HOCKEY NAME LENGTH ANALYSIS

Do NHL goalies have shorter last names than skaters? We compared over 5,000 NHL player names to find out.

Goalies and skaters have nearly identical name lengths. Goalies average 6.85 letters per last name, while skaters average 6.92 letters.

Both groups peak at 6-7 letter names, which make up over 40% of all players. The middle length (7 letters) is exactly the same for both positions.

The real difference shows up in the longest names. The longest skater name stretches to 19 characters, while goalies max out at 13 characters. This means skaters have more variety in very long names, but the vast majority of players in both groups fall into the same length range.

Looking at the full range of name lengths, skaters have names ranging from 3 to 19 letters, while goalies range from 3 to 13 letters. The spread is wider for skaters, but both groups cluster tightly around the 6-7 letter range.

Both groups have plenty of short names like ‘Roy’ and ‘Aho’ (3 letters) and common 6-letter names like ‘Bailey’ and ‘Albert’.

The longest goalie last names include ‘Beckford-Tseu’ and ‘Vanbiesbrouck’ (13 letters), while skaters can have much longer last names like ‘Martinsen Lilleberg’ (19 letters).

Counting very long names (10+ letters) shows skaters have 437 such names compared to only 60 for goalies. This confirms that extreme length is more common among players out on the ice.

“Smith” wins for both groups: 6 goalies and 63 skaters share this name. Other common names like Johnson, Brown, and Wilson also appear frequently among skaters.

Goalies tend to have more unique names, with hockey-specific surnames like Brodeur, Parent, and Sauvé appearing more often in their group.

While common English names dominate both lists, goalies have more French-Canadian and European surnames in their top names, reflecting the historical hockey culture in Quebec and other regions.

The biggest difference appears in name uniqueness: goalies have much more unique names.

• 93% of goalie names appear only once
• 79% of skater names appear only once

This means a random goalie is much more likely to have a completely unique last name compared to a random skater.

The goalie position draws from a smaller, more specialized pool of names. Many goalie-only surnames like Brodeur, Dion, and Michaud reflect specific hockey regions or family traditions. Meanwhile, skaters come from a much broader global talent pool, leading to more repeated surnames.

Out of all the names in the NHL, only 311 appear in both groups. The remaining thousands of names are exclusive to skaters, while goalies have just 492 exclusive names, and those tend to be more distinctive and hockey-specific.

These length patterns also shape how you guess in Mystery Hockey, where you identify a mystery player’s last name. Two openers on the same answer show how a well-built second guess turns information into a lock:

Last name length doesn’t predict whether someone becomes a goalie or skater.

While goalies have slightly more unique names, both positions have almost identical average name lengths (6.85 vs 6.92 letters). The biggest difference is that skaters can have much longer names, but most players in both groups fall into the same 6-7 letter range.

Last name length does not affect hockey position. Players should focus on skating and puck handling instead.