Understanding the source of inventive novelty is central to innovation research. In this study, we examine a peculiar antecedent to inventive novelty – the uniqueness of an inventor’s first name. Drawing on social psychology literature, we suggest uniquely-named inventors likely have a higher need for uniqueness, and are as such more likely to generate novel inventions – ones that deviate more from prior arts. Using a large sample of industrial inventors, we find supportive evidence for a generally positive relationship between having a unique first name and patenting novelty, though the pattern is reversed for female inventors. Moreover, we show that uniquely-named inventors affect team inventive novelty, but only when they are highly productive relative to other team members. By revealing a novel antecedent to inventive novelty, findings in this research highlight the importance of preserving and encouraging individuality in firms, and the need to combine novelty-seeking motive with inventor influence.
