Boys growing up with popular names such as Michael, Joshua and Christopher have a good chance of leading law-abiding lives.
But young men named Kareem, Walter or Ivan could run afoul of the law.
That’s according to a recent study that claims the more unpopular, uncommon or feminine a boy’s first name, the greater the chance he will end up behind bars.
While Shippensburg (Pa.) University professor David Kalist’s report in Social Science Quarterly shows that “unpopular names are likely not the cause of crime,” he explains that factors often associated with those names can “increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency.”
Boys with unpopular, girlish or uncommon names often are ridiculed by peers, come from families of low socioeconomic status and face discrimination in the workforce based on a preconceived bias about their names, according to the study, which analyzed more than 15,000 names.
Jay Corzine, chairman of the University of Central Florida’s sociology department, said he finds the study “fascinating.” He said family tradition often plays a part in naming a child and that the environment could affect a boy’s upbringing.
“Some kids could have a name that leads to teasing and being picked on and, in return, that child could become aggressive with others,” he added.
While academics are intrigued, others are skeptical.
“That’s ridiculous, but I do remember a kid in high school named Ezekiel, and we would call him ‘Zeke the Geek,’” said Cynthia Bezeer of Orlando. “He wasn’t so little and would always get in fights with other kids in the hallways. Maybe the teasing over the name really got to him.”
Boys growing up with popular names such as Michael, Joshua and Christopher have a good chance of leading law-abiding lives.
But young men named Kareem, Walter or Ivan could run afoul of the law.
That’s according to a recent study that claims the more unpopular, uncommon or feminine a boy’s first name, the greater the chance he will end up behind bars.
While Shippensburg (Pa.) University professor David Kalist’s report in Social Science Quarterly shows that “unpopular names are likely not the cause of crime,” he explains that factors often associated with those names can “increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency.”
Boys with unpopular, girlish or uncommon names often are ridiculed by peers, come from families of low socioeconomic status and face discrimination in the workforce based on a preconceived bias about their names, according to the study, which analyzed more than 15,000 names.
Jay Corzine, chairman of the University of Central Florida’s sociology department, said he finds the study “fascinating.” He said family tradition often plays a part in naming a child and that the environment could affect a boy’s upbringing.
“Some kids could have a name that leads to teasing and being picked on and, in return, that child could become aggressive with others,” he added.
While academics are intrigued, others are skeptical.
“That’s ridiculous, but I do remember a kid in high school named Ezekiel, and we would call him ‘Zeke the Geek,’” said Cynthia Bezeer of Orlando. “He wasn’t so little and would always get in fights with other kids in the hallways. Maybe the teasing over the name really got to him.”
I had a friend who named his first son Codi..they couldn’t figure out what they wanted to name their second son… they knew they liked Codi so they named their second son Cozi..I kid you not..people need to at least pass a sanity test before allowing procreation..
By the way I only dress like a nun on weekends..If you want to have a beer with me..I’ll be the third nun from the right down at the Drumming Circle..Asheville so tolerant..
Oh yea and here’s another thing..a shout out to those who are about to name a child…PLEASE make the name easy to spell.. If you say.. name your kid Suzzan…that poor kid will have to spell her name 5 times a day which will take approx..3 minutes.. about an hour an a half a month..
approx 15 hours a year if she lives to be 100 uuuh 1500 hours..Ok you do the math..Sally..Tom Easy to spell..Don’t sentence your kid to a life of “How do you spell that.. hell”
You are a sad little man. For someone who claims not to be Cullen, you act just like the bitter old drunk.
sad little man: 240 pounds of solid love.
Cullen? never heard of him..I actually think you are Cullen trying to throw us off the scent..
Bitter old drunk? Bitter..somedays..Old..we’ll all get their some day..
Drunk? only on the week ends.. and Tues and Thursdays..and sometimes Monday if the week end didn’t go well…every other Wednesday and holidays..I have plenty of sober time..and I can out board Waffles with half my IQ points.
Sorry for the confusion, it’s my bad. When it’s clearly a new sock-puppet account, I generally delete the whole account, posts and all. Otherwise, they’re still getting their jollies.
