What's In a Name?

An analysis of the names of candidates for jobs in London’s financial services sector has revealed a potential shift in the social background of City employees in the last decade. There has been a dramatic increase in names such as Donna, Charmain, Wayne and Sharon. These made up 4.9% of overall workers in 1998, but this figure rose to 9.3% in 2007 according to research carried out by City head-hunter Joslin Rowe.

Dev Majithia, associate director of Joslin Rowe,  said: “The City is becoming ever more meritocratic - but it’s not the smart set who are losing out. London’s financial services sector is now drawing workers from social classes formerly excluded by its elitist image. But the country’s top public schools still contribute a significant number of workers to the City.”

In 1998, so called upper class names (such as Quentin, Hermione and Henrietta) accounted for around 2.9% of the total City workforce. In 2007, the proportion rose to 4.1%.

 The figures also reveal a large expansion in the City’s international workforce. The number of international workers in the Square Mile has grown from 8% in 1998 to almost 21% in 2007. The financial services sector has been recruiting from Western Europe for many years - Ditte and Monique are amongst the most common foreign names in the City. But the top female names now include Elena, Natalia, and Kristina - as City firms increasingly look to Eastern Europe for top financial talent.

Dev Majithia, explains: “After the enlargement of the EU in 2004 the number of Eastern European workers in the UK turned from a trickle into a gush. Since then 580,000 people from Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia have registered to work in the UK. It’s clear they’re not all plumbers. The number of Polish accountants registering to work, for instance, had risen sixfold since 2003 – to almost 3,500 last year.”

The most common male foreign first names were Marco, Arnaud and Pieter in 2007, while Ling also rose into the top ten for the first time, highlighting the increasing importance of Chinese talent. French names were most prevalent in 2007 however, with Marc, Sebastien, Guillaume and Gregoire joining Arnaud in the top 20.

Dev Majithia, Associate Director of Joslin Rowe, explains: “With the City’s current emphasis on Dubai, Mumbai and Shanghai, it’s all too easy to forget the massive number of well-to-do French expats working in the Square Mile. There are 300,000 French citizens living in Britain today with the majority living here in London – unbelievably our capital is now the seventh largest French city in the world in terms of the resident French population. We think there are now about 65,000 French people working in financial services in London.”

There has also been a noticeable increase in the number of candidates with ‘Australian’ first names. There were 125 candidates named Kylie looking for jobs in the City last year – but Joslin Rowe had none on their books back in 1998. More than 1% of candidates for City jobs now sport Australian forenames, such as Lachlan – the second most common boys’ name Down Under – and Caitlin, which features consistently in the top ten names for girls. There are currently around 5,000 Australian chartered accountants in London, including 2,479 Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia members.