New Tool Reveals Common Marriage Name Pairings and Surprising Matches
An interactive website analyzes millions of US couples' names to show who people tend to marry and which name combinations are statistically rare but frequent.
A new interactive tool, dubbed 'Who Wed Who,' created by American software engineer Riley Waltz, allows users to explore name-pairing trends in marriages across the United States. The tool, built using data from over six million married couples sourced from the wedding registry The Knot, reveals common and surprisingly frequent pairings for both first and last names.
Users can input a first or last name on Waltz's website to see lists of names that people with that name most commonly marry. The tool also highlights name pairings that occur with a significantly higher frequency than chance would suggest.
For example, individuals named Rose are shown to commonly marry men named John, Michael, David, Chris, and Daniel. More strikingly, they have a 162 times higher chance of marrying someone named Frantz, a 96 times higher chance of marrying a Mayme, and a 53 times higher chance of marrying a Claudio.
Surname data reveals that individuals with the last name Best frequently marry people with surnames such as Smith, Brown, Johnson, White, and Miller. The tool also indicates that Bests marry Axtells 299 times more often than expected by chance, Suggs 95 times more often, Bledsoes 63 times more often, and Prescotts 54 times more often.
The tool also identifies the most popular couple names and surname pairings nationwide. Jessica and Michael lead the list of most common first name pairs, followed by Michael and Sarah, Ashley and Michael, Amanda and Michael, and Jennifer and Michael. Other frequent pairings include Jessica and Matthew, Emily and Michael, Lauren and Michael, Jessica and Ryan, Ashley and Ryan, Ryan and Sarah, and Ashley and Matthew.
Regarding surnames, Jones and Smith are the most common pairing, with Johnson and Smith, Kim and Lee, Brown and Smith, and Smith and Williams also appearing frequently.
The 'Who Wed Who' tool has gained traction on social media platforms, with users sharing their results and reactions. Many have expressed amusement and surprise at the data, with some noting that their partners appeared on the 'surprisingly often' lists or were the top match for their name.