Poll ranks naughty kids by name

Teachers say they can identify which children are likely to be troublemakers by their names.

A poll of 3000 teachers run by the parenting club website bounty.com, found the names Connor, Callum, Courtney and Jack were among those thought to denote a naughty child.

Callum was identified as the naughtiest boy's name, while Chelsea indicated a female troublemaker, according to the poll.

More than 49 per cent of the teachers surveyed made assumptions about a child based on their name, with 57 per cent of teachers acknowledging that naughtier children tended to be more popular than those who are well behaved.

Bounty.com spokeswoman Faye Mingo explained that teachers were only human and - rightly or wrongly - sometimes made assumptions based on their previous experiences.

"Teachers are only human and make assumptions like the rest of us." she said.

The survey also asked teachers which names they thought indicated bright pupils.

More traditional names topped that list, with monikers like Elizabeth, Charlotte, William and Alexander among the top ten.

However the name Daniel got a mention on both lists, coming in at number four on the naughty boys list and number seven on the bright list.

Naughty and bright names

Naughty

Boys

1. Callum

2. Connor

3. Jack

4. Daniel

5. Brandon

6. Charlie

7. Kyle

8. Liam

9. Jake

10. Brooklyn

Girls

1. Chelsea

2. Courtney

3. Chardonnay

4. Aleisha

5. Casey

6. Crystal

7. Jessica

8. Brooke

9. Demi

10. Aisha

Bright

Boys

1. Alexander

2. Adam

3. Christopher

4. Benjamin

5. Edward

6. Matthew

7. Daniel

8. James

9. Harry

10. William

Girls

1. Elisabeth

2. Charlotte

3. Emma

4. Hannah

5. Rebecca

6. Abigail

7. Grace

8. Alice

9. Anna

10. Sophie

Source: NZ Herald