Andy, Anthony, Anderson, Apple, Angie, Angle, Angeline, Alice, anymore?
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.
Dr David Holmes, psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: ‘When caring for our children, we give much thought to keeping germs at bay but none whatsoever to the health impact of a name.
‘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.’
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