A Boy Named Sue Is a Boy Named Sue Is ...

Having an unusual name might not ruin your life, science blogger John Marion Tierney writes in the New York Times. Some new studies show that having an embarrassing name has less of an impact on future success than previously thought—and might even be helpful, because dealing with the needling can toughen you up. Tierney calls it the "Boy Named Sue paradigm."

“Names only have a significant influence when that is the only thing you know about the person,” says a psychologist. The authors of a new book called simply Bad Baby Names interview a host of people with truly awful monikers: Candy Stohr, Cash Guy, Mary Christmas, River Jordan, and Rasp Berry. “They were very proud of their names, almost overly proud,” says one of the authors. (More name stories.)