Does your car have a name? If so, you belong to the 42 percent of people who give their cars a name. Most popular car names? Betsy and Betty. Which is no surprise if you consider that of the 74 percent of car owners who believe their car has a gender, 53 percent identify that gender as female. So says the National Name Your Car Day survey by Capital One, in honor of, yes, National Name Your Car Day, October 2.
The survey, in which 2,000 licensed drivers took part, found that almost a quarter of car owners form a strong emotional bond with their cars, which may be why they name them. Most car owners wait a month, however, to get an idea of the car’s personality. It’s apparently the only way to come up with a car name that suits.
Naming Cars: A Fun Thing to Do
Don’t worry about the mental health of those who choose to name their cars. They aren’t getting too serious about this stuff. The vast majority of car owners who name their cars—57 percent—say it’s simply a fun thing to do.
In terms of inspiration, most people choose a car name that echoes a favorite movie or television character (19 percent), while 13 percent name their cars after a friend or family member. Women more often name their cars than men (56 versus 44 percent), while one in five of those who name their cars are from the South, followed by an almost equal number of car owners hailing from the West Coast.
Time to Name Your Car
With October just around the corner, it’s time to begin thinking about what to name your car, if you haven’t yet done so. Looking for ideas and inspiration? Try the Car Name Generator. It told this author her car’s rightful name is meant to be “Chelsea.”
And here I thought it was a boy.
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