Are you wanting to raise the next president of the United States?   Many presidents have very popular names like John, George, James and William.  Then there are some that are not quite so common, such as Rutherford, Millard and Barack Obama.  If you are looking for a strong name that will make your friends, family and acquaintances think “leader” when they hear or say your son’s name, picking a name used by a former president just may be a good idea.

The most popular Presidential names

Several names have been common between presidents in the last 200+ years.  These names have also remained popular with the Social Security Administration (SSA) over the years. 

John has been the first name of a president four times during the last 44 terms.  According to the SSA, it is one of the top 20 names for boys for the last 130 years, and, except for the last two decades, it fell in the top 10.  At the end of the 1800’s and beginning of the 1900’s it came in number one.

George was not only the name of our first president, but the name of many presidents, including two of our most recent presidents Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.  The name was very popular early in the 1900’s falling slightly every decade.  So far for this decade it is pretty low on the totem pole.  You may be able to attribute that to the recent presidential decisions.  Still a classic, George is a name that you would not go wrong with as it is sure to make a comeback.

James is one of the most popular names as it has belonged to six of our presidents.  It is no surprise that for most of the last 130 years,  James has been in the top five names for boys.   James has proven to be a name that has never gone out of style, and it doesn’t look like it is going to be going anywhere for the next several decades at least.

William has been claimed by four of the presidents and remained in the top 10 for most of the 100+ years.  It did see a drop during the term of the last president who shared the name, Bill Clinton in the 1900’s, but recently came back up to the top 10 in popularity once Clinton left office.

Unusual Presidential names

While there have been a lot of presidents that have had very common popular names, there are also several presidents that have claimed less usual, more unique names.  Did being named an unusual name help people remember that president more than they remembered one of the presidents with a popular name?

Rutherford was the first name of our 19th president from 1887-1891, but sadly was already forgotten about when the SSA started keeping track of popular baby names during the 1880’s.  The name wasn’t even popular when the guy was president, and there hasn’t been much change since.

Millard was our 13th president and sadly hasn’t had much more luck in the baby naming polls than Rutherford did 35 years later.  Unless you are searching for a unique presidential name, you may want to steer clear from Millard, as your son may not be too happy when they grow up.

Barack is the name of 44th and most recently elected president and, per the SSA, before the election in 2008 did not rate on the chart of popularity.  This name will probably gain popularity, at least for the next four to eight years, as a large percentage of the United States rallies around this new president who is original and unique in his own way.  It was definitely not popular before November 4, 2008, will you help make it popular now?

Other Presidential Options

There are a lot of other names that belonged to our presidents that have proven they can stand the test of time.  Some of these include Andrew, Thomas, Stephen, Zachary, and Benjamin.  There are also some others that you may or may not want to steer clear from, depending on how unique you would like your child to be.  Those include Woodrow, Herbert, Ulysses, and Chester.  There are some less popular names that will probably not embarrass your child as they go through school including Franklin, Abraham, and Harry.

You can even consider using the name of the president’s children as inspiration. The names of Barack Obama’s children, Malia and Sasha, have seen a recent rise in popularity.

Using middle or last names for your baby’s first name

There are many Presidents that had middle or last names that can be used for a first name.  Some of the possibilities from last names are Jackson, Harrison, Tyler, Lincoln, Grant, Arthur, Wilson ,Truman and Obama.

Middle names that you may want to consider are Henry, Howard or David. 

Unisex Presidential baby names

Even if you are having a girl it doesn’t mean that you cannot choose a strong name from a former president.  There are many names that can be for either a boy or a girl.  Some of your choices include Madison, Taylor, Leslie and Reagan.  You could even go with Hillary or Sarah to honor the first two women who had the best chances ever of becoming president and vice-president in 2008.  Become unique and creative and your little girl could make your friends think of a past hero or start planning for an election in 2052.

Read More:

All-American Baby Names
What's Old is New: 150 Old Fashioned by Trendy Baby Names
Unique Literary Baby Names

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