The Way You Save Names In Your Phone Reveals So Much About Your Love Life

If I've saved your number in your phone, you must be highly important to me (mostly because I'm lazy about saving contacts). I was once waiting for a gentleman to arrive at our date, only to be surprised by a tap on the shoulder from another gentleman with an entirely different hair color. Oops! I had gotten two unsaved numbers mixed up in my phone. If you don't save names in your phone for people you date, you might know what I'm talking about. (Anyone?!)

While not a great look, I recovered almost immediately and had a nice time. (But, um, also didn't learn my date's name until after our date was over and I could search through all my dating apps on my cab ride home. Cool.) All of this is to say: Saving numbers in your phone is helpful, and I think that the way you save the numbers of people you date in your phone can tell a lot about what's going on in your head.

This is an admittedly unscientific theory based on no research except my own personal experiences and those of my friends. (Oh, and the times I side-eye crept on my dates' phones to see how I was saved.) Here's the thing: Adding a stranger's name to your phonebook is an investment in someone who you haven't even had a chance to smell yet. This is why nicknames, first names, and even mnemonic devices are common additions to your contact book when you're dating around. Tell me your save-style, and I'll tell you something about your love life.

"Chris Tinder"

Either you are dating someone who happens to have the last name "Tinder" — which is 100 percent reason enough to marry them — or you're dating a lot these days. Don't be like me, be like you. You are smart. You are not going to have any mixups, whether that's on a first date or a seventh. Also adorable if you end up dating: the moment you decide to change their name in your phone. Or don't, because that's LOLz too.

"Ginge From Barge Bar"

You're resourceful, but you also enjoy your life outside of dating so you keep things simple until the relationship progresses. Yes, ideally you would have saved this ginger's name in your phone, but you were having too much fun drinking on a boat with your friends. He'll probably reintroduce himself when he texts you too. Bonus: there's no way you'll forget what color hair he has and get mixed up on your first date.

"Josh Scorpio Who Loves LCD Soundsystem"

You care about true connection, conversation, and astrology. Whether you met Josh on a dating app or in the flesh, you made note of exactly what you talked about. The people who stick out to you the most are those you feel connection with beyond the physical. Props to you, you profound soul.

"George Harvard"

You care about the paper... not necessarily the green kind, but what someone looks like on paper. Whether this is info you gathered form a first conversation IRL (because you of all people know what "that school in Boston" means) or a dating app, you're looking for someone's resume to match (or exceed) your own. No shade, because I've been there. People who went to great schools or who have fancy jobs are often ambitious, and ambition is sexy.

"John Smith"

You've been dating long enough to know each others' last names, and you're probably pretty particular about having everyone in your phone listed by both first and last name. The moment you added John's last name was definitely right after the moment you admitted to yourself that you liked him for the first time. Or right after the first time you boned. But I shouldn't presume things — maybe you just have too many Johns in your phone.

"John"

You're a smart person who likes to identify the people they are dating by first name, and you're not super particular about saving last names in your phone. You aren't overthinking things, just going with the flow. You're also probably really good at shutting your phone off an hour before bed. We should all be more like you.

"J"

If you saved someone you are dating in your phone as "J," they are either a friend with benefits you're a little embarrassed about, or your serious partner who needs no other identifiers. Either way, enjoy it. Just be wary if you have someone's first and last names saved in your phone and you simply see a "K" in their phone for your contact info. Hmm...

"Grandma"

This is extremely creepy and I don't recommend it but if you're saving someone you are dating in your phone as "Grandma" or "Uncle Bob," then I know that you are cheating. Or hooking up with a co-worker.

"He Who Shall Not Be Named"

If your phone is also home to a Voldemort, it tells me that you are not exactly over your ex because you don't want to delete their number/you know it by heart, but you also know that they aren't good for you. Get out!

"555-555-5555"

If you're not saving anyone's name in your phone, you're probably iffy about getting into a relationship. Maybe you're just not that serious about this person, or you're so lazy that you're reckless (not unlike me) and want to play "who will show up on my date" roulette. On the other hand, you could just be afraid to jinx your budding relationship by adding their name to your phone. (*Raises hand slowly.*)

No matter your saving style, I recommend saving someone's contact after a first date if you're even a little bit into them. This will save you from accidentally texting your new work contact the blushing smiley emoji, or, you know, showing up to a first date expecting a different person to be sitting across from you. Knowledge is power!