What’s in a name? Actually, quite a lot of information can be gleaned from a person’s name. A name can help connect relationships between different generations of a family. A surname could give clues about a person’s heritage. When a politician changes his name, even slightly, it could alter the way he is perceived by potential voters.
Rick Perry is the current Governor of Texas. He is a Republican. He has been in the news lately because of his view that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all “a Ponzi scheme”.
His birth name is James Richard Perry. He shares the same initials, JRP, with his father, Joseph Ray Perry. By the time this politician was in high school, he started going by “Ricky”. It seems that the nickname has now evolved into “Rick”. The surname Perry is English, and is derived from an Old English word that means “pear tree”.
Mitt Romney was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts. He once served as a Mormon missionary in France when he was younger. He is currently making his second attempt at becoming President of the United States, (after losing the 2008 GOP nomination to John McCain).
His birth name is Willard Mitt Romney. He was named after J. Willard Marriott. That name may be familiar to you, because J. Willard Marriott is the founder of the Marriott Corporation, (which is now called Marriott International). Mitt Romney’s father was friends with J. Willard Marriott.
Ross Perot is the 99th richest person in America, according to Forbes Magazine. He is the founder of Electronic Data Systems (EDS). He ran for President of the United States in 1992, (as an independent), and in 1996, (as a Reform Party nominee).
His birth name is Henry Ray Perot. When he was 12 years old, he changed his middle name to Ross. The name Ross was his father’s middle name. It was also the nickname that the family called his brother, Gabriel Ross Perot. Jr, who died of meningitis when he was in fifth grade.
Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States. He was the first President from the Baby Boomer generation. He was in the news recently when he made it known that he had made some significant dietary changes, and had become vegan.
His birth name is William Jefferson Blythe III. His father was named William Jefferson Blythe Jr., as you may have guessed. His father was a traveling salesman who died in a car accident a few months before Bill was born. Later, his mother married a man named Roger Clinton Sr., who became Bill’s stepfather. When Bill was fourteen years old, he changed his surname to Clinton, as a gesture towards his stepfather.
The surname Blythe is derived from an Old English word that means “happy” or “joyous”. The surname Clinton could be English or Irish. It comes from an Old English word that meant “settlement on the summit”.
Photo by Ed Schipul