We Analyzed Names on Forbes’ New Richest List

Updated Tue Nov 19 2019

If you’re hoping your baby girl grows up to be a self-made billionaire, you might look for naming inspiration to Forbes‘ lastest list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.

Those who believe in the power of names to shape a child’s future may be disappointed in many of the names in this collection. The exceptions tend to be those who made their names — and their millions — in the entertainment industry. Madonna, who ranks Number on this list, has been quoted as saying that having a special name made her feel like she was destined for stardom.

(The three adorable little girls pictured here are the daughters or nieces of two of the women on the list, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian West. They are, left to right, Chicago (daughter of Kim), True (daughter of Khloe), and Stormi (daughter of Kylie).

But many of the women who found success by starting companies or creating innovative products have the same everyday names — Diane, Judy, Kathy — as your non-billionaire neighbors and classmates.

The larger message: You don’t need to give your daughter an extraordinary name for her to have an extraordinary life.

Here, the first names of the women on Forbes‘ list, ordered from richest to still pretty darn rich. Go here to read more about them and how they earned their money.

About the Author

Pamela Redmond

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Pamela Redmond is the cocreator and CEO of Nameberry and Baby Name DNA. The coauthor of ten groundbreaking books on names, Redmond is an internationally-recognized baby name expert, quoted and published widely in such media outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. She has written about baby names for The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and People.

Redmond is also a New York Times bestselling novelist whose books include Younger, the basis for the hit television show, and its sequel, Older. She has three new books in the works.

Introducing the Nameberry App

Find your perfect baby name together with our new mobile app.

Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
Names you match on are saved to your shared list
Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.

Introducing the Nameberry App

Find your perfect baby name together with our new mobile app.

Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
Names you match on are saved to your shared list
Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.