The name John has not been traditionally associated with good luck (Dear John, John Doe) but for Lotto gamblers, it appears to be the luckiest.
Since 2006, 21 people called John have won top Lotto prizes over $100,000, trailed by 14 Davids and 10 Pauls. Peter, James, Graham and Susan all came fourth, with nine top prizes each.
"If you aren't lucky enough to be called John, you could form a syndicate with a more fortunately named friend, and why not invite David and Paul too?" suggests NZ Lotteries chief executive Todd McLeay (whose name, incidentally, is not particularly lucky, with only one winner called Todd).
The commission researched all prizes over $100,000 since 2006 to find out the luckiest names to mark its Father's Day promotion.
Spokesperson Victoria Barton-Chapple said it was unclear why men appeared to be so much luckier than women, when all their evidence indicated that both genders brought tickets equally.
"Maybe they're the ones who claim the money," she suggested, or most customers were in an older age group, where men may have more responsibility for money. "Or maybe the men are just the luckiest."
Boys
John (21)
David (14)
Paul (10)
Peter, James, Graham (9)
Robert, Phillip, Chris (8)
Girls
Susan (9)
Jacqueline (7)
Jan, Anne, Patricia, Maria, Mary (5)
Karen, Janice, Elizabeth, Alison (4)
Ethel, Kathy, Linda, Natasha, Helen (3)
