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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election Names

With the presidential election taking place today I thought I would brainstorm some presidential names. With forty-four names to begin with, we hopefully can find a bit of inspiration.

First there are the "traditional" names. There are presidents with these names, but the names are so well used through the years that the strength of the presidential association is miniscule or indirect. People would never guess a George was named for George Washington, or a John for JFK, or Andrew for Andrew Johnson unless the parent chose to emphasize this when discussing the name. Slightly more unique, but still traditional names "inspired" by presidents that pop out at me:

Martin
Grant
Arthur
Calvin
Tyler
Theodore
Warren

There is also a number of names that would fit well with the "last names as first names." Some of these scream "presidential" while others are more subtle. And they range in popularity from rare to top 100. Kennedy and Reagan are quite popular for example, both suggesting a strong reference to the president. Kennedy was ranked 90th amongst girls names in 2011, while Reagan came in at 122nd!

Madison
Pierce
Clinton
Hayes
Carter
Truman
Harrison
Lincoln

Everything I have listed so far is pretty "safe".  If you want to push the limits a little more, why not something like:
Roosevelt
Grover
Millard
Ulysses
Taft
McKinley
Monroe

Here is the real question - do you have to believe in a president's view in order to use them as a baby namesake? For me personally, yes. I really like the name Reagan, but I would not want my daughter permanently linked to the Reagan legacy. I think if the namesake was further back in history I might care about specifics a little less. What do you think? Would you consider a presidential name? Do politics matter for these names?


2 comments:

  1. I would definitely consider using a presidential name and honestly very few of the names that you listed would be off-limits to me. I'd say that if I heard the name Grant, I would never consider the connection with the President, though.

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  2. I really wanted to name our son Lincoln, but DH refused. I think it's a great name though!

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