From Reagan to Kennedy: Liberal and Conservative Baby Names

~Jennifer - posted on 03/09/2010 ( 8 moms have responded )

This is from the Circle of Moms Blog, and I thought it was very interesting.



http://blog.circleofmoms.com/2010/03/10/...



From Reagan to Kennedy: Liberal and Conservative Baby Names

Published March 10, 2010



Ronald Reagan left office in 1989. John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.



Still, conservatives maintain a strong place in their heart for President Reagan; liberals a strong admiration for President Kennedy (as well as his political family).



How do we know this? Using Circle of Moms Child Space data, of course! We looked at the names parents give to their children. Notably, Reagan (usually a girl’s name), is the most conservative among the top 250 names Circle of Moms’ mothers have given to their kids: 89% of mothers of children named Reagan identify themselves as conservative or Republican.



On the other side of the coin, Kennedy — also usually a girl’s name — stands as the #11 most liberal name, with 67% of “moms of Kennedy” identifying themselves as liberal or Democratic.



Jalen — which has no political ramifications we’re aware of — is the most liberal boy’s name, weighing in at 94% liberal. Colton is the most conservative boy’s name, at 81% conservative.



Fear not, Sarah Palin fans (and haters): Sarah is the second most conservative female name, after Reagan. Numbers three and four are also Biblical names: Rachel and Rebecca.



After Colton, Scott and Matt are the most conservative names for boys.



The most liberal names for girls are Jada, Maya, and Jasmine; for boys, the most liberal names after Jaden are Xavier and Julian.



Interestingly, common names tend to be favored among conservative moms, while less common names are more common among liberal moms. All of the top ten most common girls’ names (Sarah, Hannah, Emily, Jessica, Lauren, Madison, Emma, Samantha, Ashley, Taylor, Olivia) are more common among conservatives than among liberals. And nine of the top ten boys’ names (Matthew, Andrew, Jacob, Noah, Joshua, Ryan, Tyler, Ethan, Michael, and Christopher) are more common among conservatives, while only one (Jordan) is more common among liberals.



Moms who have given their kids uncommon names — names held by less than one in 10,000 Americans — tend to be more liberal. Nearly half of all children have uncommon names (names at least as rare as Ray, Camron, Sky, Isis, and Jarrod). And a substantial majority — 58% — of those kids are the children of liberal mothers.