# Not good with names? Not good with faces?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-good-with-names-not-good-with-faces/182813>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 18, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-good-with-names-not-good-with-faces/182813 "2003-06-18T23:49:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-good-with-names-not-good-with-faces/182813/21 "2003-06-21T02:16:51Z")

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I am so horrible with names - I recognize the faces, and generally can place them as to the last time I saw them (work, gym, soccer game, whatever).  
I’ve tried some tricks such as “he’s Dan, the Man who manages our 401(K)” – no luck. If I had my druthers, we would all wear name tags.

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**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-good-with-names-not-good-with-faces/182813/22 "2003-06-21T05:56:30Z")

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I force myself to use the name in the conversation right after meeting them, and again later, and end, “Bye Melinda!”. No guarantee, but it makes a difference.

(bad with both)

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-good-with-names-not-good-with-faces/182813/23 "2003-06-22T22:01:15Z")

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I’m probably pretty good with names if I have something to associate them with.

It doesn’t do any good to introduce me to someone and tell me their name, though, because all I’ll get is name + visual appearance, and visual appearance is out the window 35 seconds after I quit looking at them. I’d be doing unusually well to recall whether or not they had hair.

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