Birth Order and Personality


I have to admit, right here and now, that I'm

addicted to personality typing! I've found a lot of info 

on the subject on the web, but, oddly enough, there's not a 

whole lot about a theory of personality that's been very 

popular lately: birth order. While I don't think it's a a 

completely accurate theory, it does have some valid points

and besides, it's interesting! So I've put a list of

different birth order types and their characteristics here on

my page. Enjoy!




FIRSTBORNS:


    

  • perfectionists

  • achievement-oriented

  • reach for impossible goals

  • value themselves by what they do

  • often get depressed and give up

  • devastated by failure

  • remember mistakes and dwell on them

  • can only live with being number one

  • competitive; life is a contest

  • hate criticism

  • have to win to keep high self-esteem

  • reliable

  • conscientious; can be everybody's rescuer

  • make lists

  • well-organized

  • critical

  • intolerant and impatient (especially with those they live with)

  • serious

  • scholarly

  • get too involved in too many things with little time for self

  • pleases; needs to learn how to say "no"

  • high expectations for themselves

  • goal-oriented

  • ask a lot of questions

  • want lots of details

  • cautious

  • careful

  • usually get the most discipline

  • think clearly

  • have excellent memories

  • "forgiving" is not a strong suit

  • often have trouble sharing thoughts and feelings

  • learn the hard way

  • stubborn

  • high need for approval

  • get along with authority figures

  • very "uptight"


    FAMOUS FIRSTBORNS:
    

  • Charles Manson

  • Juliet Hulme

  • Cher

  • Queen Elizabeth II

  • Douglas Adams

  • President Clinton

  • Agnetha Faltskog

  • Isaac Hanson

  • Anissa Jones

  • Richard Carpenter

  • Natasha Gregson Wagner

  • Gwyneth Paltrow

  • Margaret Cho

  • David Nelson

  • Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg

  • Christina Crawford

  • Leif Garrett

  • Carrie Fisher

  • Princess Caroline of Monaco

  • Ted Bundy

  • Frederick Douglass

  • Jeffrey Dahmer

  • Lindsay Lohan

  • Wynonna Judd

  • Mark Mathabane

  • Mary Bell

  • Shania Twain

  • Melissa Joan Hart

  • Melissa Gilbert

  • Alyssa Milano

  • Cain


    SECOND-BORN (OF TWO CHILDREN):
    

  • often referred to as "try harder kids"

  • exhibit extreme personality difference from the older one

  • may rebel to find his/her own place

  • demand less of their parents' attention than the older sibling

  • friendly

  • flexible

  • rarely concerned with rules and regulations

  • if older sibling is perceived as inept, may usurp his/her role


    FAMOUS SECOND-BORNS:
    

  • Kristy McNichol

  • Patricia Krenwinkel

  • Roger Clinton

  • Fran Drescher

  • Karen Carpenter

  • Soleil Moon Frye

  • Princess Margaret

  • Claire Danes

  • Ricky Nelson

  • JFK, Jr.

  • Desi Arnaz, Jr.

  • Dawn Lyn

  • Ashley Judd

  • Elijah Blue Allman

  • Sara Gilbert


    MIDDLE CHILDREN:
    

  • mediator

  • negotiator

  • avoids conflict

  • peace-makers

  • fewest pictures in family album

  • contradictory nature

  • sociable, yet loners

  • friendly, yet quiet

  • outgoing, yet shy

  • impatient and easily frustrated, yet laid back

  • competitive, yet easygoing

  • rebel, yet is the family peacemaker

  • aggressive, yet avoids conflict

  • compromise

  • independent

  • most secretive of the children

  • least likely to seek professional help

  • extremely loyal to peer group

  • have many friends in many places

  • prone to embarrassment, but will never admit it

  • life is always "unfair"

  • balanced

  • often manifests either strongest or weakest personality in family

  • not used to much attention-attention and compliments embarrass


    FAMOUS MIDDLE CHILDREN:
    

  • Pauline Parker

  • Sharon Stone

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe

  • Susan Atkins

  • Taylor Hanson

  • Donny Osmond

  • Prince Charles

  • Natalie Wood

  • Johnnie Whitaker

  • the Dionne Quintuplets

  • Madonna

  • Michael Jackson

  • Grace Kelly

  • Louie Anderson

  • Norma Bell

  • Marilu Henner

  • Stella McCartney

  • Tennessee Williams


    YOUNGEST CHILDREN:
    

  • love the limelight

  • outgoing charmers

  • affectionate

  • charming

  • uncomplicated

  • at times absent-minded

  • "a little different"

  • precocious

  • likely to be a clown or entertainer, but want to be taken seriously

  • carefree

  • vivacious

  • perceptive

  • "people persons"

  • quick to blame others

  • good salesperson

  • engaging

  • live with ambivalence

  • can be messy

  • struggle with self-centeredness

  • independent

  • least likely to be disciplined

  • often feel that nothing that they do is important

  • have a hard time getting things straight

  • lovable manipulators

  • like to be taken care of if kept "the baby"

  • least organized of the birth orders


    FAMOUS YOUNGEST CHILDREN:
    

  • Princess Stephanie of Monaco

  • Celine Dion

  • Crown Prince Alexei of Russia

  • Janet Jackson

  • Charles Watson

  • Candace Cameron

  • Marie Osmond

  • Rory Kennedy



    ONLY CHILDREN:
    

  • reliable

  • conscientious

  • super-conservative

  • achievement-oriented

  • may have difficulty sharing/compromising

  • typically get along better with younger or older children

  • stubborn and uncooperative if accustomed to getting his/her own way

  • paradoxically, the majority of them grow up to be either 
    independent and self-sufficient or helpless and dependent


    FAMOUS ONLY CHILDREN:
    

  • Candice Bergen

  • Christina Applegate

  • Chelsea Clinton

  • LeAnn Rimes

  • John the Baptist

  • Howard Stern

  • John Lennon

  • Lenny Kravitz

  • Phil Lynott

  • Jay Leno

  • Chynna Phillips

  • China Kantner