Urologist Adam Weiner, runner Usain Bolt: can a last name determine your job?

Weiner’s name is an example of an aptronym, one that perfectly fits its owner. Which, as many of his patients have noted, raises a burning question: did his name influence his choice of career? That touches on the concept of what’s called nominative determinism, the controversial idea that a person’s name can influence their choices. (Turns out, urology is a particularly rich field: when New Scientist magazine began exploring nominative determinism in the 90s, two key examples were experts named Splatt and Weedon.)