It's all in the name

Forget a good sense of humour or even a nice bum. When it comes to sexiness, the greatest turn-on could be your name.

Names with 'front vowels' - sounds produced in the front of the mouth such as the 'aaa' in Matt - are more attractive.

But those with back vowels such as the 'aw' in Paul are less sexy, claims linguist Amy Perfors, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Other attractive boys' names include David, Ben and Steve - but Luke and Charles are out.

The reverse is true for girls, with men preferring back vowel names such as Laura and Julie to front vowel examples like Amy and Lisa, New Scientist reported.