Freakonomics - Complete

Most Common Low-Income White Girl Names

1. Ashley 2. Jessica 3. Amanda 4. Samantha 5. Brittany 6. Sarah 7. Kayla 8. Amber 9. Megan 10. Taylor 11. Emily 12. Nicole 13. Elizabeth 14. Heather 15. Alyssa 16. Stephanie 17. Jennifer 18. Hannah 19. Courtney 20. Rebecca

There is considerable overlap, to be sure. But keep in mind that these are the most common names of all, and consider the size of the data set. The difference between consecutive positions on these lists may represent several hundred or even several thousand children. So if Brittany is number five on the low-income list and number eighteen on the middle-income list, you can be assured that Brittany is a decidedly low-end name. Other examples are even more pronounced. Five names in each category don't appear at all in the other category's top twenty. Here are the top five names among high-end and low-end families, in order of their relative disparity with the other category:

Most Common High-End White Girl Names

1. Alexandra 2. Lauren 3. Katherine 4. Madison 5. Rachel

Most Common Low-End White Girl Names

1. Amber 2. Heather 3. Kayla 4. Stephanie 5. Alyssa

And for the boys:

Most Common High-End White Boy Names

1. Benjamin 2. Samuel 3. Jonathan 4. Alexander 5. Andrew

Most Common Low-End White Boy Names

1. Cody 2. Brandon 3. Anthony 4. Justin 5. Robert

Considering the relationship between income and names, and given the fact that income and education are strongly correlated, it is not surprising to find a similarly strong link between the parents' level of education and the name they give their baby. Once again drawing from the pool of most common names among white children, here are the top picks of highly educated parents versus those with the least education:

Most Common White Girl Names Among High-Education Parents

1. Katherine 2. Emma 3. Alexandra 4. Julia 5. Rachel

Most Common White Girl Names Among Low-Education Parents

1. Kayla 2. Amber 3. Heather 4. Brittany 5. Brianna

Most Common White Boy Names Among High-Education Parents

1. Benjamin 2. Samuel 3. Alexander 4. John 5. William

Most Common White Boy Names Among Low-Education Parents

1. Cody 2. Travis 3. Brandon 4. Justin 5. Tyler

The effect is even more pronounced when the sample is widened beyond the most common names. Drawing from the entire California database, here are the names that signify the most poorly educated white parents.

The Twenty White Girl Names

That Best Signify Low-Education Parents*

(Average number of years of mother's education in parentheses)

1. Angel (11.38) 2. Heaven (11.46) 3. Misty (11.61) 4. Destiny (11.66) 5. Brenda (11.71) 6. Tabatha (11.81) 7. Bobbie (11.87) 8. Brandy (11.89) 9. Destinee (11.91) 10. Cindy (11.92) 11. Jazmine (11.94) 12. Shyanne (11.96) 13. Britany (12.05) 14. Mercedes (12.06) 15. Tiffanie (12.08) 16. Ashly (12.11) 17. Tonya (12.13) 18. Crystal (12.15) 19. Brandie (12.16) 20. Brandi (12.17)

* With a minimum of 100 occurrences

If you or someone you love is named Cindy or Brenda and is over, say, forty, and feels that those names did not formerly connote a loweducation family, you are right. These names, like many others, have shifted hard and fast of late. Some of the other low-education names are obviously misspellings, whether intentional or not, of more standard names. In most cases the standard spellings of the names- Tabitha, Cheyenne, Tiffany, Brittany, and Jasmine-also signify low education. But the various spellings of even one name can reveal a strong disparity:

Ten "Jasmines" in Ascending Order of Maternal Education

(Years of mother's education in parentheses)

1. Jazmine (11.94) 2. Jazmyne (12.08) 3. Jazzmin (12.14) 4. Jazzmine (12.16) 5. Jasmyne (12.18) 6. Jasmina (12.50) 7. Jazmyn (12.77) 8. Jasmine (12.88) 9. Jasmin (13.12) 10. Jasmyn (13.23)

Here is the list of low-education white boy names. It includes the occasional misspelling (Micheal and Tylor), but more common is the nickname-as-proper-name trend.

The Twenty White Boy Names

That Best Signify Low-Education Parents*

(Years of mother's education in parentheses)

1. Ricky (11.55) 2. Joey (11.65) 3. Jessie (11.66) 4. Jimmy (11.66) 5. Billy (11.69) 6. Bobby (11.74) 7. Johnny (11.75) 8. Larry (11.80) 9. Edgar (11.81) 10. Steve (11.84) 11. Tommy (11.89) 12. Tony (11.96) 13. Micheal (11.98) 14. Ronnie (12.03) 15. Randy (12.07) 16. Jerry (12.08) 17. Tylor (12.14) 18. Terry (12.15) 19. Danny (12.17) 20. Harley (12.22)