# Waynes's World..., or Sit Down Wayne!  Be calm Wayne...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wayness-world-or-sit-down-wayne-be-calm-wayne/68994>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 16, 2001, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wayness-world-or-sit-down-wayne-be-calm-wayne/68994 "2001-06-16T02:21:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2001, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wayness-world-or-sit-down-wayne-be-calm-wayne/68994/1 "2001-06-16T02:21:45Z")

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I’m sure some of you ‘net wanderers out there, as well as others (well, who do I expect to run into around here), have run across some folks’ apparently high correlation of the middle name “Wayne” with murderers. Since I’ve been clued to it for years now, I know I can not easily be objective about it.

If one traipses about the 'net, one certainly finds references to murderous souls bearing _that_ middle name.

I suspect BS because I can’t fathom any reason behind such a relationship.

So has anybody really studied this issue? Is there a positive correlation? Or is it more BS?

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**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2001, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wayness-world-or-sit-down-wayne-be-calm-wayne/68994/2 "2001-06-16T02:44:24Z")

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Well, there are a few explanations I can think of. Granted, they’re not all what you would call “logical” but…what the hell:

1. Mothers, knowing in advance that her kid is predisposed to killing sprees, gives him the middle name “Wayne.”

2. People with the name “Wayne” are automatically more likely to kill based solely on their name.

3. Killers, hearing about the statistical significance of the name Wayne, legally change their middle names just to screw with people’s minds.

4. It’s a misconception based upon incomplete information.

5. It is true and it’s just a statistical anomoly.

Take your pick. Me? I’m just grabbing my bucket of popcorn and waiting until John Wayne Bobbit starts robbing Blockbuster stores for extra cash.

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**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2001, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wayness-world-or-sit-down-wayne-be-calm-wayne/68994/3 "2001-06-16T06:37:41Z")

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**Chuck Shepherd** (of [News of the Weird](http://www.newsoftheweird.com)) has also noticed the frequency with which “Wayne” shows up as the name (especially middle name) of murderers.

For instance:

> [@](#):
>
> 1996 – In September 1996, News of the Weird listed an array of vicious criminals who happened to have the middle name Wayne. More: In November, Georgia executed Ellis Wayne Felker for the 1981 murder of a college student. Also in November, the suspected rapist of a 12-year-old girl in Petaluma, Calif. (two miles from where Polly Klaas was abducted in 1993), Larry Wayne Cole, apparently died of natural causes while on the lam. And in October, the Oregon Parole Board turned down the latest bid by Richard Wayne Godwin, serving a life sentence for the 1979 rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl.