It is said that once a child reaches the age of seven, you can see the adult they’re going to become.

And according to an online study of children’s names, if a seven-year-old is landed with a name like Kayden or Jasey-Jo, chances are they’re not going to become a doctor, a lawyer or a nuclear physicist.

A study of more than 60,000 schoolchildren found that those with modern names, or unusual spellings of names, are more likely to misbehave than those with traditional names. And teachers are more likely to associate names like Kourtney or Kyle with bad behaviour than, say, Sarah or James.

One teacher I know reels off some appalling names – often made-up by parents – of youngsters she has taught, and some eye-watering tales of their equally appalling behaviour.

Of course, there’ll always be exceptions – I went to school with a girl called Crystle who went on to read medicine at Cambridge, despite being saddled with a name more suited to a cage dancer – but whether we like it or not, we tend to make snap decisions about people based simply on their name.

Yes, there’s an element of snobbery involved, but I’m afraid the world isn’t a particularly tolerant place and saddling a child with a daft name doesn’t give them the best start in life.

When I was growing up there were lots of Julies, Michelles, Carolines, Davids, Michaels and Richards. Unusual names were few and far between. But today, a child with an ordinary name would probably stand out in many classrooms.

When did it become okay for children to be given tacky names – often hyphenated to make them look even more naff – ridiculous spellings of names, or perhaps worst of all, just nicknames or initials?

My heart bleeds for these children because they’ll have to go through their entire lives enduring the irritation and embarrassment of spelling their names. Chances are they’ll encounter prejudice, too. It may not be fair, but some employers may find it difficult to take someone called Karessa-Jayde or Tee-Jay seriously.

Surely there should be some control when it comes to registering a baby’s name, especially if it’s a made-up name. Why should children suffer just to satisfy their parents’ self-indulgence?

I don’t buy the argument that people choose unusual names because they want their little darlings to stand out. More likely it’s because they want to be like every other parent who chooses baby names from celebrity magazines – or because they simply can’t spell.

Tacky names are like cheap tattoos. They soon become naff and dated, but leave you forever branded.