Three Simple Name Games

When groups first form there will be many within the group who do not know each other.  Knowing the names of others in the group is an important first step in group formation.  But many of us are not very good at remembering names, mainly because we do not practise.   However, we do know that if names are repeated, especially if said aloud, then the possibility of remembering those names is increased significantly.  Here are three very simple exercises that groups can use to help participants get to know the names of others in the group.

Hullo Adam, I’m Betty

I’ve named this game after my parents, and because A and B are at the beginning of the alphabet.

Group members sit (or stand) in a circle.  One person starts by saying “Hullo, I’m Adam” (or whatever their name is.  The next person in the circle turns to them and says “Hullo Adam, I’m Betty” (or whatever their name is.  The third person in the circle then looks at the previous two and addresses each of them in turn, saying “Hullo Adam, hullo Betty, I’m Charles” (or whatever their name is)

This continues around the circle, with each person in turn saying “hullo” to each of the preceding people in the circle.  So, for example the sixth person in the circle may say “Hullo Adam, hullo, Betty, hullo Charles, hullo Debbie, hullo Eric, I’m Fran.”  And so on.  This continues until the circle is completed.

If people forget names then the rest of the group should help them out.  This is not a competitive game, with the winner being the person best remembering names.  it is a collective game designed to help everyone in the group begin to know the names of others in the group.

Variation:  When the circle has been completed, the person who began the introductions (Adam in our example) then repeats all the names in reverse order, ending with “… hullo Charles, hullo Betty.”

Bouncing Names Around

This name game needs a simple prop such as a cuddly toy or a small ball – something that can be tossed easily around the group, and easily caught.

The person beginning picks another person in the group and asks them their name (if they do not already know it.)  They then toss the object to that person, meanwhile calling out that person’s name.  That person, in turn, chooses someone else in the group to toss the object to, calling out the name of the person as they do so.  This continues, so that everyone in the group has had the object thrown to them.  Keep repeating this until people think that they have got the name of everyone else into their memory. 

Find Me

This game needs a small piece of paper or a card for each person in the group. 

Each person prints (legibly) their first (and maybe the initial of their family name) name onto a card and places it in a container in the centre of the room.  Once everyone has added their name to the container each member of the group then picks a name from the container at random.  Their task then is to find the person with that name by moving about the group asking others if they have that name or if they know who it belongs to.

Once everyone has identified the person with the name they picked the cards are replaced in the container and everyone draws out another name and attempt to find that person.

There can be more than one person in the group with the same first name.  In order to distinguish between people with the same name the family initial can be used.

Once this has been done four or five times the group returns to a circle.  Each person then takes it in turn to introduce one of the people that they “found” in the previous part of the game.


Have fun with the name games.  Invent your own.  Remember it is not a competition and others should help those who are having difficulty remembering names.