Americans have long used presidential surnames as first names — a tradition that goes back to the 19th century, when names like Jefferson, Franklin, and Lincoln were clear patriotic choices. In 2024, the tradition is thriving: five presidential surnames are in the top 100 for boys, and Kennedy at #89 is one of the fastest-rising names on the girls' chart.
Here's the complete picture from 2024 SSA data.
Boys: Presidential Surnames
Jackson — #35 (6,876 babies). Andrew Jackson (7th president) and Stonewall Jackson are the historical references; Jackson as a first name also carries a strong Southern American character. Jackson has been in the top 50 for over fifteen years. The Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson have given it music associations alongside the presidential ones.
Carter — #45 (6,267 boys). Jimmy Carter (39th president, 1977–1981; Nobel Peace Prize 2002). Carter has been climbing since the mid-2000s and is now top 50. Unlike some presidential surnames, Carter also reads as an occupational name (a cart-driver), which gives it dual appeal. It's used for girls too (#507 with 604 babies).
Lincoln — #73 (4,567 babies). Abraham Lincoln (16th president). Lincoln has been one of the fastest-rising presidential surname names since around 2008, the year of Barack Obama's election (during which Lincoln was frequently invoked). It's now top 75. The Lincoln Memorial, Lincoln Center, Lincoln Park — the name has a cultural presence that transcends the specific presidential association.
Arthur — #105 (3,318 babies). Chester A. Arthur (21st president). Arthur is more associated with King Arthur and the literary tradition than with the president, but the surname's presence in presidential history reinforces its gravitas. Top 110 and climbing.
Harrison — #121 (2,958 babies). William Henry Harrison (9th president) and Benjamin Harrison (23rd president) — the only grandfather-grandson presidential pair. Harrison Ford has given the name a strong non-presidential association. Top 125 and holding.
Hayes — #160 (2,249 babies). Rutherford B. Hayes (19th president). Hayes is the presidential surname that has grown entirely through the surname-as-first-name trend rather than presidential nostalgia. It fits the short, final-s surname pattern (Miles, James, Brooks) that has been popular for a decade.
Tyler — #191 (1,908 boys). John Tyler (10th president). Tyler has been declining from its 1990s peak (top 20) and is now at #191. The occupational-name reading (a maker of tiles) competes with the presidential reference.
Grant — #241 (1,453 babies). Ulysses S. Grant (18th president). Grant has been solidly mid-chart for decades. The name works as a one-syllable, clearly English surname-as-given-name regardless of the presidential association. Cary Grant; the concept of granting; the gift.
Franklin — #385 (840 babies). Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd president); Benjamin Franklin. Franklin has been mid-chart for years. "Frank" as a nickname makes it more accessible; the New Deal-era association makes it feel historically significant.
Pierce — #538 (553 babies). Franklin Pierce (14th president). Pierce has been climbing since around 2010 as a crisp, one-syllable surname-name. Brosnan Pierce (or Pierce Brosnan?) gave it a different flavor. Still mid-chart.
Ford — #570 (504 babies). Gerald Ford (38th president); Harrison Ford; Henry Ford. Ford is the quintessential short American surname that has been climbing as a first name. It's more Harrison Ford than Gerald Ford in most parents' minds.
Monroe — #1,278 (153 boys; also #571 for girls with 529 babies). James Monroe (5th president); Marilyn Monroe. Monroe is genuinely unisex in current use, with a slight edge to girls (529 vs 153). The Marilyn Monroe association drives the girls' count; the presidential one drives the boys'.
Reagan — Ronald Reagan (40th president). Reagan is #244 for girls (1,292 babies) and #1,567 for boys (110). It has flipped predominantly to girls since the mid-2000s. The Reagan political association seems to appeal more to parents naming girls than boys in current data.
Nixon — #872 (275 boys). Richard Nixon (37th president). Nixon is the presidential surname that carries the most complicated historical baggage, yet it's climbing — #872 and rising from below the top 1,000 as recently as 2018. The hard -x- makes it phonetically distinctive. Most parents probably aren't thinking of Watergate.
Jefferson — #711 (374 boys). Thomas Jefferson (3rd president). Jefferson has been mid-chart for decades, carrying both the founding-father gravity and an association with George Jefferson (The Jeffersons).
Wilson — #644 (431 boys). Woodrow Wilson (28th president); also the volleyball from Cast Away. Wilson has been a consistent mid-chart surname-name for over a decade.
Truman — #1,811 (90 boys). Harry S. Truman (33rd president); Truman Capote. Truman is still rare as a first name but climbing. It has a two-syllable, positive-meaning surname quality.
Girls: Presidential Surnames
Kennedy — #89 (2,881 girls). John F. Kennedy (35th president). Kennedy is the most striking case of a presidential surname crossing to girls: it was almost exclusively masculine until around 2000, and is now top 90 for girls with barely any boys' count (95 boys). The Kennedy family's cultural presence as American royalty makes the name aspirational for both political associations and social prestige.
Madison — #46 (4,563 girls). James Madison (4th president). As discussed in pop culture names, Madison as a first name came primarily from the 1984 film Splash, not the president. But James Madison was the "Father of the Constitution," and Madison Avenue is a real street in New York — so the presidential surname and the place name reinforce each other.
Reagan — #244 (1,292 girls). See above — primarily feminine in current use.
Monroe — #571 (529 girls). Primarily associated with Marilyn Monroe; also James Monroe (5th president).
Taylor — #353 (877 girls). Zachary Taylor (12th president) — though Taylor Swift has completely dominated this name's cultural associations since 2006. Taylor is top 360 for girls and top 670 for boys; it's been declining from a peak in the early 2000s.
Presley — #224 (1,373 girls; also #1,729 for boys). Not a president but Elvis Presley — included here as the most prominent presidential-sounding surname in current girl use. Presley has been climbing since around 2010.
What makes a presidential surname work as a first name?
Length and sound. Jackson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Harrison, Hayes, Carter — all two or three syllables with strong consonants. The shorter ones (Grant, Ford, Pierce) work as one-syllable choices. The longer ones (Jefferson, Washington, Eisenhower) haven't crossed over — too long, too specific.
The figure doesn't need to be popular. Nixon (#872) is climbing despite Watergate. Hayes (#160) is mid-chart despite being one of the more obscure presidents. The presidential surname functions as a sound-and-style choice; the historical association is background, not foreground.
The "founding father" bracket is strongest. Lincoln, Madison, Jackson, and Franklin all reference early American history. This cohort has more cultural weight than, say, Buchanan or Pierce — partly because the founding-father era has been heavily revisited in popular culture (Hamilton, John Adams, Lincoln).
Political associations are less relevant than you'd think. Reagan is predominantly feminine and climbing; Obama hasn't entered the naming pool; Trump and Biden aren't in the SSA data. Parents choosing Kennedy are probably not thinking primarily about JFK's politics. The surname becomes a name — the person is secondary.
Explore related topics: English names · timeless names · place names
Data: SSA 2024 US release. Presidential associations from standard historical sources.