Men called Ben are the most miserable in the land, according to new research, while those called Josh are the happiest. Who better to put it to the test in Shropshire than our ever-cheerful feature writer . . . Ben Bentley

Me and Gandhi – or at least the bloke who played him in the film – have something in common.

No, it’s not that we look convincing in a dhoti and shawl, it’s this: in real life we share the same first name.

We are Bens – or Benjamins to give us the unabridged titles our mums would prefer us to be called. Which might not seem like much to connect us, but there is more.

Because according to a survey, Ben is the name of the least happy male in Britain. And so with the precision of a brush laden with the thickest, blackest tar I am suddenly Mr Misery, singled out on buses and in queues by people who believe in such nonsense and who point at me and say: “You’re one of those, aren’t you? You’re a Ben. Don’t come near us, we don’t wish your dark clouds to gather above our heads, you misery-moo, you.”

And the upshot is that if I wasn’t unhappy before, then I am now, and the nice little survey has just come true.

But it raises an interesting question: what’s in a name? The reason psychologists claim Ben is the least happy moniker and Joshua is the most happy is down to the association that others make with the name.

For example, there’s an assumption that a Pauline will be miserable because Pauline Fowler was an unhappy character on EastEnders. Judy, on the other hand, might make people think of Judi Dench, national treasure and seen as someone as having a good nature.

The research suggests that this perception rubs off on the person who carries their name. Namely me and a nation of Bens, then.

Ben comes from Hebrew apparently, meaning “son of my sorrow”, so we’re already off to a bad start. And it gets worse therein. The Association of Famous Bens also includes a rat dreamt up as the central character of a Michael Jackson song (although I’ve never heard him complain) and a former politician from Luxembourg.

At which point the survey and its smug argument looks me in the eye and rests its case. It’s at this point I remember I once had a mate called Ben Evans – or as I called him: “Evans knows he’s miserable now.”

So maybe there is something in the survey, and maybe I am the exception to the rule.

In these dark days of recession there certainly are plenty of things to be unhappy about, but they’re not my name. Supporting a football team that never wins makes me terribly grumpy, and the dark days of winter have a profound effect.

But there are a lot of things that make me happy too. And as for most people, they’re the small things in life – the smell of an old motorcycle has been known to send me properly delirious, as has the sight on the horizon of a motorway service station.

But what is happiness anyway? Is it contentedness and the ability to find a silver lining in every cloud? Being relaxed in the face of the drama of life? Able to accept that you will never be a spaceman but in private can make the sound of a kingfisher?

That’s not to say that I don’t have my wobbles. I’m not Mr Sunshine Personality 24/7. Even Mr Happy, who has a lot to live up to with a name like that, has his moments. I know – I read children’s books.

Like most people, I’ve been unhappy. I know what it is, but I can recover from it as good as a Jason or a Matthew – both supposedly the names of Mr Happys.

Happiness comes from within or from environmental factors, not from other people’s perceptions of what you’re like. Your name becomes you, not the other way around.

I try to find a Joshua to talk to and from them hopefully glean the secret of their happiness. It seems almost every Joshua or Josh turns out to be a sportsman, which might explain the sunshine in their veins: they are probably all outdoors deliriously throwing javelins around or kicking a football.

Happy by name, happy by nature – that’s 17-year-old Josh Bradburn, from Ketley Bank in Telford.

Josh smiles a lot – and so he should. He’s got the first name of the happiest male, according to psychologists.

“People have told me that it’s a happy name,” he says.

“But I don’t think I’m happy because of my name, I’m a happy person anyway. The name is a coincidence.”

Josh describes himself as “laid back, up for a laugh and always playing sports”.

A sports student at Telford College of Arts and Technology, he is in fact a league crown green bowls player – and even the mickey-taking from his friends he gets over this cannot pierce his shield of cheerfulness.

He says with a grin: “I get loads of stick over it, but I enjoy it. My friends say it’s an old man’s sport but there’s more and more kids into it. I just laugh and go with the flow.”

He continues: “Things that make me happy are being with my mates, being at college – it’s sports studies and I love it. Well, the practical side of it, anyway.”

Of course, like everyone else he has his moments. But it’s how you deal with those moments that matters.

Josh explains: “No-one is happy all the time. I can be quite quiet and keep myself to myself, but I come back and I’m alright.”

He adds: “Most of my mates who are called Josh are involved in sports, and they are pretty happy most of the time.”

And there you have it – two happy people: one who should be and one who shouldn’t.

Which suggests there’s little, if anything, in a name. And I know – I’ve been called worse things than Ben and still managed to keep a smile on my face.