Jack and Emily deemed the naughtiest children in Wales

WALES’ NAUGHTIEST CHILDREN’S NAMES REVEALED

New insights reveal the country’s opinions of Britain’s top 20 baby names

 Jack and Emily have been revealed as the naughtiest names amongst children in Wales, whilst children named Oscar and Isla are considered to be the most well behaved, according to new research amongst children, parents and teachers in the country.

Children and teachers agree that Jacks are the most likely to misbehave in the country, with 15 percent of those researched claiming children with the moniker are the naughtiest. Teachers also admit to expecting them to be unkind to their classmates.

For girls, it’s Emilys that teachers, parents and children associate most strongly with mischief.

When it comes to well behaved children, boys named Oscar top the list in Wales, according to the research commissioned by My Nametags (https://www.mynametags.com), a leading manufacturer of durable sticker and iron-on name labels.

It’s Isla that comes out on top of the behaviour chart for girls, with none of those surveyed in the country expecting children with this name to be misbehaved. Girls named Isla are also considered to be among the shyest in the class, with their peers agreeing children with this name tend to be the most introverted.

By contrast, girls named Ella are seen as the most confident children throughout Wales, with none of the children surveyed considering them to be shy. For boys, it’s Jacks who are assumed to be the most self-assured, suggesting a theme between behaviour and confidence.

Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Scientist, Linda Blair, explains why these stereotypes exist: “In today’s information-rich world, we’re exposed to far more data than we can deal with at any given moment. To help sort through this avalanche, we form stereotypes about what people will be like based on only a few easily obtained facts such as facial expression, body posture and a person’s name.

“Rather than making judgments about others scientifically – taking a dispassionate look at everyone called Noah or Isabella, for example – we create our stereotypes using just the people we know, as well as those we think we know via social and other media.

“Once we’ve formed a stereotype, it becomes fixed in our minds because of a phenomenon known as ‘confirmatory bias’. This is when we look for and remember people who match up to the stereotype we’ve formed, while at the same time ignoring information that doesn’t fit. This is why we become so convinced our stereotypes are correct. For popular names, these stereotypes are likely to be at the forefront of our minds because most of us will already know or have read about someone called Jack, Harry or Emily – and we’re quite likely to meet more of them.”

The study, which analysed the opinions of 1,500 teachers, children and parents in the UK, found that Brits are quick to make assumptions about a child based on their first name, with strong stereotypes associated with each of the names featured in this year’s top 20 baby names list.[1]

The national results found that children named George are considered by both adults and their peers to be the most intelligent in class, with over one in 10 believing this is the most intellectual name from this year’s top 10 boys names list. They also associated it with kindness, with teachers and children regarding boys named George as kind-hearted.

According to teachers, Isabella tops the list for girls when it comes to intelligence. However, children’s attitudes of Isabellas differ drastically, with over one in 10 children assuming those named Isabella will be spoilt, based on their first name alone. For boys, its Harrys that children expect to be spoilt, whereas teachers consider those named Oliver to be the most indulged.

Commenting on the study, Lars B. Andersen, Managing Director at My Nametags, said: “We know that there are strong stereotypes attached to names and that someone’s first name can really paint a picture of what they are like. It was interesting to discover that these stereotypes are formed from a young age, with children and adults quick to make judgements about children based on their first name alone. These beliefs can make the difficult task of naming a child even more challenging, but we hope that our research will help give expectant parents an insight into society’s opinions of the most popular boys and girls names in the UK right now.”

My Nametags has created a Playbuzz quiz to help expectant parents decide what to name their child. To take the quiz, click here.

Top 5 Naughtiest Boys Names in Wales

1. Jack
2. Harry
3. Oliver
4. Charlie
5. Muhammad

Top 5 Naughtiest Girls Names in Wales

1. Emily
2. Sophia
3. Isabella
4. Mia
5. Ella

Top 5 Best-Behaved Boys Names in Wales

1. Oscar
2. Noah
3. Leo
4. George
5. Arthur

Top 5 Best-Behaved Girls Names in Wales

1. Isla
2. Ava
3. Grace
4. Amelia
5. Olivia