These are the top female names most often used in passwords

Most people have a habit of using their own name or a family member’s name as their passwords simply because it’s easier to remember. But that also makes you more susceptible to getting hacked by people who know you.

Ruby Gonzalez, head of communications at password generator NordVPN, says, “While choosing your own, your girlfriend’s, or daughter’s name as a password might seem a good idea as you’ll never forget it, it’s also a great way to make a hacker’s job easier.

"As it’s a very obvious choice, the victim’s or their relative’s name will be one of the first options hackers will try.”

She adds, “People also shouldn’t use any other obvious choices, such as their address, favorite band, sports team, pet’s name, the word “password,” and any alternations of it.”

In fact, some names are more popularly used as passwords, simply because they are more common.

NordVPN recently released the list of top female names most commonly used in passwords and reported that it coincides with the list of top female names in the US.

“If you find your password among the most popular ones, you should change it immediately.

"It’s always a good idea to use a password generator to create a truly strong password and make sure it has not been breached before,” says Ruby Gonzalez, head of communications at NordVPN.

Here’s the list of the most common female names used in passwords, and the number of times they were used.

1. jordan23

Number of times used: 29,874

NordVPN reckons this could be widely used among 23-year-old Jordans, but we have another possible explanation: it’s used by Michael Jordan’s fans since his jersey number is 23.

2. victoria

Number of times used: 33,770

3. danielle

Number of times used: 33,781

4. olivia

Number of times used: 34,110

5. melissa

Number of times used: 35,045

6. andrea

Number of times used: 36,940

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7. lauren

Number of times used: 37,151

8. elizabeth

Number of times used: 41,268

9. sophie

Number of times used: 42,889

10. maria

Number of times used: 43,177

11. madison

Number of times used: 44,183

12. jasmine

Number of times used: 45,190

13. samantha

Number of times used: 46,353

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14. taylor

Number of times used: 46,375

15. amanda

Number of times used: 50,560

16. jennifer

Number of times used: 50,602

17. jordan

Number of times used: 58,698

18. maggie

Number of times used: 61,445

19. michelle

Number of times used: 61,873

20. hannah

Number of times used: 62,394

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21. jessica

Number of times used: 63,498

22. nicole

Number of times used: 64,992

23. ashley

Number of times used: 94,557

This article was first published in CLEO Singapore.