There’s been 46 of them. And they’ve been doing it since 1789. So, we should be able to see some interesting patterns here. Let’s see how they all break out.
One-Offs (20)
Not quite half the presidents are one-offs. Interestingly, these include several fairly common names – Richard (Nixon), Joseph (Biden), Steven (Grover’s Cleveland’s real first name), Martin (Van Buren), Benjamin (Harrison)…. Now, they also include such oddities as Dwight (Eisenhower), Lyndon (Johnson), Ulysses (Grant), Millard (Fillmore), and Barack (Obama).
Somebody lend this guy a comb
Franklin (2)
It’s not that common a name. So, it’s a little surprising that there are two presidents – Pierce and Roosevelt – claiming it.
As with Frank and Francis, the basic root for Franklin means “free.” “Franklin” itself denotes a “freeholder,” someone who held land, but was not a noble. A similar term might be “yeoman.”
Franklin is, of course, also a surname. And I’m that guessing both of our presidents may owe their first names to Benjamin Franklin. I’m afraid I just can’t be certain on that though.
It’s not a very popular name, coming in at #395 in 2021.
Not too many other famous Franklins out there
Thomas (2)
You might be scratching your head about this one. I’m sure you got Thomas Jefferson. Bet you didn’t know, though, that Woodrow Wilson’s first name is actually Thomas.
Thomas means “twin,” and comes from the apostle. I’m guessing that Thomas was indeed a twin himself, though I really couldn’t find anything on it.
The name comes from the Aramaic to’ma, which means “to cleave,” which I guess could indeed be said of twins. The Greek form (i.e., how he was actually referenced in the NT) is Didymus.
The name’s been popular since the Norman Invasion. As recently as 2006, it ranked 16th in the US (but is at 46 in 2021). Other popular Thomases include Aquinas, Becket, Hobbes, Hardy, and Edison.
Interestingly, the two presidents were both Virginians and both Democrats.
Virginia is also known as the Mother of Presidents
Andrew (2)
St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. Seeing as there are 19 presidents with some Scottish or Scots-Irish background, it’s not too surprising that there would be a couple of Andrews. In particular, we’ve got Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson.
Andrew is another apostolic name. Legend has it that the saint’s relics were shipped to Scotland by one St. Regulus. St Andrews is an important town there, home to a major university as well as the preeminent Scottish golf course.
Interestingly, Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross. A victory over the English in which an x-shaped cloud appeared in the sky cemented Andrew’s status as Scotland’s patron saint, as well as an x as the Scottish flag.
The name itself derives from the Greek Andros, meaning “man,” and would denote something like “manly” or “brave.”
Andrew was the 11th most common boy’s name in 2006. It’s now at #57, however, probably due to the scandals surrounding Prince Andrew.
William (3)
The name William also came over with the Norman Invasion. William the Conqueror was a huge figure in English history, so it’s not too surprising that there have been four King Williams throughout the centuries, including the 1000s, 1100s, 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s. There will also be a William sometime in the 21st Century, when Prince William inherits the throne. He will, in fact, be William V.
The name itself is Germanic, and means “will helmet.” That kinda makes sense, though why anyone would name their darling baby boy such a combination certainly does not. It does, though, reflect a very common Germanic naming convention, where random words are combined. Herbert (as in Herbert Hoover), for example, means “army bright.” And Ronald (as in Reagan) means “strong ruler.”
Our three Williams include William Jefferson Clinton, William Howard Taft, and William Henry Harrison. That first one’s rather interesting, for a couple of reasons:
- He typically went by the nickname, Bill
- His middle name is after another president
- His original name was William Jefferson Blythe III, after his father, who died three months after he was born (Clinton was the surname of his stepfather)
In 2021, William came in at #6 in the US. Interestingly, the Irish version, Liam, came in first.
George (3)
Nothing too obscure here. You’ve got the Father of His Country (Washington) and two of the last six presidents (Bush).
That those last two are related certainly helped. What’s interesting about them, however, is that, though they were father and son, the son was not a “Junior.” Instead, we’ve got a George Walker Bush and a George Herbert Walker Bush.
Once again, we’ve got a name with a close association with England. In fact, St George is that country’s patron saint.
How that came about, though, is a little obscure. The real St George was most likely a Roman soldier who was martyred somewhere in the Middle East. No actual ties to England, I’m afraid.
There have actually been six Georges sitting on the English throne, starting in 1714. In fact, they constitute no less than half of all British monarchs since that time.
The name itself means “farmer” in Greek. It actually comes from a title for Zeus, who was originally an agricultural god.
George is one of those names that, though hugely popular in the past, is definitely on the way out. Currently, it doesn’t even break the top 100, coming in at 134 in 2021. I’m guessing young Prince George will probably help a little though.
John (4)
We’ve got another father-son match here. And as with the Bushes, the son is not a junior. Instead, we’ve got John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
You can probably guess John Fitzgerald Kennedy as one of the others. Extra points, though, if you guessed the fourth, John Tyler. He is indeed pretty obscure.
John is such a common name that it’s made its way into the generic John Doe. It was indeed the #1 name in the US in the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th. Probably through overuse, though, it dropped in 2021 to 27th.
Its initial popularity probably comes from its being both the name of another apostle, but also of John the Baptist, probably the main figure in the Jesus narrative apart from Jesus himself.
The name started out as the Hebrew Yehocanon, meaning “God is Gracious” (and probably more familiar to us as Jonathan). John is a shortened form, and comes from the Greek Ioannis.
Interestingly, there is only one British monarch with the name. The original King John was such a disaster that the name subsequently fell out of favor.
You may have heard of his involvement with the Magna Carta, where he gave away a lot of his royal rights (but also paved the way for democracy). He also lost Normandy, bankrupted the country, was excommunicated by the church, and was known for a mean and spiteful personality.
As portrayed by actor Paul Giamatti
James (6)
James is another name with Scottish roots. Indeed, of our six presidential Jameses, four have Scottish blood. Our two outliers are James Madison and James Garfield. Of the other four, two – James K Polk and James Buchanan – are purely Scottish. And that leaves us with our remaining two mixed breeds, James Monroe and James Earl (“Jimmy”) Carter.
As for that Scottish connection … Though James has been one of the most popular names of all time in any English-speaking country, it was even more popular in Scotland. And that may be due to the string of Scottish kings who reigned from 1400-1625, all six of whom were named James.
Interestingly, James is originally from Jacob, a Hebrew name meaning “supplanter” (literally, “one who takes by the heel”). That rather odd definition comes from the Biblical Jacob, another twin, who was born after his brother Esau, and supposedly holding his heel. He would later cheat the elder Esau out of his birthright, pretending to be Esau and getting his blind father, Isaac, to give him his blessing.
There are also two apostle Jameses, and a half-brother of Jesus as well, so I’m sure they also helped its popularity. It still ranked #5 in 2021.
A final note …
One thing you may have noticed is that are some very common names that are totally lacking from the list of presidents – Robert, Charles, David, Daniel, Alexander, Christopher, Michael, Henry …
Which is odd, as five presidential names – Millard, Ulysses, Dwight, Barack and Rutherford – didn’t even make the top 1000 in 2021. In fact, two didn’t even break the top 20,000, with Barack coming in at #20,959 and Millard at #25,242.
Bet you didn’t know Obama is a junior (this is his dad)
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