A couple of weeks ago, reader Becca sent me a link to a Washington Post graphic showing the 10 most common names of registered voters within each of Washington D.C.’s four main political parties — Statehood Green, Democratic, Republican and Libertarian.
Here’s the info from the graphic:
| Statehood Green | Democratic | Republican | Libertarian |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Jon 2. Jesse 3. Barry 4. Darnell 5. Ian 6. Juan 7. Jordan 8. Jerry 9. Corey 10. Tyrone |
1. Lillie 2. Laverne 3. Ella 4. Bernice 5. Mildred 6. Peggy 7. Betty 8. Ethel 9. Toni 10. Geraldine |
1. Tyler 2. Bradley 3. Kelsey 4. Lindsey 5. Kristina 6. Meredith 7. Caroline 8. Kyle 9. Kelly 10. Taylor |
1. Jared 2. Jon 3. Brendan 4. Derek 5. Joy 6. Kyle 7. Brooke 8. Julian 9. Nicholas 10. Chelsea |
The graphic didn’t mention the disparity between the sizes of these groups, though, so let’s throw that in too. The lists were based on data from mid-June, 2015, so here are the D.C. voter registration statistics from June 30th:
- Statehood Green: 3,820 registered voters (0.82% of all registered voters in D.C.)
- Democrats: 350,684 (75.58%)
- Republicans: 28,560 (6.16%)
- Libertarians: 779 (0.17%)
The Democrats outnumber the Libertarians by more than 450 to 1, in other words.
Here are the lists individually. After each name is the gender it’s most closely associated with and the year of peak usage as a baby name (in terms of percentage of births) since 1900.
Statehood Green (0.82% of registered voters):
- Jon, male, peak usage in 1968
- Jesse, male, 1981
- Barry, male, 1962
- Darnell, male, 1984
- Ian, male, 2003
- Juan, male, 1999
- Jordan, male, 1997
- Jerry, male, 1941
- Corey, male, 1977
- Tyrone, male, 1970
The top Statehood Green names are 100% male, and most saw peak usage during the last four decades of the 20th century.
Democrat (75.58% of registered voters):
- Lillie, female, peak usage in 1900
- Laverne, female, 1928
- Ella, female, 2012
- Bernice, female, 1921
- Mildred, female, 1920
- Peggy, female, 1937
- Betty, female, 1934
- Ethel, female, 1900
- Toni, female, 1968
- Geraldine, female, 1931
The top Democrat names are 100% female, and most saw peak usage in the first half of the 20th century, especially the ’20s and ’30s.
Republican (6.16% of registered voters):
- Tyler, male, peak usage in 1994
- Bradley, male, 1979
- Kelsey, female, 1992
- Lindsey, female, 1984
- Kristina, female, 1985
- Meredith, female, 1981
- Caroline, female, 2014
- Kyle, male, 1990
- Kelly, female, 1977
- Taylor, female, 1996
The top Republican names are 70% female and 30% male, and most saw peak usage during the last three decades of the 20th century, especially the ’90s.
Libertarian (0.17% of registered voters):
- Jared, male, peak usage in 1998
- Jon, male, 1968
- Brendan, male, 1999
- Derek, male, 1982
- Joy, female, 1974
- Kyle, male, 1990
- Brooke, female, 2003
- Julian, male, 2014
- Nicholas, male, 1999
- Chelsea, female, 1992
The top Libertarian names are 70% male and 30% female, and most saw peak usage during the last few decades of the 20th century, especially the ’90s.
*
It was interesting to see just how feminine and old-fashioned the top Democrat names are. But the thing that most surprised was that the Green party’s list included zero female names. I would have guessed that, if any list here was going to be 100% male, it’d be the Libertarian party — definitely not the Green party.
What are your thoughts on these lists?
Sources: Identity Politics, Washington Post, December 2015; Voter Registration Statistics – DC Board of Elections; Popular Baby Names – SSA
Image: NPS
P.S. Thank you, Becca!