[DrSprout]

I'm not sure if it's more or less sinister than Google tracking your searches, but it's also possible it's noting your most frequent email correspondence.

Maybe it takes into account words that show up frequently in your email?

[wonderwheelhuh]

Some more info:

1) When I do the search described, I do it without being logged into any Google account.

2) To the absolute best of my knowledge, no email correspondences to my ex or about my ex have ever come out of my GMail account or my girlfriends.

I would consider email tracking more sinister for sure, so in some ways I'm glad it's not that.

That said, it's definitely not the volume of searches people are doing on anyone's names that have created the association (we all have a fair amount of individual web presence). So again, my only hunch is that Google has taken note that my girlfriend while logged in has searched for my ex (I have this confirmed) and that my ex likewise may have done the same.

If that is the case, I definitely 'feel' privacy violation going on since they're not using queries on aggregate to craft results, but instead are considering low-volume queries between users as a sign of association.

[ErrantX]

That seems a little unlikely - simply because, as you say, there is no link between the two girls. So why has Google made that link (when I am sure a large number of people with the same name exist).

What it could be is your girlfriend Googled her name while logged in (i.e. rather than matching the two it just recognizes it as something she searched for). Even that seems unlikely - how does Google know you mean that person when Googling her - does she even have her name registered with Google. and so forth.

There are so many variables I really think that, using Occams razor, it is a highly unlikely solution :)

Also; Wonder Wheel has always given very slap dash to me. I've not observed this level of sophistication in it before...

Would you consider giving the name(s) to someone you trust (but not nearby) for them to perform the same search. That might give us some better data to figure it out.

EDIT: email is on my profile if you want me to check.