Look, we do not mean to snigger, but where did you say you live again?

What with Britain becoming a more egalitarian society — the sort of place where even an Old Etonian may once again aspire to become Prime Minister — we no longer hunt for fresh ways to sneer at our fellow citizens: not more than nine new ways a year, at any rate.

So, just in case your accent, your name, your job, car, where you went to school, which college you attended (at Oxford or Cambridge), which newspaper you read (which is fair enough), whether you use a lavatory or a toilet and how you eat asparagus are not enough to place you below the salt, now the name of your road could land you in as much social soup as christening your daughter Chardonnay.

Street names are a key indicator of social class and thus personal wealth, according to new research by Professor Richard Webber, of University College London (no street address given).

Do you live in a Mews, a Lane or a Way? Then chances are you are richer than someone who lives in a Terrace, a Street or even a Crescent. Set up home in a Street starting with the name Station or Coronation and you are likely to be less well heeled than someone living in a Street beginning with Grosvenor or Oxford.

This may sting MPs, but Professor Webber has found that if you live in a Street named after a politician you are likely to be among the least well-off.

Here is the dilemma: you’ve found a house on Cameron Crescent. You can afford it financially, but can you afford it socially? Blair Square is an improvement but, if serious prestige is the aim, then any political association is likely to lead you into a cul-de-sac.