# Link between people's initials and how long they live.  I'm not convinced.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-peoples-initials-and-how-long-they-live-im-not-convinced/481092>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [January 13, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-peoples-initials-and-how-long-they-live-im-not-convinced/481092 "2009-01-13T14:32:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-peoples-initials-and-how-long-they-live-im-not-convinced/481092/21 "2009-01-16T14:17:51Z")

</div>

> [@DrCube](#):
>
> My 2 year old’s initials are MLB.
> 
> So screw saving for retirement; when I get old I’m going to live with my millionaire athlete son!

So are my wife’s and she is a great fan of Major League Baseball. But then so am I.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-peoples-initials-and-how-long-they-live-im-not-convinced/481092/22 "2009-01-16T14:22:13Z")

</div>

> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#):
>
> Exactly. The kinds of parents who think about checking whether a child’s initials spell out “RAT” or some other weird word are IMO likely, on the whole, to be better at parenting than those who do not.

Even if the theory hadn’t been debunked, this is ludicrous.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bolt\_the\_Nut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bolt\_the\_Nut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bolt_the_Nut)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-peoples-initials-and-how-long-they-live-im-not-convinced/481092/23 "2009-01-18T05:38:06Z")

</div>

There is a noted connection between suffering chronic discrimination and reduced health (for example, see Yip T, Gee GC, and Takeuchi DT: _Racial Discrimination and Psychological Distress_). If a person suffers frequent ridicule or generally feels negative about themselves as a result of their initials, it is not implausible that this could reduce their health and lifespan. I would be very surprised if the effect was statistically significant, though. (In other words, I would be surprised if it could be mathematically proven.)

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-peoples-initials-and-how-long-they-live-im-not-convinced/481092.md?page=1)