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10 Baby Names Most Likely to Cause Boys Trouble

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts)
Jul 20th 2009 2:00PM

56Comments

Filed under: In The News, Baby Names

What's in a name? As it turns out, a lot. A study of 15,000 names given to boys born between 1987 and 1991 turned up an interesting finding: The more unusual, feminine or offbeat a name, the more likely the boy is to end up a committing a crime.

How does a name affect a boys future success, or criminal record, as the case may be? Researchers aren't sure, but they think that a lifetime of merciless teasing may prime an oddly-named boy to be an outcast, or to have low self-esteem.

But a look at the top 10 list of names likely to land a boy in jail is confounding, because while some of these names might be awkward, they aren't really that odd or unusual: Alec, Ernest, Garland, Ivan, Kareem, Luke, Malcom. Preston, Tyrell, and Walter.

Luke? Really?


After all, if you want to find some truly ... unique ... names, you need only look to the rich and famous: Pilot Inspektor, Apple, Kyd, Bronx Mowgli, Coco -- imagine showing up on the playground with one of those names. And today's trendiest boys names -- the Aiden-Hayden-Jayden trinity, for example -- are decidedly more feminine than the more manly Walter, Ernest and Luke.

Professor David Kalist, who published the study in Social Science Quarterly, draws a connection between the name and the subsequent crimes, asserting that offbeat names "increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency." But in 2005, "Freakonomics" authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Lubner found that socioeconomic status -- which can have an impact on what a parent names a child -- is the more critical factor in a child's life outcome.

The biggest lesson for parents is this: Creativity is wonderful, but your future child is begging you -- from their junior high playground to the boardroom -- to pick a name that won't embarrass them.

Expecting a baby? Check out ParentDish's own Ask the Name Lady's Baby Name Wizard. Punch in the first few letters of any name and it'll show you trends dating back as far as 100 years or more.

Celebrity Baby Names

    Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
    The couple brought home a baby sister for Violet, and named her Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. According to Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard, "Seraphina is an old saint's name that comes from the biblical seraphim, a type of angel." Sounds like Affleck and garner have high hopes for their wee one. Hope she can live up to her big name.

    Getty Images

    Erykah Badu
    Erykah already has two children named Seven Sirius and Puma Rose, so when the singer announced on her Twitter page that she'd named her new daughter "Twitty Milk," we thought she might actually be serious.

    Getty Images

    Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa
    Former "Cosby Show" queen Lisa Bonet takes top honors for now with their newborn babe. Bonet says that the child "was born on the stormiest, rainy night, so Nakoa (warrior), Mana (strength/spirit), Kaua (rain) and po (dark). Multiple middle names? Could become a trend for 2009?

    Bobby Bank, WireImage

    Princess Tiaamii
    British "glamour model" Jordan (aka Katie Price) and "former pop star" Peter Andre named their daughter Princess because it was "unique." When the name was announced in 2007, The BBC reported that Jordan had wanted to call her Tinkerbell, but there were too many famous dogs with that name. Because that's really the only reason not to go with Tinkerbell.

    Getty Images

    Jermajesty Jackson
    Amazingly, this is not a child of Michael. Jermajesty is the son of Jermaine Jackson Alejandra Oiaza. And they say Mike is the crazy one.

    Bauer-Griffin

    Barron Trump
    The only thing that would make this name better is if it were Barron Von Trump. But alas, the middle name of the spawn of Donald and third wife Melania is William. Still, with dad's money and mom's bone structure, the kid is basically American royalty even if his name is Pubert.

    Bauer-Griffin

    Tu Morrow
    Rob Morrow may have been trying to revive his career when he named his daughter Tu in 2001. (Tu Morrow. As in "see you") It may have worked. Though Morrow's first TV series, "Northern Exposure", was canceled in 1995, he currently appears on "Numb3rs." Maybe Shelley Long should have a baby and name her Tu. (Tu Long? Get it? Oh never mind)

    Eric Charbonneau, WireImage

    Moxie CrimeFighter
    Penn Jillette and wife Emily clearly decided that they want their little girl to grow up to be a magician just like daddy. That way she can make this awful name disappear.

    Ethan Miller, Getty Images

    Harley Quinn
    Kevin Smith named his daughter after the Joker's sidekick in Batman comics. If he and wife Jennifer have a boy they can name him The Riddler, Clayface, Scarecrow the possibilities are endless.

    Bauer-Griffin

    Kal-El Coppola Cage
    Speaking of children named after superheroes, Nicholas Cage (née Coppola) and wife Alice Kim went with Kal-El, which every geek knows is Superman's real name. Little-known fact: it's also an ancient Hebrew phrase that, loosely translated, means, "My parents are rich and I will never have to hold a real job."

    David Westing, Getty Images

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