDWARD DIGSBY

XAVIER HUBBARD
JARRO RUANDO Hempstead,Long Island, NY
TIM MURPHY Merrick, NY
PAUL BRUCKNER of Alpharetta, GA
JONATHON PETERKIN of Medford
GUISEPPE COLLETTI

IZHAK SURIZON
MARVIN BAPTISTE
RUSSELL JOHNSON

GEOFFROY ROGET
KEWHO MIN
IVAN DOCHTER
STEVEN LARA

VINCENT VICECONTE
PETER MONDELLA

PAUL LEE

ED DIGSBY

SHAHID KHAN

OSCAR REMEDIOS
ROBERT D FIDNARICK
NICHOLAS J. SISTI
BRAD REGENBOGEN
JONATHAN WADE of Hempstead, NY
SALVATORE J RIZZA
WALTER D HALUCHA
PETER F. MALET
KENNETH FINKELSTEIN
MICHAEL A. ADLER
GERARDO OROZCO
ROSARIO GAMBINO
DOUGLAS R. SHERMAN
ANDRE WHITE of Rosedale, NY

RICHARD OBEDIAN
JIAN HUA XU of Flushing, Queens, NY
LLOYD VERNON
MARK DEPPERMAN
EDWARD HENRY of Franklin Square
WILLIAM CANTWELL
SHEIKH IQBAL
ARNICK SINGH
JEREMY LEROUX
FRANCK FONROSE
RICHARD CAPACE
ANIJAH AJAH