Taylor beats Tayla beats Taylah, Crystal beats Krystal: Traditional names have better credit scores

IF YOU’RE a Jess, Tamika, Cody or Harley, we have bad news. But if you’re an Eliza, Charlotte, Oliver or Angus, you’re in the clear.

IF YOUR name is Jess, Tamika, Cody or Harley, we have bad news.

You are probably terrible with money, according to analysis by CreditSimple.com.au, which has delved into the data to rank Australia’s first names by their average credit score.

A credit score is a rating between zero and 1000 indicating your financial history. The higher the score, the more attractive you are to lenders — as well as members of the opposite sex.

The top five names overall were women’s names, with Valda scoring 792, Mavis 784, Beryl 783, Joan 782 and Marjorie 782. That’s because women tend to have higher credit scores than men, and older generations naturally score higher.

“The average male score is 698 while the average female score is 707, and the highest scoring male name, Barrie, scores lower than the fifth female name, Marjorie,” said CreditSimple spokeswoman Emily Price.

“Part of this is because women tend to score higher than men across all generations, but it’s also because your credit score generally improves as you get older, and as you gradually prove that you’re responsible and capable of paying your bills.”

In the men’s category, Barrie came out on top with 769, Donald 767, Reginald 764, Melvyn 763 and Luigi 760. At the bottom end, Cody scored 566, Harley 566, Josh 574, Dylan 575 and Jayden 578.

For the girls, Jess came in last place with 551, Tamika scored 554, Kayla 560, and two separate spellings of Taylah took out the fourth and fifth place, with Taylah on 573 and Tayla on 575. “Sometimes sticking with traditional spelling, or even changing a single letter, can make a difference,” Ms Price said.

“Women named Taylor rather than Tayla or Taylah score extra points — 578 compared to 575 and 573, respectively — and those named Crystal rather than Krystal have a one-point advantage — 583 to 582.”

Ms Price said when broken down across generations, Asian names emerged at the top for Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, but popular royal-style names such as Charlotte, Kate, Harry and Edward took the top spots for Gen Z.

“The top scoring names for Gen Z females are Eliza [643], Charlotte [641], Julia [638], Isabelle [637] and Kate [634], while the Gen Z males are Oliver [633], Angus [630], Harry [629], Edward [628] and Max [628],” she said.

Most credit scores sit between 300 and 750, and a higher score gives you more leverage to negotiate a better deal from banks, telcos, insurance companies and utilities. Consumers with a low score may find it harder to obtain credit, or they may be charged a higher interest rate.

A credit score is not the same as a credit report, which is a full history of an individual’s bill payments, defaults, court judgments, and credit relationships such as mortgages or credit cards.

Consumers have a legal right to obtain their credit score for free through one of the three credit reporting bodies — Dun & Bradstreet, which owns CreditSimple, Veda, which owns GetCreditScore, and Experian.

“Regardless of your name and how you spell it, we encourage all Aussies to check their credit score and see how they stack up,” Ms Price said.

In the US, researchers have long studied the relationship between names and school performance, career opportunities and economic outcomes.

In a paper titled “The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names”, economist Steven D. Levitt, co-founder of the Freakonomics podcast, analysed a database of more than 16 million California birth certificates going back to 1961.

“The data show that, on average, a person with a distinctively black name — whether it is a woman named Imani or a man named DeShawn — does have a worse life outcome than a woman named Molly or a man named Jake,” Levitt writes.

“But it isn’t the fault of his or her name. If two black boys, Jake Williams and DeShawn Williams, are born in the same neighbourhood and into the same familial and economic circumstances, they would likely have similar life outcomes.

“But the kind of parents who name their son Jake don’t tend to live in the same neighbourhoods or share economic circumstances with the kind of parents who name their son DeShawn.

“And that’s why, on average, a boy named Jake will tend to earn more money and get more education than a boy named DeShawn. DeShawn’s name is an indicator — but not a cause — of his life path.”

BEST FEMALE NAMES

• Valda 792

• Mavis 784

• Beryl 783

• Joan 782

• Marjorie 782

BEST MALE NAMES

• Barrie 769

• Donald 767

• Reginald 764

• Mervyn 763

• Luigi 760

WORST FEMALE NAMES

• Jess 551

• Tamika 554

• Kayla 560

• Taylah 573

• Tayla 575

WORST MALE NAMES

• Cody 566

• Harley 566

• Josh 574

• Dylan 575

• Jayden 578

Source: CreditSimple.com.au

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