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CHAPTER XI
HOW TO REMEMBER NAMES.
The phase of memory connected with the remembrance or recollection of names
probably is of greater interest to the majority of persons than are any of the
associated phases of the subject On all hands are to be found people who are
embarrassed by their failure to recall the name of some one whom they feel they
know, but whose name has escaped them. This failure to remember the names of
persons undoubtedly interferes with the business and professional success of
many persons; and, on the other hand, the ability to recall names readily has
aided many persons in the struggle for success. It would seem that there are a
greater number of persons deficient in this phase of memory than in any other.
As Holbrook has said: "The memory of names is a subject with which most persons
must have a more than passing interest. . . .The number of persons who never or
rarely forget a name is exceedingly small, the number of those who have a poor
memory for them is very large. The reason for this is partly a defect of mental
development and partly a matter of habit. In either case it may be overcome by
effort. . . I have satisfied myself by experience and observation that a memory
for names may be increased not only two, but a hundredfold."
You will find that the majority of successful men have been able to recall the
faces and names of those with whom they came in contact, and it is an
interesting subject for speculation as to just how much of their success was due
to this faculty. Socrates is said to have easily remembered the names of all of
his students, and his classes numbered thousands in the course of a year.
Xenophon is said to have known the name of every one of his soldiers, which
faculty was shared by Washington and Napoleon, also. Trajan is said to have
known the names of all the Praetorian Guards, numbering about 12,000. Pericles
knew the face and name of every one of the citizens of Athens. Cineas is said to
have known the names of all the citizens of Rome. Themistocles knew the names
of 20,-000 Athenians. Lucius Scipio could call by name every citizen of Rome.
John Wesley could recall the names of thousands of persons whom he had met in
his travels. Henry Clay was specially developed in this phase of memory, and
there was a tradition among his followers that he remembered every one whom he
met. Blaine had a similar reputation.
There have been many theories advanced, and explanations offered to account for
the fact that the recollection of names is far more difficult than any other
form of the activities of the memory. We shall not take up your time in going
over these theories, but shall proceed upon the theory now generally accepted by
the best authorities; i. e. that the difficulty in the recollection of names is
caused by the fact that names in themselves are uninteresting and therefore do
not attract or hold the attention as do other objects presented to the mind.
There is of course to be remembered the fact that sound impressions are apt to
be more difficult of recollection than sight impressions, but the lack of
interesting qualities in names is believed to be the principal obstacle and
difficulty. Fuller says of this matter: "A proper noun, or name, when considered
independently of accidental features of coincidence with something that is
familiar, doesn't mean anything; for this reason a mental picture of it is not
easily formed, which accounts for the fact that the primitive, tedious way of
rote, or repetition, is that ordinarily employed to impress a proper noun on the
memory, while a common noun, being represented by some object having shape, or
appearance, in the physical or mental perception, can thus be seen or imagined:
in other words a mental image of it can be formed and the name identified
afterwards, through associating it with this mental image." We think that the
case is fully stated in this quotation.
But in spite of this difficulty, persons have and can greatly improve their
memory of names. Many who were originally very deficient in this respect have
not only improved the faculty far beyond its former condition, but have also
developed exceptional ability in this special phase of memory so that they
became noted for their unfailing recollection of the names of those with whom
they came in contact.
Perhaps the best way to impress upon you the various methods that may be used
for this purpose would be to relate to you the actual experience of a gentleman
employed in a bank in one of the large cities of this country, who made a close
study of the subject and developed himself far beyond the ordinary. Starting
with a remarkably poor memory for names, he is now known to his associates as "
the man who never forgets a name." This gentleman first took a number of "
courses" in secret "methods" of developing the memory; but after thus spending
much money he expressed his disgust with the whole idea of artificial memory
training. He then started in to study the subject from the point-of-view of
The New Psychology, putting into effect all of the tested principles, and
improving upon some of their details. We have had a number of conversations
with this gentleman, and have found that his experience confirms many of our own
ideas and theories, and the fact that he has demonstrated the correctness of
the principles to such a remarkable degree renders his case one worthy of being
stated in the direction of affording a guide and "method" for others who wish to
develop their memory of names.
The gentleman, whom we shall call "Mr. X.," decided that the first thing for him
to do was to develop his faculty of receiving clear and distinct sound
impressions. In doing this he followed the plan outlined by us in our chapter on
" Training the Ear." He persevered and practiced along these lines until his "
hearing" became very acute. He made a study of voices, until he could classify
them and analyze their characteristics. Then he found that he could hear names
in a manner before impossible to him. That is, instead of merely catching a
vague sound of a name, he would hear it so clearly and distinctly that a firm
registration would be obtained on the records of his memory. For the first time
in his life names began to mean something to him. He paid attention to every
name he heard, just as he did to every note he handled. He would repeat a name
to himself, after hearing it, and would thus strengthen the impression. If he
came across an unusual name, he would write it down several times, at the first
opportunity, thus obtaining the benefit of a double sense impression, adding eye
impression to ear impression. All this, of course, aroused his interest in the
subject of names in general, which led him to the next step in his progress.
Mr. X. then began to study names, their origin, their peculiarities, their
differences, points of resemblances, etc. He made a hobby of names, and evinced
all the joy of a collector when he was able to stick the pin of attention
through the specimen of a new and unfamiliar species of name. He began to
collect names, just as others collect beetles, stamps, coins, etc., and took
quite a pride in his collection and in his knowledge of the subject. He read
books on names, from the libraries, giving their origin, etc. He had the
Dickens' delight in "queer" names, and would amuse his friends by relating the
funny names he had seen on signs, and otherwise. He took a small City Directory
home with him, and would run over the pages in the evening, looking up new
names, and classifying old ones into groups. He found that some names were
derived from animals, and put these into a class by themselvesthe Lyons, Wolfs,
Foxes, Lambs, Hares, etc. Others were put into the color groupBlacks, Greens,
Whites, Greys, Blues, etc. Others belonged to the bird familyCrows, Hawks,
Birds, Drakes, Cranes, Doves, Jays, etc. Others belonged to tradesMillers,
Smiths, Coopers, Maltsters, Carpenters, Bakers, Painters, etc Others were
treesChestnuts, Oakleys, Walnuts, Cherrys, Pines, etc. Then there were Hills and
Dales; Fields and Mountains; Lanes and Brooks. Some were Strong; others were
Gay; others were Savage; others Noble. And so on. It would take a whole book to
tell you what that man found out about names. He came near becoming a "crank" on
the subject. But his hobby began to manifest excellent results, for his
interest had been awakened to an unusual degree, and he was becoming very
proficient in his recollection of names, for they now meant something to him. He
easily recalled all the regular customers at his bank,quite a number by the way
for the bank was a large oneand many occasional depositors were delighted to
have themselves called by name by our friend. Occasionally he would meet with a
name that balked him, in which case he would repeat it over to himself, and
write it a number of times until he had mastered itafter that it never escaped
him.
Mr. X. would always repeat a name when it was spoken, and would at the same time
look intently at the person bearing it, thus seeming to fix the two together in
his mind at the same timewhen he wanted them they would be found in each
other's company. He also acquired the habit of visualizing the name that is, he
would see its letters in his mind's eye, as a picture. This he regarded as a
most important point, and we thoroughly agree with him. He used the Law of
Association in the direction of associating a new man with a well-remembered man
of the same name. A new Mr. Schmidtzenberger would be associated with an old
customer of the same namewhen he would see the new man, he would think of the
old one, and the name would flash into his mind. To sum up the whole method,
however, it may be said that the gist of the thing was in taking an interest in
names in general. In this way an uninteresting subject was made interestingand a
man always has a good memory for the things in which he is interested.
The case of Mr. X. is an extreme oneand the results obtained were beyond the
ordinary. But if you will take a leaf from his book, you may obtain the same
results in the degree that you work for it. Make a study of namesstart a
collectionand you will have no trouble in developing a memory for them. This
is the whole thing in a nut-shell.
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