If you're wondering what JD Vance was like before he became the vice president of the United States, all you have to do is pick up a copy of his bestselling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy." Aside from chronicling his troubled childhood in Ohio and admitting that he knew very little about the world before attending Yale, the future politician also revealed plenty about his difficult upbringing, which was in large part thanks to his mother's drug and alcohol abuse. Along with his turbulent childhood came several
name changes. In fact, Vance has changed his name a total of three times.
Ironically, the "D" in JD originally stood for Donald, which was Vance's biological father's name. The full names given to Vance at birth were James Donald Bowman, but he only kept them until his mother married her third husband, Robert Hamel, who also adopted him. Along with this surname, the future vice president's middle name was changed to James David Hamel too. "David" didn't have any special significance, as Vance explained in his book. "Any old D name would have done, so long as it wasn't Donald," he wrote. Eventually, though, his last name also became a burden.
Once Vance's mother got divorced, he was stuck with the last name of someone who was no longer family. This was when the future Ohio senator decided to take his grandmother's last name. Bonnie Vance raised him after his mother was declared unfit to do so and remained a prominent figure in his life. Vance tweaked his name one last time when he ventured into politics in 2021, removing the periods from his first name. After he won a Senate seat, Vance sweetly paid tribute to his grandmother, telling audience members, "I will never forget the woman who raised me," (via the Independent).
Read more: 6 Rumors About Usha Vance We Can't Ignore
JD Vance Isn't The Only Politician Who's Tweaked His Name
JD Vance might have changed his name three times thus far, but at least there's never been any confusion as to how it's pronounced. That has historically not been the case for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but all the confusion is entirely his own fault. Donald Trump and DeSantis' relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs, especially after the governor challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. The two traded public barbs, with Trump christening DeSantis with a new nickname on Truth Social: "'Rob' DeSanctimonious." Notably, this came shortly after DeSantis pronounced his last name differently in various interviews.
In some he said it like "Dee-Santis," while in others, "Deh-Santis." When the press asked how to properly pronounce his last name, DeSantis wouldn't confirm either way. "This is ridiculous," he told Fox News when confronted with the question (via The Hill). "These stupid things. Listen, the way to pronounce my last name? Winner." It appears the governor was yet to decide what he wanted his surname to sound like. During a chat with "The Pulse of New Hampshire," DeSantis called Trump's shady nicknames "petty" and "juvenile."
The president wasn't cowed, though, proclaiming at the 2023 North Carolina Republican Party Convention that DeSantis had made a crucial error. "He's changing his name. Now, it's Dee-Santis," Trump said (via The Hill). "And I put a little message out: Never change your name in the middle of a campaign. You don't change your name in the middle of a campaign." At least Vance had the good sense to settle on his final name beforehand.
Read the original article on The List.
