Baby names tell a story - about a family's unique history, about a specific moment in time, and even about politics. A survey tracking the top 500 names in states that went red or blue in the 2020 election recently went viral, highlighting popular names like Oakleigh and Stetson in red states, and Santino and Liana in blue states. Brittany is joined by Neda Ulaby, NPR Culture Correspondent, and Naftali Bendavid, Senior National Political Correspondent for the Washington Post to reflect on what popular baby names in red and blue states say about our current political moment.Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content. Join NPR+ today.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. All right, dear listeners, this week, you and I are connecting the dots between a mountain in Alaska, an oak tree in the Midwest, and President Trump's new favorite hobby. I know, I know. How could these things be connected?
Well, we are going to find out with NPR culture correspondent, Neda Ulabi. Thanks, Brittany. And Naftali Ben-David, senior national political correspondent for The Washington Post. Thanks for having me. And, you know, you both have such beautiful names. I'm wondering, do you feel like your parents got it right? Do you feel like your names capture your essence?
I have to admit, I suffered a lot from having this name over the years because nobody knows what to make of it or they think that it's a woman's name. But, you know, you grow into these things. And I guess by now I feel a lot of affection for it.
Oh, that's beautiful. What about you, Netta?
You know, I grew up in Lawrence, Kansas as a child, and there were not a lot of Nettas there. And when my family moved to Michigan when I was 12, I immediately changed my name, my first name Netta, to my middle name, which is Elizabeth. And it turns out that I was the kid that they had named to me.
Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful. My parents named me Brittany. And that was only because they felt like Ashley wasn't quite right. Little do they know they are functionally in 2025, almost the exact same name for all intents and purposes. So I suppose if Brittany captures my essence, there's probably millions of other women my exact same age that have the same essence as well.
Well, whether you love your name or you hate it, one thing is true. Everyone's name is deeply personal. But what you might not have realized is that your name is deeply political, too. Let me lay this out. Netta and I were on a call last week and she blew my mind when she started talking about the reddest and bluest, you know, Republican and Democratic baby names.
She found this survey that tracked the top 500 names in states that had gone red or blue in the 2020 presidential election. For Republican boy names, I would have guessed, I don't know, Mike or Peter or Ryan, you know, traditional white guy names. But no, one of the most popular boys names specific to red states was Cohen, a Jewish holy name for priests.
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