The baby names that offer the best chance of NFL stardom
- Mike is the winningest name in Super Bowl history as 58 Mikes have won it
- Mike also ranks as the second most common name in the NFL overall, and there have been more quarterbacks named Mike than anyone else
- John is the most common name in the history of the NFL, with 640 players having the first name
- Nick is the most popular name among currently active players
- Study also analyzes possible baby names if Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce ever decide to have kids
The Super Bowl is set to be contested by quarterbacks named Patrick and Brock, and new research has revealed the names parents should choose to give their children the best chance of winning the Super Bowl, with Mike emerging as the most successful.
The study, conducted by sports parlays, picks and predictions site FlashPicks, analyzed more than 27,000 names of current and former NFL players from Pro Football Reference to find which ones are the most common.
Parents hoping their son might one day lift the Vince Lombardi trophy should choose the name Mike, according to the data. The popular first name is the winningest moniker in Super Bowl history as players with the name have 58 victories to their name, ahead of John 50 times, and Jim 42 times. The fourth most common is Larry, while fifth place goes to Tom.
The most common names among Super Bowl winners
|
First name
|
Count
|
Percentage
|
Rank
|
|
Mike
|
58
|
2.27%
|
1
|
|
John
|
50
|
1.95%
|
2
|
|
Jim
|
42
|
1.64%
|
3
|
|
Larry
|
35
|
1.37%
|
4
|
|
Tom
|
33
|
1.29%
|
5
|
|
Joe
|
31
|
1.21%
|
6
|
|
Chris
|
30
|
1.17%
|
7
|
|
Matt
|
29
|
1.13%
|
8
|
|
Bob
|
29
|
1.13%
|
8
|
|
Steve
|
28
|
1.09%
|
9
|
When looking at every player who has played in the NFL, there have been 552 Mikes, which is 2% of the total, the second highest amount. Overall the most common name in the NFL is John – in total there have been 640 players with that first name, meaning that 2.32% of players have been called John.
Parents typically have less choice over their child’s surname, but having Williams as a last name appears to increase a player’s chances of getting drafted, as it is the most common in the data. There have been 363 Williams in the NFL, making up 1.32% of all last names, meaning that in theory the statistically most likely player is named John Williams.
However, the most common full name in NFL history is Mike Williams as there have been eight players with that name. In contrast, there have been four John Williams in the league.
Jim is the third most common NFL first name, as 461 players have been named it – 1.67% of the league, while the top five is rounded out by 447 Bobs (1.62%) and 386 Bills (1.4%).
For parents who prefer their kid to stand out, there have been 2,788 players with a first name which hasn’t been replicated by anyone else in the NFL, meaning 10.12% of player names have been completely unique.
The most common fist names in NFL history
|
First name
|
Count
|
Percentage
|
Rank
|
|
John
|
640
|
2.32%
|
1
|
|
Mike
|
552
|
2.00%
|
2
|
|
Jim
|
461
|
1.67%
|
3
|
|
Bob
|
447
|
1.62%
|
4
|
|
Bill
|
386
|
1.40%
|
5
|
|
Joe
|
381
|
1.38%
|
6
|
|
Chris
|
307
|
1.11%
|
7
|
|
Steve
|
274
|
0.99%
|
8
|
|
Tom
|
270
|
0.98%
|
9
|
|
George
|
259
|
0.94%
|
10
|
Naturally some parents will hope their son can grow up to play in the most sought-after position in the team, so the study also analyzed the most likely names of quarterbacks, based on the 1,078 players listed in the position on Pro Football Reference. Mike tops the charts again with 32, while in second place is Bob with 30, and Jim on 26.
If names are anything to go by ahead of the Super Bowl, then the Chiefs have a slight edge over the 49ers as there have been four QBs named Brock who played the NFL, but two named Patrick, plus five named Pat. In addition, a player named Brock has won the championship twice, but players name Pat or Patrick have won a combined 16 times.
The most common names among quarterbacks
|
First name
|
Count
|
Percentage
|
Rank
|
|
Mike
|
32
|
2.97%
|
1
|
|
Bob
|
30
|
2.78%
|
2
|
|
Jim
|
26
|
2.41%
|
3
|
|
John
|
24
|
2.23%
|
4
|
|
Steve
|
23
|
2.13%
|
5
|
|
Tom
|
22
|
2.04%
|
6
|
|
Joe
|
20
|
1.86%
|
7
|
|
Matt
|
18
|
1.67%
|
8
|
|
Jeff
|
16
|
1.48%
|
9
|
|
Bill
|
16
|
1.48%
|
9
|
The study covers more than 100 years of NFL names, so for parents keen to take inspiration from the current crop of players, it also looked at names of the 2,145 players listed as active this season. From those, Nick is the most popular name, appearing 27 times, followed by Josh on 24, Tyler on 23, Michael on 22 and Chris on 20.
The most common names among current NFL players
|
First name
|
Count
|
Percentage
|
Rank
|
|
Nick
|
27
|
1.26%
|
1
|
|
Josh
|
24
|
1.12%
|
2
|
|
Tyler
|
23
|
1.07%
|
3
|
|
Michael
|
22
|
1.03%
|
4
|
|
Chris
|
21
|
0.98%
|
5
|
|
Jordan
|
20
|
0.93%
|
6
|
|
Justin
|
20
|
0.93%
|
6
|
|
Mike
|
17
|
0.79%
|
7
|
|
Brandon
|
17
|
0.79%
|
7
|
|
Matt
|
17
|
0.79%
|
7
|
Travis Kelce will be closely watched on Sunday night for multiple reasons, and for expectant parents who have taken a shine to the name, it has appeared 50 times in the NFL, making it the 111th most common. Meanwhile there have been 18 players named Taylor in the league.
As rumors swirl around a possible on-field proposal and Las Vegas shotgun wedding for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, the research also investigated possible name choices for the pair if they decided to start a family. Swift has recorded various songs with a person’s name in the title, which might serve as inspiration for a baby name. Out of those, “Betty” is the most streamed on Spotify, with more than 316 million plays, followed by “Ivy” with 197 million. However, they could be influenced by her second most streamed song ever, and opt for Summer – “Cruel Summer” has 1.69 billion plays on Spotify.
The couple could also take inspiration from Travis’ career, and look at the opponents he has enjoyed the best form against. In that case, the name Charger would be the slightly unusual option, as Kelce has scored eight touchdowns against the Chargers in his career – more than against any other team. Alternatively, Denver or Raider might be considered, as he has scored six touchdowns each against the Broncos and the Raiders.
Commenting on the study a spokesperson for FlashPicks said: “The Super Bowl is now just days away, and this data offers a fun look at naming trends in the NFL. The league has seen lots of players with unique and eye-catching names, such as Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Barkevious Mingo, so it’s fascinating to look at which ones are most common too. Some parents will do anything to get an extra edge to help their child into a career in professional sports, so this study could prove useful for mothers and fathers looking to play the percentages when it comes to names.”
ENDS
Methodology
The study analyzed each of the 27,551 players listed on Pro Football Reference from 1920 to 2023 to count the most common first names and surnames as well as the player’s position and their years active in the league. It also analyzed the rosters of each team to win the Super Bowl to find the most common first names and surnames.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
