The most popular name for pop chart number one success is Paul, a new survey has concluded.

Pop stars like Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, Paul Anka, Paul Simon, Paul Rogers, Paul Potts, Paul Nicholas and Paul Jones from Manfred Man have all contributed to the tally of 57 ‘Pauls’ who have appeared on UK number one singles since charts began in 1953.

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In second place was John, – with John Lennon and Queen’s John Deacon contributing greatly to the total of 54 number ones.

And third was David – largely due to Bowie’s singles success in the UK.

The ordinariness of the most succesful pop names is faintly surprising. Ventura Barba from Yahoo! Music Europe commented: “When you think of rock ‘n’ roll names, you instantly recall the unique ones like Bono, Prince and Slash. It’s surprising to discover that an everyday name can lay claim to such an accolade.”

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The top ten pop names, according to Yahoo! Music are as follows:

1. Paul – 57

2. John – 54

3. David – 53

4. Brian – 43

5. George – 38

6. Mark – 37

7. Peter – 32

8. Tony – 30

9. Andy – 27

10. Shane – 24

Pic credit: Rex Features