What’s in a name? A lot apparently. A data graphic created by D3.js using information from the Federal Election Commission shows the likelihood of a particular party affiliation based on first name.
For example, people named Delbert or Duane are more likely to be Republicans while the Jonahs and Maliks of the world are more likely to lean left. The information is based on campaign contributions to Republican or Democratic candidates or causes.
Among the top Democratic names are Dylan, Ava, Marissa, Erika, Alexandra and Hannah. Republicans favor Brent, Troy, Darrell, Billy, Randy and Vernon. Notice anything here?
The graph clearly shows that female names are vastly more likely to lean left than right. Looking at the analysis of all names analyzed, it took more than 50 names on the Republican side to find a distinctly female name; that’s Tammy. Meanwhile on the Democrat side, there is a fairly even mix of female to male names.
The data is also broken down to individual sexes. When looking at just girl names there are just under 50 names in the Republican corner. On the side of Democrats, that number is more than 400.
This emphasizes a point many Democrats try to illustrate – that the Republican party is out of touch with women. Because the data is drawn from campaign finance contribution records, it shows that far fewer women contribute to Republican candidates than Democrats.
The information also is telling of a parent’s political affiliation. People don’t necessarily choose their own name, so that information, in some ways, says more about the parent’s political ideologies than the individual. However, as the data analysis points out, children tend to learn political leanings from their parents.
In some instances, individuals could be born with a name that leans to one side of the political spectrum, but choose a nickname that leans the other way. For example, incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is a staunch Republican. However, his birth name, Addison is only slightly to the right and his middle name, Mitchell, leans Democrat. However, Mitch is solidly Republican.
The same company that analyzed this data also created an app where users can find out the political leanings of any name. The Nametrix baby names app also tells users what they can expect for possible career choices for their little bundle of joy.
