On Name Distinctiveness and Stock Market Performance

This study seeks to establish that having a distinct name can help firms attract investors’ attention, leading to better stock market performance. Furthermore, we examine the moderating effects of firm size, firm age, industry size, and industry performance. By studying all publicly traded firms in both CRSP and Compustat, our results show that there is a positive relationship between firm name distinctiveness and firm annual stock return, and this relationship is stronger for younger firms, small firms, firms in small industries, and firms in high-performance industries. Supplemental analyses are performed to address the endogeneity issue.