# Tips for Remembering Names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786 "2008-04-03T13:19:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786/21 "2008-04-04T20:54:37Z")
Imagine the name written across the person’s forehead in sharpie. I don’t know why, but this works for me. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786/22 "2008-04-04T21:19:03Z")
[QUOTE=ChiefScott] Or “Buddy,” or “Sweetheart,” or "Honey, or “Friend,” or, as we did in the Navy, “Shipmate.” [/QUOTE] Come on, level with us. After a few weeks at sea, you start calling them “Sweetheart” as well, right? ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786/23 "2008-04-07T02:11:43Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] I disagree. IMHO, making an excuse before you even _try_ to learn themselves is, well, giving yourself a prefabbed excuse for forgetting. Better to think positive. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I do think positiive, and I also practice what I preach. Rather than use it as an excuse as to why I don’t remember it, I simply ask them their name again. I also try to use it frequently out loud, and I also associate it with something. i.e. I receive an allergy shot from ‘Cheryl’, which is also my SIL’s name. I’ve never forgotten her name. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2008, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786/24 "2008-04-07T10:59:51Z")
[Here](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/Careers/07/22/names/) are some tips. Of those listed I usually #2 and #6. I also keep notes of meetings where I list the names of the people in the meetings. This often lets me go back and check (if I can remember which meeting I met the person.) ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786/25 "2008-04-07T11:45:27Z")
Thanks everyone. I’ll try some of these and see what works for me. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786/26 "2008-04-07T12:28:53Z")
I’m bad with names and freely admit it to people. Oddly enough, I can remember people’s Chinese surnames usually much better than English ones. I use a PDA/phone. I take some pretty detailed descriptions in my address book. It’s with me all the time. See a customer out smoking a cigarette but can’t remember his name, I search in the PDA for the company or last name or some mnemonic, and it usually pops up with “Andrew” and I’m off. “Dude” works well too. Especially if you’re like I am and the name eventually comes up during the conversation. “Hey Dan, it was great talking to you. See you soon” kinda thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-remembering-names/443786.md?page=1)