Teachers reveal the 'naughtiest' children's names - but are they or does Jack just get a bad rap because of statistics and stereotypes?

The best and worst-behaved children's names have been revealed

A boy in a classroom reaching forward to pull a girl's pigtail
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Teachers, parents and pupils have voted for the best and worst-behaved names - you might be surprised by the answers.

Choosing a baby name is not an easy decision for expectant parents - after all, your little one is going to have it for the rest of their life. Some parents want a unique baby name that will stand out in the class register, while others are on the hunt for cool baby names or cute baby names instead.

But what about naughty baby names? They're surely not something that parents intentionally give to their children, but it turns out that some names are thought of as more mischievous than others - as one survey found out.

The study, which was carried out by MyNameTags and CensusWide, asked 1,500 teachers, pupils and parents across the UK to take a look at a list of baby names and rank them from best to worst behaved.

Teachers, children and parents all agreed that Jack is the name associated with boys most likely to misbehave - receiving 23% of the vote. Meanwhile, Mia was seen to be the naughtiest girls name - although the children surveyed felt differently, choosing Emily as the name associated with girls most likely to misbehave.

A boy in a classroom stood up on a desk while a teacher and students watching

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Top 5 'naughtiest' boys names

  1. Jack
  2. Harry
  3. Charlie
  4. Oliver
  5. George

Top 5 'naughtiest' girls names

  1. Mia
  2. Ella
  3. Isabella
  4. Amelia
  5. Sophia

Top 5 'best-behaved' boys names

  1. Arthur
  2. Noah
  3. Oscar
  4. Muhammad
  5. Leo

Top 5 'best-behaved' girls names

  1. Isla
  2. Ava
  3. Grace
  4. Olivia
  5. Emily

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

He 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."

Elsewhere, we've rounded up over 180 old-fashioned baby names. And while it turns out that nicknames are the new baby name trend, these 40 baby names have 'fallen out of favour' with millennials - and this traditional name has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since records began.

Ellie Hutchings
Family News Editor

Ellie is GoodtoKnow’s Family News Editor and covers all the latest trends in the parenting world - from relationship advice and baby names to wellbeing and self-care ideas for busy mums. Ellie is also an NCTJ-qualified journalist and has a distinction in MA Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and a first-class degree in Journalism from Cardiff University. Previously, Ellie has worked with BBC Good Food, The Big Issue, and the Nottingham Post, as well as freelancing as an arts and entertainment writer alongside her studies. When she’s not got her nose in a book, you’ll probably find Ellie jogging around her local park, indulging in an insta-worthy restaurant, or watching Netflix’s newest true crime documentary.

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