The naughtiest children's names revealed, according to teachers and parents

27 February 2024, 10:46

The naughtiest children's names have been revealed. Picture: Getty

And it's bad news for all the parents who named their children Jack, Harry, Ella or Mia.

A study has revealed as a nation, we judge little ones based entirely on what they’re called - with Jack and Mia coming out as the worst or 'naughiest'.

The survey - by MyNameTags and CensusWide - analysed the opinions of 1,500 teachers, children and parents in the UK and asked them to rank the most popular 20 baby names of 2019 from what they perceived as best or worst behaved.

It’s bad news for anyone with kids called Mia and Jack as they were revealed as the UK’s naughtiest names, whilst those with the names Isla and Arthur are considered the best-behaved.

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Unfortunately for all the Jack’s out there, teachers, children and parents all agreed that boys given that moniker are the most likely to misbehave with 23% of the vote.

Jack and Mia have been voted the naughtiest names. Picture: Getty Images

Elsewhere on the list, Harry, Connor, Daniel, Riley and Tyler also made the list of boys’ names as the most mischievous.

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Meanwhile, parents and teachers voted Mia as connected with bad behaviour, while children themselves expected Emilys to cause more trouble. Interestingly, girls in general ranked as less naughty than the boys.

When it comes to names associated with ‘good behaviour’, just 4% of those surveyed expected Arthurs to be naughty, as well as Grace for a girl.

Shockingly, the survey also found that 96% of teachers, children and parents don’t associate the name Mia with being clever, while Jack was also bottom of the list for intelligence.

Mia and Ella were voted the naughtiest names for girls. Picture: Alamy

Managing director at My Nametags, Lars B. Andersen, said that someone’s first name “can really paint a picture of what they are like.”

She said: "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."