Most used FIRST names in VHL history

[Victor 10,940]

You thought I had milked all I could from my list of my most common last names in VHL history? Think again, for that list provides a wonderful alternative – most popular FIRST names in VHL history!

 

On this occasion I will not list out every player to have played in the VHL but instead focus on some of the big hitters. I will also caveat that I did not add any new VHL players who debuted in S93 so apologies if the totals for some of these popular names need to be adjusted slightly (although I'd be amazed if it was by more than 1 or 2). If you do want the full list, then it is available at the link below.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FsUQv-rCKu6bI3y0KCfQVUwJvcBlYH3mWl8iF2Kt5Js/edit?usp=sharing

 

Alex (20) and Alexander (21)

Well we have a clear runaway winner. 41 Alexs/Alexanders have graced the VHL (nearly 2% of all VHL players ever). 8 of them are in the Hall of Fame (approximately 5% of the Hall). 3 of them have trophies named after them – Chershenko in the VHLM and the Beketov and Valiq in the VHL. It's a pretty good name to have in hockey (see Ovechkin, Mogilny, and to a lesser extent Radulov). It's only the 44th most popular male name in the US in the last 100 years but as evidenced by the list above, it has a more international impact across Europe especially.

 

Anyway, you guys want me to type out the full list? Of course you do. *deep breath*

 

Abraham, Beketov, Brandner, Buturlin, Carter, Chershenko, Davidson, Deslauries, the Great (good on him making it some 2,350 years after his death), Johnston, Kharlamov, Khavanov, Labatte, Letang, McNeil, Minion, Murphy, Parise, Pearson, Pepper, Povenofsky, Randoulov, Rawnsley (he was actually a CPU but it's not like any other name is particularly close anyway), Sauve, Sclafani, Staal, Stokes, Stoyanovich, Stroheim, Thrower, Torjano, Valiq, Watson, Yengeni, Young, and finally Kachur (twice), Gegeny (twice as well) and Bridges (also twice).

These guys will take some time to dislodge from the top.

 

David (22)

We do have a nearly one-man attempt to challenge the Alex/Alexander supremacy. In fact, if you split those two, they actually finish just below David, the name which former commissioner David @Knight uses to name all his players. He accounts for nearly half of the 22-man roster with 9 Davids – the Hall of Famers Smalling, Henman, Night, and Walcott and also Blind, Hamilton, Januzaj, Knight himself, and now Rashford. So long as he keeps going, the Alexanders can not get too complacent.

 

John (17) and Jon (9)

I'm going to stick this one below David because it's a bit more controversial than combining Alex and Alexander – Jon can be Jonathan and that's less likely to be John although these could be the same name sometimes. More importantly, despite 28 of Johns and Jons over the years, there is not too much quality in their ranks. There's just the 1 Hall of Famer – Locke and only a handful of notable players otherwise with Sleeman and Frostbeard in the level below Locke and Jameson who should be this group's second entry into the Hall.

 

Michael (15) , Mike (3), and Mikey (3)... and Mikael? (3)

Quite a mix here, depending on where you draw the line on what counts as a Michael – in any case it doesn't move them up or down from fourth place. The Michaels on their own don't have much star power but when you add in Mikes you get both Szatkowski and Szatkowski Jr and suddenly this group is looking a lot more glamorous.

 

Matt (13) and Matthew (7)

A more straightforward combination – Matthew straight from the Bible and the shorter version, Matt. We have the three most similarly sounding Hall of Famers here – Bentz, Bailey, and Bentley, and also Pogge, Thompson, and Defosse for a very strong ratio of Hall of Famers to players (6 out of 20). So clearly this is a good name to have if you want to make a real impact in the league.

 

Ryan (17)

The good thing about Ryan is that there isn't really any alternative so we know for a fact there are 17 of them not being grouped with anyone else. One of them is actually just called Ryan with no last name which I think is something unique for this article. There's no Gosling vs Reynolds dynamic in the VHL – the clear leader is lone Hall of Famer Sullivan (the original) although there is also erstwhile all-time TPE leader Kastelic and other noteworthy players.

 

Jeff and Jack – 15 each

These two names aren't actually the same name, but they're just joint seventh in this list (unless we add Jack together with John which we are not going to do). None of the Jacks have made the Hall of Fame or have been close with the most successful probably being Shephard, although O'Riley, Sound, and Kowalski were also above average players in their time. The Jeffs have a bit more sparkle with Hamilton and the second Downey in the Hall. Both names can more up quickly to catch up to the Ryans and the Matts in due course.

 

That's about as far down the list as I'm willing to go for my own sanity. Other points to note on the list are the David-like effort by his brother Phil to drag that name up the ranking, although unlike David, @Phil has had no help as I believe all 10 players are his (but we know an eleventh is just around the corner). The 10 Shawns in the meantime are primarily the work of TheLastOlympian (Brodeur, Gretzky, Howard, Muller, and Zyuzin) and 3 Shawn Glades. Mildly amusing is the fact “The” ranks in midtable with 9 appearances thanks to The Charm, The Loch Ness Monster, The Mediocre One, The Process, The Seabasstard, The Board Game Clue on Skates, The Terrible Trivium and current star The Frenchman who is en route to be their first Hall of Famer. I think that's as much content as I can get out of this list, for now anyway.

[Enorama 2,038]

15 minutes ago, Victor said:

Ryan (17)

 

Gunning for the lead by 2035

[Banackock 8,044]

Lame names tbh

[Ahma 1,428]

DAVID!

[Lemorse7 1,014]

46 minutes ago, Victor said:

Alex (20) and Alexander (21)

prob can added all the alexandre alesandro to that number too 

[Knight 1,289]

Need some more David's to topple the evil Alex's.

[Victor 10,940]

1 hour ago, Lemorse7 said:

prob can added all the alexandre alesandro to that number too 

True. Untouchable dominance.

[Victor 10,940]

Week 2 of 2

[OrbitingDeath 3,183]

Go team 'The' 

[Gustav 6,406]

My favorite VHL first name fact is that Jerry Garcia and Jerry Wang were (when they played) the only players ever to be named Jerry and were also briefly teammates.