Baby names reveal parents' political ideology

Fox ^ | 6/7/13 | Stephanie Pappas

[workerbee]

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The sounds of liberal and conservative names varied, too. For both boys and girls, liberals tended to pick more feminine-sounding choices, such as Liam, Ely and Leila names that include lots of L sounds and soft-A endings, including popular choices Ella and Sophia.

Conservatives, on the other hand, tend to pick names with more masculine-sounding Ks, Bs, Ds and Ts, such as Kurt. A couple of famous national political families demonstrate that pattern, Oliver said: The liberal Obamas named their daughters Sasha and Malia, both names heavy on As and Ls, whereas the conservative Palin family picked more masculine-sounding names for both their boys and girls, particularly Track, Trig, Bristol and Piper (although third daughter Willow got a softer-sounding moniker).

The findings of an ideological split mostly among the well-educated are no surprise, Oliver said, as only about 20 percent of the American public holds strong political principles, and those people tend to be college educated. In that group, he said, the data suggest that liberals are looking to distinguish themselves for their culture and education by choosing esoteric names. Conservatives, on the other hand, seem to pick traditional names that will distinguish their kids as economically successful.

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[Drew68]

Roxanne is a family name, too, going back generations, but The Police might have ruined that lovely old name.

Still widely used in Russia and Ukraine, only as "Oksana".

[The_Media_never_lie]

I once met a Nimrod.

[Jack Hammer]

Someone wanna tell Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson they have wimpy names?

[RegulatorCountry]

No Russian or Ukrainian in any of my lines, a few who may have had some Eastern European influence way back, fifteenth century, they were Moravian but were from Alsace, the Black Forest, Canton Basel and the Rhineland Palatinate.

That's not where Roxanne came from though, it appears to have come from Ireland. Surname Neal, and surname James before that. Ol’ Jesse had a few in his line himself, he was a very distant cousin.

[RegulatorCountry]

I had long wanted a certain make and model of car, and had been casually looking for two years for a nice well-kept one still under warranty. Finally found it, negotiated a price, had an independent shop check it out, everything looked good. So I booked a one way cheap flight to Boston, the dealer picked me up and we drove to Manchester, NH. I bought the car and drove it home to NC. Very happy with it.

The car had come to NH by way of California with the original owner. The woman who bought it new was named Sunshine Goodmorning. I still get a whiff of patchouli in the car on hot days, lol.

[Celtic Conservative]

I've always been partial to Jebediah. If I ever had to go into witness protection, I would choose that as a first name.

CC

[Celtic Conservative]

My 100% Irish grandmother was named Anastacia after the saints day that she was born. She was premature and not expected to live, and they named her after the feast of the saint on her birthday. Needless to say she lived. Everyone called her Stacy.

CC

[OldPossum]

Hi Windflier, hope you’re doing well.

Yes, it is a little odd. I don’t understand why people—particularly mothers—do such things. It’s a recipe for confusion and other problems later on in life.

In my case, my father wanted to name me after himself and my mother objected strenuously. So, there was a compromise. I got two distinctly different names but they had the same initials as my dad. Thank goodness!

[BobL]

“The woman who bought it new was named Sunshine Goodmorning. I still get a whiff of patchouli in the car on hot days, lol.”

Hmmm, I wonder if she’s related to this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodluck_Jonathan

[Bigg Red]

Esther is a beautiful name. I do not care for Bertha, though.

Full disclosure: My paternal grandmother was an Esther. :)

[Windflier]

I got two distinctly different names but they had the same initials as my dad. Thank goodness!

Lucky you. My dad got saddled with his mother's maiden name. I'm pretty sure he's the only living person sporting that moniker. It's so unwieldy that the family has called him by his nickname his whole life.