Department of Psychology, University College London.
The surnames Kerr and Carr have been claimed, on the basis of folkloric and etymological evidence, to be associated with an increased incidence of left-handedness. In 1974 a survey by the Royal College of General Practitioners suggested that the incidence of left-handedness was nearly three times as high in Kerr/Carr families as in controls. That survey was however potentially flawed by response biases. In the present study, which used better controls, no evidence was found for an increased incidence of left-handedness in Kerrs and Carrs.