Thursday, June 12, 2008

I told you not to name him Flauntleroy...

And now we can see why...

Shippensburg, PA (AHN) - Economists at Shippensburg University have linked unusual first names with male juvenile delinquency.

Fisticuffs and other troubled youth behavior are often the result of being given an unpopular name, especially if they come from a disadvantaged home environment and low economic strata.

[snip]

The names the study compared with their Popularity Name Indices were: Matthew - 76, Christopher - 64, Ryan - 49, Brian - 30, Richard - 20, Charles - 16, Luke - 5, Walter - 2 and Garland - 0.06.

Is that why the police so often give us the criminal's three names: Buford Earl Dimwattson, so we can make sure not to use those names?

4 comments:

Sorghum Crow said...

James Earl Ray
James Earl Jones

and where is Sue rank for boy's names?

Sorghum Crow said...

Ahem, where did Sue rank for boys' names.

Steve Bates said...

Someone remarked (casually, not statistically) that two-thirds of young male felons in the South have the middle name "Wayne" or "Dewayne." I've known some perfectly respectable Waynes and Dewaynes, but I wouldn't name my boy either of those, because it is so common to call Southern kids by all three names (indeed, Stella, who was born a Tarheel and raised an Atlanta gal, goes by all three names in real life), and people do make that assumption.

ellroon said...

SC, wasn't there a song...?

I'm sure Sue is into the negative hundreds along with Carol, Lyn, Alex, and Chris...

Steve, so if I had named my son Wayne Dewayne, I'd be visiting him in prison?