Baby Name Wizard asked thousands of its readers to rate the names on ‘sexiness’ and revealed which 20 names were deemed the sexiest – and which 10 were the least.
Many of the male names end in 'O,' and many of the female names end in 'a.' Female names, such as Nicolette and Alessandra, also have double.
'Italian names make a strong showing on the girls' list, but French comes to the fore as well,' said Wattenberg. Literature also has an impact on how we view names with Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' inspiring the top 10 list for boys.
Rhett and Scarlett, meanwhile, can be found in the pages of Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone with the Wind.' 'One thing that leaps out at you is that we do have a mostly American and English-speaking user base, and Americans still have the image of the Latin lover,' Wattenberg told Live Science.
'These names are Italian and Spanish and French. You can even go Russian, with Dmitri.'
Old school boy’s names also topped the unsexiest boys name list, with Howard, Norman and Bob included in the top five.
Wattenberg says these names are less attractive because they’re too ‘ordinary’ and some feel ‘old and ‘clunky’. Old-fashioned named Gertrude and Bertha made the top five most unattractive girls names list, as did Agnes.
The double consonants in the middle of some sound heavy.
'Sexiness isn't a universal positive in a name,' wrote Wattenburg. 'Every name style comes with trade-offs, and what sounds good on a lingerie label may not serve as well for a salesperson or aspiring politician.'
These results are based on ratings from Namipedia visitors, the majority of whom are female. 'It's certainly possible that an all-male panel would choose differently,' said Wattenburg.
1 | Alessandro | Scarlett |
2 | Lorenzo | Nicolette |
3 | Rhett | Natalia |
4 | Romeo | Anaïs |
5 | Mateo | Paulina |
6 | Dimitri | Alessandra |
7 | Dane | Chanel |
8 | Marcelo | Soraya |
9 | Dante | Adrianna |
10 | Rémy | Giuliana |
1 | Bob | Gertrude |
2 | Ernest | Bertha |
3 | Norman | Agnes |
4 | Dick | Ethel |
5 | Howard | Mildred |