WHAT’S IN A name? Well, more than you’d think , if the latest data analysis from LinkedIn is anything to go by.

The social networking site has examined the top CEO names around the world to find which monikers have made it into a corner office with a view of the park, and it has found that naming your baby Tony could see him rise to the top of the pile in Ireland. LinkedIn says that Tony is the most ‘over-represented’ name among Irish CEOs. The top female name has not been determined, but globally it’s Deborah, so that’s worth a shot.

The top five male CEO names around the world are Peter, Bob, Jack, Bruce and Fred, while Deborah, Sally, Debra, Cynthia and Carolyn top the female CEO list. LinkedIn has also found that male bosses are more likely to shorten their names, perhaps to give an impression of openness and approachability. Female CEOs, on the other hand, tend to stick to their full names.

Tony’s counterpart in the UK is  more likely to be named Charles. In France it’s Gilles, in India it’s Rajiv and in Australia your CEO is more likely to be called Bruce.

LinkedIn examined its database of 100 million users to come up with these findings. The site allows users to create a profile based on their work experience, position within a company etc. Other interesting finds include the overwhelming presence of French names in the global list for names in restaurants and food services. The top five are Thierry, Philippe, Laurent, Christophe and Alain. Although, as Fast Company points out, this could say more about global LinkedIn usage than anything else.

Other top names include Billy, Darrell and Pete for law enforcement and Emma and Katie for human resources, while Ryan, Matt and Jessica might be expected to show promise in athletics. It is worth bearing in mind that a lot of the data analysed only reflects the LinkedIn profiles of US users.