By Emily Goddard

Jonathan_Brownlee18-07-11July 26 - It has long been accepted that the first name given to a new baby can have a lasting impact on their future prospects, but new research has revealed if you want to make the grade when it comes to the upcoming London 2012 Games, you stand a far better chance if you're called John or Katherine.


The study, which was conducted by official short break provider of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Thomas Cook, found that of all the British Olympic individual medal winners in the last century there are definite trends when it comes to the names of the country's top athletes.

And boding well for the London Games, British hopefuls such as diving sensation Tom Daley, cyclist Chris Hoy, triathlete Jonathon Brownlee (pictured), rower Katherine Grainger, long distance runner Helen Clitheroe, and Mary King for equestrian eventing are all in good company as their names make the top ten.

"With over 1,070 medals won by individual Brits since the games in 1912, we felt there had to be some trends and there were definite names which were repeated time after time," said Stephen Vaughan, managing director of Thomas Cook UK & Ireland.

"Thankfully they are names which can be seen in our current list of Olympic hopefuls - so it bodes well as a sign of great medal potential at the London 2012 Games.

"But athletes with more unusual names need not be concerned - there have been plenty of one-off successes - from Linford and Oswald, to Cecil and Leonard."

Top performing Olympic boys' names:
1             -               John/Jonathan/Jonny
2             -               William
3             -               David
4             -               Tom/Thomas/Tommy
5             -               Robert
6             -               Richard
7             -               Charles
8             -               James/Jamie
9             -               Chris/Kriss
10           -               Steve/Stephen

Top performing Olympic girls' names:
1             -               Katherine/Kate/Cath
2             -               Mary
3             -               Helen
4             -               Ann/Anne
5             -               Sarah
6             -               Dorothy
7             -               Wendy
8             -               Sharon/Sharron
9             -               Joanne
10           -               Margaret

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