This is taken from the Freakanomics tear-away calendar for September 24th 2008:
The most common name among the nearly 400 death-row prisoners in Texas is Robert and its variations (Bob/Bobby, etc.) with 18. Next are William/Willie/Billy/Bill (17), and Steven/Stephen/Steve (6).
According to my math that means that just over 10% of the death-row prisoners in Texas share 3 names. Which leads to the question (and I recall this is addressed in the book), what does one's name say about that person? Not that one name is bad or other names are good, but what does a name say about your culture in which you grew up in and the context you were shaped in as a child?
The most common name among the nearly 400 death-row prisoners in Texas is Robert and its variations (Bob/Bobby, etc.) with 18. Next are William/Willie/Billy/Bill (17), and Steven/Stephen/Steve (6).
According to my math that means that just over 10% of the death-row prisoners in Texas share 3 names. Which leads to the question (and I recall this is addressed in the book), what does one's name say about that person? Not that one name is bad or other names are good, but what does a name say about your culture in which you grew up in and the context you were shaped in as a child?