Northumberland Police have recently released information contained the top 10 most common criminal first names in the North East for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Perhaps surprisingly, the same 10 names recur across the three years, albeit with different rankings. To clarify, the term ‘criminal’ in context to this information is anyone convicted of any crime at least once within Sunderland or Newcastle.
In 2016, the order of the most common first names of criminals is as follows:
10.Daniel
9. Lee
8.Stephen
7.Christopher
6.James
5.Mark
4.Paul
3.John
2.Michael
1.David
In 2017:
10.Stephen
9.Daniel
8.Mark
7.Christopher
6.James
5.Lee
4.Paul
3.John
2.David
1.Michael
And the order for 2018 is as follows:
10.Stephen
9.Daniel
8.Mark
7.James
6.Lee
5.Christopher
4.Paul
3.John
2.David
1.Michael
The list includes any abbreviations of said names, so, for example, Christopher could also be a Chris. The information is taken directly from their birth certificates, rather than names they prefer to be known as.
Stephen Burton, 27, a student from the University of Sunderland said: “I’m surprised such an old-fashioned, royal name has such a bad reputation”.
David Parkin, 25, an employee for Sunderland City Council, perhaps saw the funny side and said: “Second is better than third”.