Damien and Myra most mistrusted names: UK poll

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-22 10:43

LONDON - Damien, Myra and Carrie are Britain's most feared and mistrusted names due to superstitious and dark associations, according to a survey on Monday.

The poll of 2,000 Britons -- commissioned by Warner Home Video to publicize the release of television series Supernatural Season 4: Volume 2 on DVD -- showed the effects of television and fiction on the way that people view names.

Damien topped the poll with nine out of 10 respondents uneasy about the associations with the devil child from the 1970s film "The Omen". Myra, was the next most feared and distrusted name at 83 percent, potentially due to associations with British serial killer Myra Hindley, the survey said.

That was followed by two other prominent horror film names Carrie (a 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek), Rosemary ("Rosemary's Baby", directed by Roman Polanski) and Judas, who the Bible says betrayed Jesus Christ.

Three quarters of respondents said they would avoid dating someone with the name Damien and 66 percent of women said they were superstitious about naming a child after someone they hated at school or an ex-boyfriend.

More than a third of respondents said they believed that teachers gave higher marks to children with attractive names and 70 percent of people said they would pass judgment about a person's lifestyle and character based on their name.

A top 10 list of superstitious names follows:

1) Damien 90 pct

2) Myra 83 pct

3) Carrie 76 pct

4) Rosemary 73 pct

5) Judas 69 pct

6) Adolf 65 pct

7) Pandora 63 pct

8) Regan 60 pct

9) Samara 50 pct

10) Boris 41 pct