Right?! Haha. This makes sense. I personally identify as Libertarian, though my leanings are certainly more conservative (I could do without the social control, thanks). The names I tend to go for do have harder sounds in them – [name_m]Hector[/name_m], Dashiel, [name_m]Matthias[/name_m]; [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_u]Valentine[/name_u], [name_f]Yvonne[/name_f] – But it’s because they feel stronger to me. I’ve grown up in a household full of strong men with strong man names ([name_m]Matthew[/name_m], [name_m]Duncan[/name_m], [name_m]Jacob[/name_m]), and strong women with strong woman names ([name_u]Laurie[/name_u], [name_f]Roberta[/name_f], [name_f]Patricia[/name_f]).
I find the softer-sounding names to be just that – soft. Watching people grow up, in my family and in school, I’ve actually gotten along better with people who have stronger names. I consider myself to be a strong person, and I like strong people.
And as a side note, I resent pp’s statement that implied conservatives were less educated and more violent. That’s a gross generalization.
This is all very fascinating, although I think it’s mostly applicable in the US and less so elsewhere. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see conservatives in [name_f]Canada[/name_f] choosing names like [name_m]Gunner[/name_m] or [name_m]Remington[/name_m], although it’s probably true that the populations most likely to give their kids erudite, scholarly, or rare literary names are most likely liberal.
We’re currently in the middle of it with #2 due in [name_u]January[/name_u]. I will let you know once I have more to go on! We like to complicate it even more by not finding out the sex
I definitely don’t mean to exclude Libertarians, I just think it would be even less cut-and-dry there. For example, in OK where I live, there is still a large [name_f]Tea[/name_f] Party influence but most of the local self-professed “libertarians” upon closer inspection actually want more restrictions and not just on abortion, etc. It’s almost entirely mega-churchers who want to force religion into public schools masquerading as those who want less government intrusion. So I don’t really consider them to be representative of true libertarianism and those who really want smaller gov’t. I did have Libertarians in mind when I mentioned [name_f]Liberty[/name_f], though. I can’t imagine it on a liberal professor’s daughter for some reason. I’m sure geography plays a part as well.
This is a really fascinating post and I loved the article. It rang true for my family. DH is a college educated Republican and I am a college educated Democrat. DH loves family names and the classics ([name_m]John[/name_m], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] etc.) I love the classics, but also like more unique vintage names such as [name_f]Eloise[/name_f], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] and [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. DH hates girls name that end in a, but I think they sound beautiful ([name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] spring to mind).
Very interesting thread! But I echo pp’s comments about desiring further inclusion of libertarians and non-American countries in such research!
I do find, though, between me and my partner that, whilst we are both wildly anti-authoritarian socially, he (further left economically) prefers softer sounding names and I (leaning further right economically) prefer harder sounds. Hmmm.
Great links! It certainly seems true too from these eyes. The side that has the huge majority of names I love is the liberal side and i’m liberal. However I come from a totally conservative family and many names from the conservative side are names in my family.
I’m slightly surprised but not too much really. I was thinking before though the violence names mentioned, [name_u]Hunter[/name_u], [name_m]Gunner[/name_m] etc. make me cringe. I honestly can’t stand those names. I’m sorry I just can’t. And yes they (even before reading the articles. I was looking through names yesterday and had come across [name_u]Hunter[/name_u] and [name_m]Gunner[/name_m]) do make me think of conservatives.
I never would have thought of the connection before though.
My own perception
Liberal names:
[name_u]Kennedy[/name_u]
[name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u]
[name_u]Hillary[/name_u]
[name_f]Michelle[/name_f]
[name_u]River[/name_u]
[name_u]Skye[/name_u]
[name_f]Poppy[/name_f]
I would class libertarians with conservatives, since that’s the way they tend to vote.
I don’t think [name_f]Liberty[/name_f], [name_m]Valor[/name_m], [name_u]Freedom[/name_u], and [name_f]Honor[/name_f] are conservative any more than they are liberal – these are values both sides believe in. [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u] and [name_u]Reagan[/name_u] are used overwhelmingly by conservatives, in my experience. And I’m not sure why [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u] would be liberal – I associate this name with lower class white parents who’ve never been to the city.
I was just about to say the same thing. Very interesting discussion, though. To me, it seems that there is a greater difference between people who identify as right-wing or left-wing in the US, as opposed to people who identify as right-wing or left-wing in other Western countries. My husband and I have slightly different political leanings, but we have no issue agreeing on baby names. He is slightly more conservative (in terms of political leaning and choice in names) than I am, though.
As can be seen through this thread, there are definitely far more important factors in what names people choose than political affiliation.
Socio-economic status, religion, and education being far more telling.
Seems like a very divisive topic.
I would think geography plays a big part in it. Different Latin American populations can have different political leanings, but share a lot of Spanish names. A name that might be a super preppy liberal name in the northeast could be super-duper conservative and southern-prep in the south. A [name_m]Vermont[/name_m] hippie mountain climber might have a really butch name, just like a [name_u]Texas[/name_u] football player. I think there might be overall trends around the two ideologies, but I think the way a name comes across really depends on where you are.
I kind of semi-conciously assume any super religious person leans more right-wing politically, so names like [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m], etc. ring Conservative for me. Upper-crusty names have that kind of association for me as well - names that would look perfect on a private/selective school kid, like [name_f]Esme[/name_f]. In my experience people with upper-middle and higher-class names tend to be from Conservative backgrounds.
Yes, Conservatives tend to be conservative in their name choices but when it comes to unisex/gender bender names you have to factor in region. A Southern Conservative will choose names that are considered liberal in the rest of the country. But, these names are very much conservative here. Boy names that the rest of American has abandoned- [name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], [name_u]Loren[/name_u], [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u], etc - are still used on the traditional gender. The Southern Conservative may also name their daughters [name_u]Carlisle[/name_u], [name_u]Tyler[/name_u], [name_u]Reed[/name_u], [name_u]Brennan[/name_u], etc because they are family names or honor an important person. They aren’t choosing these names to be daring nor are they concerned with following trends, they are clinging to tradition.
It’s always funny to me how Southerners are considered so backwards and slower to change but when it comes to gender bending boy names, we are far more open minded. [name_m]Even[/name_m] on this site, these names are called sissy or too feminine and statements like ‘he will be teased’ come from posters from more “progressive” areas.
This made me laugh because the definition of conservative is “Holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation…” (as an adjective) and “A person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes…” (as a noun).
So, names like [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] are absolutely not conservative. Names like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m] are very conservative.
The definition of liberal is “Open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values,” which doesn’t make names like [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] fall into that category, but it certainly would fit better there than in conservative.
Maybe a fake conservative? haha is there such a thing?
Not meaning to be rude at all, just pointing out the facts
