[identity profile] unaccepatable.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] babynames
There was a study recently done that apparently proves people with a name starting with D live shorter lives, have life long poor self-esteem, and are born to poor parents. Here is the article.

(copy and pasted, so if the format's weird, that's why)

Choosing a name for your baby is already difficult enough - but now researchers have upped the stakes by claiming that the right decision could add up to ten years to a child's life.

Psychologists have determined that your first initial has a major affect on your longevity, with people whose names begin with A significantly outliving those beginning with D.
And, they claim, it could all be down to a subconscious link to school grades, where A represents high achievement and D near failure.

Unlikely as it may seem, the researchers suggest this means people with D names are more likely to develop lifelong low self-esteem, which, in turn, may lower their defences against disease.

But they also suggest parents from poorer backgrounds, who have lower life expectancies, are more likely to give their children names beginning with D.

A paper published in the international science journal Death Studies states: 'The self-esteem that presumably develops in conjunction with having a first name that begins with D may originate in early academic life.

'Throughout life, we are constantly reminded that A symbolises the best, whereas D is regarded as almost a failure. With very few exceptions, D signifies poor performance.'
The research by psychologists at Wayne State University in Detroit examined the lifespans of more than 10,000 professional athletes, doctors and lawyers born between 1875 and 1930.

They looked in particular at those whose names began with the letters A, B, C or D - the grades usually used in American schools, which traditionally do not have an E grade. Those with names beginning with E to Z were described as 'grade-irrelevant'.

The results showed that those whose first name began with D lived, on average, shorter lives than those whose names began with E to Z.

Sports professionals with a D name lived to be an average of 69.2 years old, compared with 73.4 for A names and 71.3 for E to Z names.

The most pronounced difference was for basketball players. On average, those with an A name outlived those with D names by 9.5 years.

The latest study follows other research which found that names can influence major life decisions. For example, people with the name Lawrence are more likely to be lawyers while Dennises are over-represented among dentists.

'This study - which has relevance for my own lifespan - suggests names have much more of an impact than we've ever given them credit for.

'We consider the alphabet as a kind of hierarchy, which we use to compile lists and orders.

'As a result, we see people with certain names differently, which in turn can affect how we treat them. This may affect various factors like longevity, health and how they move through life.'

Date: 2010-01-06 12:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] th3-unicorn.livejournal.com
Ha! This is so interesting! I wish they did studies that took all letters into account :)

Date: 2010-01-06 12:35 am (UTC)
ext_150185: Plantbert Oh Well (Adam o_O)
From: [identity profile] jeweledvixen.livejournal.com
If this hypothesis were true, you would think that those people whose names start with an "F" would be the worst, since an "F" grade actually means failure, not "near failure."

This sounds like a load of BS to me.

Date: 2010-01-06 01:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com
Agree. How weird.

Date: 2010-01-06 03:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nothingtolose19.livejournal.com
This was my exact thought. I liked how they said that names starting with E - Z were grade irrelevant. I would think that a D is significantly better than an F, but whatever. I also agree with the BS part :p

Date: 2010-01-06 04:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hwar.livejournal.com
Yeah I also agree. I don't think it's real.

Date: 2010-01-06 12:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sandtree.livejournal.com
This is one of the silliest things I've ever heard. Like the commenter above me said, why didn't they analyze 'F' names? Also, why didn't they take into account what the majority of D names actually ARE compared to the majority of A names? I think it's quite possible that there are more 'creative' D names than there are 'creative' A names. Lower income people as a group are more likely to give their children 'creative' names, so it may just be that D names are more prevalent among lower income people, who are less likely to succeed or live longer simply because of their circumstances, not because of their names.

Date: 2010-01-06 12:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wolfbane.livejournal.com
I don't know if I agree with this article or not, but all my friends whose names start with D have long histories of depression. Probably just a coincidence though.
(deleted comment)

Date: 2010-01-06 02:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] snoglobel.livejournal.com
It's my A friends that are prone to depression.

If this is true it's not good for my step-family where D's are a tradition for girls. We have had several people die randomly "before their time" on that side.

Date: 2010-01-06 12:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaoriz.livejournal.com
Maybe there are more people who have names that start with D and not F? Idk. O_o

Date: 2010-01-06 01:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com
I would like to see the sample sizes of this study, because my guess would be that this is a classic case of self-serving bias on the part of the researchers. I'm going to try and find the actual study, because they've been trying to prove theories like this for years with results that have very little statistical significance.

Date: 2010-01-06 01:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com
Sample size break down*

Date: 2010-01-06 01:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com
Tracked down the original publication of the data and (no surprise!) they did not give the numbers of the sample size distribution. And actually, on their graphs, the earliest deaths were A's, as well as the people who lived the longest. What?

Date: 2010-01-06 02:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] snoglobel.livejournal.com
They said average - not the widest range...

Yea, these articles are usually not sound. Do you have the link to the original? I'd be curious to read it but haven't had much luck on google.

Date: 2010-01-06 03:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com
I can send you the pdf if you pm me your email address.

Date: 2010-01-06 03:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] requiem-morrow.livejournal.com
LOL !

I've never been to a school that actually gave out Ds. It was either C or F.

Date: 2010-01-06 04:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laminy.livejournal.com
So, does this study only apply in America, because I don't get letter grades. But yes, I went to my long list and checked how many D names I have. Three. So, hopefully, all will be okay.

Date: 2010-01-06 07:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] solitudete.livejournal.com
Yeah.. This sounds like bs to me. : /

Date: 2010-01-06 11:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heyskeleton.livejournal.com
Guess my daughters are screwed then. But this article is absolutely ridiculous.

Date: 2010-01-06 12:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sweetest-asylum.livejournal.com
oh shit. my dad and his brothers.
dave, dan and dale.

Date: 2010-01-06 05:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lipsty.livejournal.com
Another reminder of why I hate the Daily Mail so.

Date: 2010-01-06 09:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] i12bmore.livejournal.com
Can I go out on a limb and suggest that D names may be more common amongst African-Americans, who derive the names from Louisiana Creole traditions, and that African-Americans have shorter life spans for reasons unrelated to names? That's the only justification I could come up with off the top of my head of what otherwise sounds like claptrap.

Date: 2010-01-07 04:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nandy-pandy.livejournal.com
I think it's ridiculous to assume that giving a child a name that starts with a particular letter will have any effect on her/his life.
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