How Party Affiliation Connects to Names and Jobs (original) (raw)

Using voter registration lists that include the party affiliation that many of us declare, The Washington Post showed us how your name can predict your political party. Then, we also could hypothesize where you work.

Let’s take a look.

Political Parties

Surnames

They found, for example, that Amish surnames, like Stoltzfus, tended to indicate Republicans. Meanwhile, seeing a last name that reflects African heritage such as Ndiaye or Diallo, they noted more Democrats. My own last name tends toward the Democrats.

In the Washington Post’s 671 page list, I checked for examples. Below, because the number tells us the Republican share minus the Democratic share, Democrats have a minus sign.

Republican Names (from The Washington Post):

Democratic Names (from The Washington Post):

First Names

At the same time, first names provide party affiliation clues. Again, I skimmed the Post’s gargantuan list for examples. Introduced to Latoya, Maria, and Sarah, you can assume they are Democrats. Meanwhile, Carson, Brad, and Cody are probably Republicans.

Jobs

Somewhat similarly, Zippia used political donations to connect politics and jobs. Below, you can see some examples:

Our Bottom Line: Signaling

Through a 2023 study, Pew Research concluded that most U.S. teenagers share their parents’ political affiliations:

From there, I would like to take the leap to signaling. Explained by behavioral economists, signaling can involve a very specific act that conveys a much broader message. Politicians vote for the death penalty to show they are tough on crime. Someone shops at Annye’s Organics to demonstrate concern about the environment. And, you name your little boy Tanner or Colton to express a Republican outlook.

Because baby names display the type of identify that parents want to convey, and their children retain that identity, we have names that wind up connecting to political affiliations.

My sources and more: Thanks to The Washington Post for inspiring today’s post. Also, Zippia (the job search site) came in handy as did this Pew Research.

I know I have done lots of hypothesizing with less than stellar research. Do you agree with my conclusions?

Elaine Schwartz

I am Elaine Schwartz, an economics writer, teacher, and the founder of econlife®. In so many places and ways, I have tried to make economics interesting and accessible so we could be personally, professionally, and politically knowledgeable.