Could your baby's name predict their behaviour?

Could your baby's name predict their behaviour?

Choosing a name is one of the first — and sometimes trickiest — decisions parents make for their baby. There’s a lot to consider: possible nicknames, ease of spelling, what the kids on the playground will say, and outside associations (a little boy named Kermit will, for better or worse, always be lumped with the frog).

New research from School Stickers, a UK company that supplies schools with stickers, postcards and certificates to reward good behavior, offers one more factor to consider: future behavior. Their annual “Naughty or Nice Names List” reveals the names of the UK’s most well-behaved kids of 2014—and the most mischievous. Good news if you’ve got a little Amy or Jacob at home!

According to the study, which analyzed who got the most reward stickers among more than 58,000 students, girls named Amy, Georgia and Emma are the most likely to be the best behaved. On the boys side, Jacob, Daniel and Thomas topped the “nice” list. On the flip side, girls named Ella, Bethany and Eleanor received the fewest accolades at school, as did the Josephs, Camerons, and Williams.

But before you rule out Olivia or Holly for your little girl, keep in mind that British naming trends are different than those in the U.S., says Laura Wattenberg, the baby name expert behind Baby Name Wizard. “An American parent should know that these names carry different social characterizations in the U.S,” she tells Yahoo Parenting. Amy, for example, isn’t commonly used in the United States anymore, she says

Posted: 27/11/2014 17:06:54



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