Guardian name infographics article- linking to "life chances"

[MrsJamin]

here. Strange categories to pick but especially seeing no overlap with top girls' names from different decades was interesting.

[Merl0t]

I think it's back to front if you know what i mean. It's not your NAME that put you in prison (and some of those names I like! Craig and Jamie are lovely names but they are on the prisoners' list!). Some names might be more popular with younger or poorer or uneducated parents, and then roll on 20 years and those babies are finished school and either looking for work or looking for trouble.

Good job Nigel and graham aren't in Prison with names like those! Prison is tough enough I'd say!

[nicelyneurotic]

I've never met a baby Nigel or Graham!

[BinarySolo]

Agree with Merlot. I found the last graph showing no overlap in girls names interesting but don't think the other graphs really reveal much. I mean could the directors on average be a generation or so older than the prisoners? I think it says more about age than names.

[amck5700]

My son is Craig and it seems he is both a Prisoner and Footballer :(

He hates football so I guess it's a spell in HM pokey for him!

[poppydaisy]

Thankfully I don't like any of the prisoners' and footballers' names!

But agree it goes both ways - not only do some still judge people based on their names, but the parents who love 'prisoners' or 'footballer' type names may be less educated which has implications for their kids.

Wonder what the prisoner and footballers names of 2012/13 are?

[amck5700]

Oi poppydaisy! Is you saying that I is a bit fick!

[AmandaPayne]

Yes, I only really found the lack of overlap in both girls and boys' names between the decades that interesting. Even for boys it is only one name that covers all three, which surprised me.

The other stuff is thinly disguised class snobbery really. I mean, Paige, Amber, Shannon, etc are names which are more popular amongst working class families. So, shockingly, they are underrepresented in the Oxford undergraduates. That says more to me about who gets the chance to go to Oxford than the innate intelligence or skills of Paige and Shannon.

[HoratiaWinwood]

I think they were comparing people born in a particular year who happen to be doctors, Oxbridgr graduates, etc. There is a surprising quantity of data in this area - it is quantitive sociology and of great interest to advertisers

[Merl0t]

amck I'm interested in this stuff, so I notice names and their trends and how names are perceived, and whilst it's irrelevant that I like the name Craig, I would never have thought it was a name linked to bad behaviour or underprivilege. Some names like Lee and Wayne do seem more dated.

Good point about it being nothing to be proud of that girls called Paige and Shannon aren't making it to Oxbridge. Although, they may well be making it to third level.

[amck5700]

Merl0t I don't know if it makes a difference that I presume that this "research" would be based on English (or English/Welsh) stats and I am in Scotland? Craig here would be a name that could carry you into doing anything from driving a bus to being an MD or Judge which is exactly what we were looking for. I thought it was pretty "classless" OH wanted to use the gaelic spelling of Creag but I thought that would be too confusing. He got his way with my younger son and his name is never right though tbf I do like it being different in a way.

[wonkylegs]

My name only features in the last one as popular in 1944 (I'm not that old) but it explains why all the women I know with the same name are in my mothers generation not mine.

[Jasbro]

This is exactly the reason why "classless" is a key factor in choosing names for my kids. I have always liked the fact that people could not make accurate assumptions about my class or ethnic background just by seeing my name written down.

[Narked]

Agree Jasbro. The data shows that there are some names that are just as likely to be found in prisons as in boardrooms.

[poppydaisy]

"This is exactly the reason why "classless" is a key factor in choosing names for my kids."

But bear in mind that names tend to 'filter down' and lots of names perceived as posh a few years ago (e.g. Sebastian, Hugo, Quentin, Imogen for example) are fairly 'normal' nowadays. Explained well in Freakonomics.

[JumpingJetFlash]

I can feel happy knowing that my dd is going to be an Oxford undergrad who writes for the guardian and was Head Girl. Not that I picked the name because I liked it of course :-) (Although I am apparently stuck in a time warp lol)

[OneLittleToddlingTerror]

amck5700 prisoners and footballers are related. My DH has a name also on both list. It simply means that the name is popular with the working/underclass, and they either turn out to live a life in crime or be a footballer. (My ILs are working class and neither finished school. So it's rather appropriate).

[Narked]

Names do 'filter down' but there are a core of names that don't carry class associations full stop. They aren't names that would be considered 'posh' or have been in the recent past.

David, John, Andrew, Michael and Peter are:

In the top 50 most popular names for Oxford undergrads
In the top 50 most popular names for UK footballers
The top 5 names for both doctors and FTSE directors
In the top 30 names for Prisoners
In the top 30 names for FTSE board directors
All but Peter are in the top 30 names for Guardian writers*

*Peter was probably pushed out by girls' names as this is the group contains 8 girls' names. The prisoners set has none and the directors two.

[Merl0t]

Narked. r u an analyst!? i sare at these and just see jumbles of names!