Studies that waste resources: Boys with weird names more likely to break the law

Published on: December 30, 2013

Two guys, conveniently named David and Daniel, at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania have published a study concluding that boys with unusual names are more likely to break the law.

They admit that unpopular names such as Alec, Ernest and Malcolm are not the cause of the crimes but that "they are connected to factors that increase the tendency to commit crime, such as a disadvantaged home environment, residence in a county with low socioeconomic status, and households run by one parent."

Two things, Daniel and David. Now that unusual names are the new trendy (think Max, Miles and Dominic--all taken from the list of 2008's most popular boys' names), how on earth do you categorize what is "unpopular"? Also, did someone somewhere actually give you money to study this?

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