Boys with unusual names 'more likely to committ crime'

Boys with unusual names 'more likely to committ crime'

Last Updated: 5:28AM GMT 29 Jan 2009

That would appear to be the advice from researchers who claim the more unusual a boy’s name is, the greater the likelihood he will commit crimes in adolescence.

A study conducted by economists at the Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania set out to explore “the relationship between first name popularity and juvenile delinquency”.

David E. Kalist and Daniel Y. Lee compared the first names of juvenile offenders in one US state with the first names of young males in the general population of that state.

They assigned a popularity-name index (PNI) for each name based on how common it is among the general population and how unlikely it is to be associated with criminal behaviour. Therefore for Michael, the PNI is 100 while for David, it is 50.

For names such as Alec, Ernest, Ivan, Kareem, and Malcolm, however, the PNI came out around one.

When they considered young offenders, the researchers discovered a different distribution of names to that of the general population.

The study found that, regardless of race, juveniles with the least popular names were more likely to engage in criminal activity.

The report, entitled First Names and Crime: Does Unpopularity Spell Trouble? and published in the journal Social Science Quarterly, states that the names themselves are unlikely to be the cause of criminal tendencies.

Rather it is other connected factors that could increase the likelihood of criminal behaviour such as being from a deprived background or single parent household.

The study also notes that youngsters with less popular names could be more inclined towards crime because they “are treated differently by their peers, making it more difficult for them to form relationships,” the journal’s publisher states.

Or young people with unpopular names may “act out because they consciously or unconsciously dislike their names”.

The authors conclude that: “First name characteristics may be an important factor to help identify individuals at high risk of committing or recommitting crime, leading to more effective and targeted intervention programmes.”

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4380988/Boys-with-unusual-names-more-likely-to-committ-crime.html