Let's try an experiment.........

[CuppaTeaJanice]

Nearly every name suggested on here seems to have connotations for people based on where they've heard it before.

Think back to your schooldays, or your child's school. What are the names of...

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies?
2. The kid that's great at sports?
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As?
4. The school bully?
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds?
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner?

It will be interesting to see if any names come up several times in any particular category!!

In my school...

1. Piers & Faye
2. Duncan & Amanda
3. Kerry & Hazel
4. Serena & (different) Amanda
5. Donna & Stephen
6. Tessa & Justin

I went to a girls' school, so only have girls' names:

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies?

Lisa

1. The kid that's great at sports?

Laura

1. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As?

Melanie

1. The school bully?

Tasha

1. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds?

Viv

1. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner?

Joanne

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Lucy/Terry
2. The kid that's great at sports? Faith/Leigh
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Debra/Joseph
4. The school bully? Peter/Gemma
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Gemma/Sarah
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Sarah/Katie

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Angela/Jeremy
2. The kid that's great at sports? Andrea/Damien
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Rebecca/Thomas
4. The school bully? Joanne/Thomas
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Angela/Paul
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Rebecca/Paul

All different Thomases and Pauls (is that the right plural?!) btw. Which tells you something about stereotyping names perhaps...

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Anya
2. The kid that's great at sports? Alison
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Polly
4. The school bully?Suzanne
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Seosaimhin (I am Irish!)
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Grainne

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? - Luke and Chloe
2. The kid that's great at sports? - Nathan
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? - Scott
4. The school bully? - Jade
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? - Terry
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? - Hannah and Theron.

What I want to know is if 'the slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner' is now a famous artist/rock star or a serial killer..

(Girls school)

1. Daryl
2. Sally
3. Catherine
4. Ailsa
5. Helen
6. Karen

I went to a girls school
Julia
Emma
Bernadette
Michelle
Gillian
Sarah

Bellissima if it helps Sarah from my post is a happily married, ballet teacher. She smokes a lot of pot but is genuinely one of the happiest people I know.

Katie was sectioned at 15 and still is as far as I'm aware.

No rockstars here.

Gracie - thanks! (poor Katie).

No real surprises from my year although sis was same class as a Viz founder. NB neither of us fat slags mind pet!

Yeah, she was really not very well. I'm not sure whether it was drug abuse that sent her that way or whether she was self medicating, but she was the only 12yo I knew who did coke... probably much more common now though

1.Pretty/handsome - Kate/Martin
2 Great at sports - Tricia/Marc
3 Really clever - Mara/Hugo/Colin/Susannah
4 School bully - Clare/Chris/Julia/Lee (male)
5 Rebel - Lindsay/Brian
6 Strange child - gothgirl - er..

Some extras of my own!
7 Princessy types - Leanne/Hollie/Kellie
8 Really sociable - Tom/Kate/Liz/Tim
Any other thoughts on the latter two? I'm sure there are male equivalents of the princessy types but couldn't think of any examples..

There were so many Claires in my school that Claire could apply to every category, mind..

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies?

Helen / Richard

1. The kid that's great at sports?

Simon / Rachel

1. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As?

Emma / Nicholas

1. The school bully?

Colleen / Shaun

1. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds?

Siobhan / Nik

1. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner?

Kirsty / Tom

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Oliver, Lucy, Andrew, Jeremy
2. The kid that's great at sports? Wesley, Kate, Emma
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Benedict, Michael, Rebecca
4. The school bully? Laura, Felicity, Alexandra, Ian
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? James, Zoe, Charlotte, Liam, Aaron, Alastair
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Corey, Timothy, Isabelle, Christina

Can't believe how dated some of those look compared with the current crop of names. I only did my A-levels in 2006.

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Daniel, Vanessa, Gayle, Kirsty

1. The kid that's great at sports?

Gail

1. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As?

Elizabeth, Josephine, Lisa

1. The school bully?

Dale, Nikki

1. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Tara, Angela, Louise

1. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Angela,Stephen, Mark

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Callum

1. The kid that's great at sports? Will

1. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Charlotte, Joshua, Cassie

1. The school bully? Daniel, Jade

1. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Tabitha, Zoe, Daniel, Tamsin

1. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Rochelle

I think there is a bit of trend for the pretty/handsome child to have a modern or non-traditional name.

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? William, Louisa

1. The kid that's great at sports? Kelly, Frankie (girl)

1. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Katherine, James

1. The school bully? Dean, Nathan

1. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Adam, Nick

1. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Daryl, Ruth

. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies?

1. The kid that's great at sports?
2. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As?
3. The school bully?
4. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds?
5. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner?

1. Joanne, Natasha,Tom, Alistair (lots)!
2. Tom and Alistair
3. Nicola
4. Jason/Kate
5. Isobel
6. Kim/Fiona

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies?
2. The kid that's great at sports?
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As?
4. The school bully?
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds?
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner?

1. Tom/Jade
2. Tom (different Tom), Jenny
3. Anthony, Helen
4. Daniel, Tori (Victoria)
5. see above
6. Catherine

At school during the 70's

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Danny & Lisa

1. The kid that's great at sports? Bruce & Shona

1. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Steven & Claire

1. The school bully? Victor and Mandy

1. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? David & Jayne

1. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Mathew and Hazel.

Think back to your schooldays, or your child's school. What are the names of...

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? Jason
2. The kid that's great at sports? Caroline
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Louise
4. The school bully? Lisa
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Mark
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Spiderlight

1. The really pretty/handsome child that everyone fancies? /Katie/Andy
2. The kid that's great at sports?Anna/Mike
3. The child that's really clever, good at all subjects and gets straight As? Nikola/ Raymond/Colin
4. The school bully? Melanie/ Terry
5. The rebel that smokes behind the bike sheds? Joanne/ Steve
6. The slightly strange child who is a bit of a loner? Margaret/ Paul/ Simon

Definitely a bit of a trend for the strange loners to turn up on Mumsnet, I'd say.

(Hail fellow strangers)