How do you remember names?

@TheHorse (218463)
Walnut Creek, California
September 27, 2017 9:21am CST
I'm not that great at remembering names, But I can do so if I put my mind to it. A new couple moved into our apartment complex, along with their 12-year-old daughter. They have slightly unusual names, since they are from Bulgaria. I am able to remember the daughter's name because it's "yes" in Croatian, followed by the name of an accounting company. The parents happen to have the same names as the male and female protagonists in one of my favorite novels. Usually I try to think of a friend who has the same name as someone I meet, but that's hard when so many people I'm interacting with these days are Indian, Eastern European, or Israeli. Do you remember names well? What's your method?
13 people like this
19 responses
@shubhu3 (36463)
• New Delhi, India
27 Sep 17
I am able to remember by remembering and associating with the faces.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
I can't do that. What about the face makes you remember a name?
1 person likes this
@shubhu3 (36463)
• New Delhi, India
28 Sep 17
@TheHorse May be the smile or eyes of a person. Never noticed much.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
@shubhu3 I'd remember those things but not the name.
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@m_audrey6788 (58472)
• Germany
27 Sep 17
I got memory problems but I can remember names if they are commonly bothering me
3 people like this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
Oh dear! Well, there are certain names I'll never forget, like the lady who read-ended me near Martinsville at a red light on the the "highway" between Indianapolis and Bloomington Indiana. I'll also never forget her words. "I woke up and all I saw was the word 'Toyota.'" That was on the tailgate of my pick-up truck.
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• Germany
28 Sep 17
@thehousewife @TheHorse So true ..It just comes so natural in my memory bank without any effort in doing it
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Sep 17
Noooo! I am terrible at names.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
Sometimes I feel like I am too. But it's all in my own hands.
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
27 Sep 17
I am the worst at remembering people's names.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
I have to make a conscious effort in most cases.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130218)
• Israel
10 Oct 17
I used to remember names. I remember the last job I worked at before I traveled and moved to Israel I never met the people before but I could remember all the people that called. They were so impressed, but, now it takes me some time to remember someone's name if I forgot it. I am better at faces than names these days.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Oct 17
Israeli names give me a pain, because I am (or was) unfamiliar with them, but now I'm getting used to all of my Noahs, Noas, Ellas, Moshes, Yaels, etc.
@Hannihar (130218)
• Israel
10 Oct 17
@TheHorse The Horse, it did not happen in Israel. Why did you say Israel names?
@spiderdust (14761)
• San Jose, California
27 Sep 17
I remember faces more than I remember names.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
I remember faces more than I remember names on MyLot!
2 people like this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
@spiderdust But remember my pretend face! I'm a nerdy science teacher. And I am!
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14761)
• San Jose, California
28 Sep 17
@TheHorse That too! And half of the people don't actually have their faces as an avatar!
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79648)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
27 Sep 17
I remember names fairly well. I like to train my brain. When I am in the mood I take out some old photo albums and attempt to remember the names of all of the people in the photos whether they are still alive or not. I am usually successful.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
Oh, I can remember names from my distant past. But now, the world is a blur....
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@MALUSE (69373)
• Germany
28 Sep 17
I just can remember names but my husband can't.
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@MALUSE (69373)
• Germany
28 Sep 17
@TheHorse He does and he does. When I was still a teacher, he always claimed that I remembered names so well because I called pupils' names all day long. But that isn' a convincing explanation. I remember a colleague who once told me that a holiday/vacation of one week was enough for him to stand in front of a group of strangers. He couldn't remember a single name.
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
Does he not bother? Or is it something he wishes he could do better?
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
28 Sep 17
The older I get the more my memory slips. Usually I can remember names, but I find there are times when I don't.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
Sometimes I just don't bother, like when I don't think I'll meet the person again.
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@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
28 Sep 17
@TheHorse I know what you mean
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
27 Sep 17
I try to and usually I am pretty good at remembering.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
What techniques do you use? Or does it just come naturally?
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
28 Sep 17
@TheHorse usually it comes naturally, or I come up with nicknames
@kavinitu (5535)
• India
27 Sep 17
The main reason is lack of listening power. Yes, that's the reason we do not remember anyone's name. Our attention is needed when someone tells their name.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
A person can be a good listener and still not remember the name. I can recall entire conversations, and the face and clothes of the person, but not the name.
1 person likes this
• Nairobi, Kenya
27 Sep 17
I am also prone to forgetting names. Unless I have a short conversation with someone new that might last 5 mins, I will most likely forget their name.
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@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
I have to make a conscious effort to remember someone's name.
• Nairobi, Kenya
28 Sep 17
@TheHorse conscious effort! That sounds tough to me. I might say 'the guy in the green sweater'..., then I will remember the name. Like someone told me his name is Gideon. Then I completely forgot. Two months later he asked me if I could remember his name. I told him no but I asked him to tell me the first letter and that is how I rememberd. He asked me how I rememberd. I told him that his name sounded like bible names such as Goliath. :)
@rubyriaz007 (4188)
• India
28 Sep 17
I am good at remembering names,though I forget somethings ...
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 17
Do you have particular techniques that you use?
@nangayo (2290)
• Nairobi, Kenya
28 Sep 17
I have a problem in remembering names. I have two nieces who are fraternal twins. I have tried to remember their names but I always call them the wrong names yet they are very different one is tall and fat the other is short and slim. I give up.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Oct 17
How often do you see them?
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@nangayo (2290)
• Nairobi, Kenya
10 Oct 17
@TheHorse Not very often maybe during the holidays only. My daughters do not understand just why i cannot remember their cousins names. They always correct me infact i now have to describe by the way they look, the short one or the tall one.
@CinnamonGrl (7084)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
27 Sep 17
I'm pretty bad at remembering names, unless there is some easy association with something or someone else. I remembered our new neighbors' names right away simply because her name is the same as mine and the husband's is the same as my son in law. I love when that happens, LOL
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Oct 17
Heh. My new neighbor kid, who is friends with my child laborer, has a name that is da+(an accounting firm). Her parents have the names of the adult protagonists in my favorite novel. Whew.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137257)
• United States
28 Sep 17
Names are particularly difficult for me to remember, pony. There are many people I have worked with for years that I can't tell you a first name for them, while most of them know my name, even if they have never actually met me.... *shrug!* I am much better at remembering faces than I am at remembering a name... If I really work at it, I can usually remember someone's name three out of five times...
@Scrapper88 (5983)
• United States
27 Sep 17
Sometimes; I have to hear the name several times before I can remember it.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218463)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Oct 17
I have to tie it in with someone I know.
1 person likes this
• Mombasa, Kenya
10 Oct 17
Am choosy, like if I want to remember I will, if am not interested, I forget almost immediately
@vvvbbb (20)
8 Nov 17
I connect a person's face to his name, But I guess you can also link a name to an object or a name to a movie (for example) and so on ...