Basically, the more anglosaxon, the more Republican

March 4, 2014 6:57 AM

"There are 274,165 registered voters named Martin, making it the 181st most common name. Compared to other voters, 30.3 % have a more Democratic name than Martin. Probability that voters named Martin:
have a gun in their house: 48.1%
Attend religious services weekly: 49.6%
Have a college degree: 54.0%."
How Democratic or Republican is your first name?
posted by MartinWisse (188 comments total)

Poking around, the most common male names trend weakly Republican, while the most common female names trend strongly Democrat. This is interesting, and likely bad news for the GOP going forward.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:02 AM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]

Would be more interesting if it compared to relevant subsets of the voting pool as well, eg. the traditionally female names I put in tended to come out more Democrat than the traditionally male names, but also female voters tend to skew more Democrat than male voters. Or at least, including this detail in a side bar so that the user could do their own comparison would be nice.
posted by eviemath at 7:02 AM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]

48 people with my first name, 68% Democrat.
posted by kmz at 7:02 AM on March 4, 2014

Also bad news for the GOP: every common Hispanic name I've typed in is at least 70% democratic.
posted by something something at 7:03 AM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]

for a "random" (ie think of 5-1o names) the results don't move much.

(and isn't this a double of the washpost article from last week ?)
posted by k5.user at 7:06 AM on March 4, 2014

What would you call this? Databation? Masturbalysis?
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:06 AM on March 4, 2014 [15 favorites]

There are 11 registered voters named Milhouse (and none named Milhous). 83.7% are Democrats (100% of whom do not get irony.)
posted by three blind mice at 7:08 AM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

There are 31 registered voters named Barack. 76.5% identify as democrat. Bipartisan leadership MY ASS
posted by Think_Long at 7:08 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Basically, the more anglosaxon, the more Republican

"ÆlfrÆd not in database; try another!"
posted by 0 at 7:08 AM on March 4, 2014 [52 favorites]

Jennifer tends to be mildly democratic which if my high school is any indication means bad things for Republicans moving forward.
posted by vuron at 7:09 AM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

No mention of those who are registered as independents.
posted by Brian B. at 7:10 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

The probability graphs at the bottom are useless without comparison to the overall population.
posted by rocket88 at 7:10 AM on March 4, 2014

The name "Professor" trends 88% Democratic, but Professors are only 44.8% likely to have a college degree.
posted by oulipian at 7:11 AM on March 4, 2014 [14 favorites]

I wish I was named Professor
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:11 AM on March 4, 2014 [5 favorites]

Name: Rush
There are 1,187 registered voters named Rush, making it the 7,558th most common name.
Party Identification:
Republican: 51.8%
Democratic: 48.2%
posted by Thorzdad at 7:12 AM on March 4, 2014

Fun fact: Mary's are super boring.
posted by maryr at 7:13 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Adolph is less Republican than I would have thought
posted by TedW at 7:15 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

The guy who replaced the water supply lines to the kid's room water fountain with PEX was named Professor. They were upset that there was some water spilled behind the circulation desk, until they realized it was just Professor, plumber in the library with a lead pipe.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:16 AM on March 4, 2014 [18 favorites]

Hmm. My wife is much more likely to be a Democrat AND much more likely to own a gun. I wonder if there's something she's not telling me...
posted by selfnoise at 7:18 AM on March 4, 2014

Apparently, there's only a 47.6% chance that Jesus attends church services.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:19 AM on March 4, 2014 [11 favorites]

Name: Karl
Mad Scientist's assistant: 52%
Minor thug killed by McClaine in every Die Hard movie: 48%
posted by SPrintF at 7:20 AM on March 4, 2014 [5 favorites]

Osama is 70.5% Democrat. Of course.

But only 44.5% likely to have a gun in the house and only 39.6% likely to attend religious services which does not at all fit the stereotype.
posted by three blind mice at 7:21 AM on March 4, 2014

Apparently, there's only a 47.6% chance that Jesus attends church services.

That's huge compared to Mohammed (29.7%) and Buddha (28.9%). They don't make it clear whether they're being clear about "church services" being synonymous with "religious services" but I would think they are.
posted by axiom at 7:22 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

For those who love to pigeonhole people but have run out of ways to do it...here's your lifeline...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 7:23 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Adolf is slightly Democrat. Adolph even more so. Vlad and Vladimir are also.

DAMNIT TEDW!

Papa is 3/4 Dem, Mama is 88.5
posted by symbioid at 7:24 AM on March 4, 2014

Interestingly, Catherines are 1% more likely to own guns that Katherines.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:24 AM on March 4, 2014

So my boss and his brother's names both have the exact same ratio... creepy!
posted by symbioid at 7:25 AM on March 4, 2014

Basically, the more anglosaxon, the more Republican

Portion of the population with a more Democratic name than:

Alfred 34.4%
Athelstan 1.9%
Beowulf 5.0%
Bubba* 94.2%
Chad 98.9%
Cuthbert 2.2%
Edgar 20.1%
Edith 25.6%
Edmund 62.5%
Edred 19.5%
Edwald 59.8%
Edward 60.4%
Edwin 41.2%
Egbert 8.6%
Hilda 14.5%
Kenelm 25.3%
Kimber 79.2%
Kimble 23.3%
Kinsey 85.1%
Oswald 10.2%
Oswin 8.5%
Wilfred 26.7%

(*No, really, there were Anglo-Saxons called Bubba.)
posted by Thing at 7:25 AM on March 4, 2014 [9 favorites]

And Lucifer is 61.7 dem
posted by symbioid at 7:26 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Osama is 70.5% Democrat. Of course.

Funny story- the Arab vote in 2000 went overwhelmingly to the GOP, and never since. I wonder why?!
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:26 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Joseph has a college degree, while Joe has a gun and goes to church.
posted by box at 7:26 AM on March 4, 2014

Looks like "Jimmy Ray" is in the database, but "Billy Bob" is not.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:26 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Different results if you use a shortened form of your name vs the longer one, i.e. Steve/Steven, Tony/Anthony, Chris/Christopher.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:28 AM on March 4, 2014

There are 11,298 registered voters named Dick, making it the 1,730th most common name.

Party identification 58% Republican

The jokes they write themselves.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:28 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Jimmy Ray owns a gun, I bet. Rand = 55.9 Republican.
posted by symbioid at 7:29 AM on March 4, 2014

There are entire states that don't require people to register a party affiliation. So how good is this data?
posted by Area Man at 7:29 AM on March 4, 2014

Obviously the best thing about this is finding out things like: There are 240 registered voters named Bum.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:29 AM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]

Huh. Democrats have over 45% of the Bubba vote.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Elvis (88.2% D-TN).
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2014

The most republican name I've been able to come up with so far is Rex at 59.4%, but there's got to be higher.

And Karls are 2% more likely to be republicans than Carls, which is kind of obvious I guess.
posted by crumbly at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

My really Jewish name, which is almost exclusively found in either Orthodox/Hasidic communities or Russian immigrants communities, is 40% likely to have a gun in the house and 21% likely to attend religious services weekly.

That seems odd. Like the gun thing makes sense a bit just because gun ownership is a thing with certain Jews, but the religious services thing seems really odd. Is there a chance they're not counting those who attend more often than once a week or something?
posted by griphus at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2014

Turns out I increased my probably of having a degree by going with Stephen over Steve.
posted by srboisvert at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2014

Interestingly, it looks like House Lannister veers strongly Democratic. Who knew?

Tyrion: 85%
Tywin: 78.7%
Jaime: 65.1%
Joffrey: 65%
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:31 AM on March 4, 2014 [5 favorites]

So far, the biggest percentage I've seen, for either party, is 'Professor,' at 88% Dem.

I think we can beat that number.
posted by box at 7:31 AM on March 4, 2014

Karl Marx DID support Lincoln.
posted by symbioid at 7:32 AM on March 4, 2014

box - see my post above. Mama is 88.9
posted by symbioid at 7:33 AM on March 4, 2014

People named Nixon are 72% Democrat.
People named Clinton are 51% Republican.
The perfect example of how parental influence can insure that children choose the opposite political belief.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:33 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Sorry, symbioid, I skimed and missed that one.

I can do better, though. Here's one with 90.3% Democratic identification: Assata.
posted by box at 7:34 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Lincoln, a republican = 56.8% Democrat
Truman, a democrat = 54.7% Republican

This is fun.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:35 AM on March 4, 2014

There are 17 registered voters named Hammer.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:35 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Right now the 13 Obamas registered to vote are 81% Democrat but wait 30 years and it'll all be different I bet.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:36 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Look, how sure are we about this?

Hitler: 71.3% Dem (30 voters)
Stalin: 80.4% Dem (312 voters)
Churchill: 64.4% (282 voters)
Roosevelt: 87.6% (19,846 voters)

Billybob: 55.1% Dem (24 voters)

Picard: 79.8% Dem (24 voters)

Darth: 49.2% Dem (80 voters)
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:36 AM on March 4, 2014 [6 favorites]

Only 43.3% of the 314 registered voters named Gun have a gun in their house, and they swing 65.5% Democrat.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:37 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

There are 17 registered voters named Hammer.

I was surprised and overgleeful (is that a word??) that there are 10 called Beowulf. I mean, Beowulf is the best name that nobody has.
posted by Thing at 7:38 AM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

Look, how sure are we about this?

What seems odd to me is that, if you're a voter, whatever your name, there's a roughly 50% chance that you own a gun. So basically, according to these stats, if you know someone who votes, just flip a coin to see if they're packing heat.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:38 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Well, 50-ish% that there's a gun in their house.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:39 AM on March 4, 2014

Race is definitely a factor here. In that there are 367 voters named Race and they swing 55% to the Republicans.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:39 AM on March 4, 2014 [5 favorites]

53.9% of Babys have a gun in their house too, which would be irresponsible but that 50.3% of them have college degrees.
posted by Thing at 7:39 AM on March 4, 2014 [7 favorites]

Damn diploma mills!
posted by symbioid at 7:40 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Hmm, there are 22 called Void, and 8 called Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--.
posted by Thing at 7:41 AM on March 4, 2014 [8 favorites]

There are entire states that don't require people to register a party affiliation. So how good is this data?


It's from predictive models, not actual registration.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 7:42 AM on March 4, 2014

biffa and Vengeance are not in their database.
posted by biffa at 7:42 AM on March 4, 2014

Up to 26 parents named their child Burger, who statistically speaking, grew up to become a gun-toting liberal.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:42 AM on March 4, 2014

There are 11 registered voters named Eleven. I have just achieved enlightenment.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:43 AM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

• 31% voters named God attend religious services weekly.
• There are 18 registered voters named Voter.
• 28.9% of voters named Liberal are Republican.

posted by swift at 7:43 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

So now I'm really confused about gun ownership. These numbers seemed high, so I googled and the first two results seem at odds?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/150353/self-reported-gun-ownership-highest-1993.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/rate-of-gun-ownership-is-down-survey-shows.html?_r=0
posted by selfnoise at 7:43 AM on March 4, 2014

I can't believe this is real:

There are 43 registered voters named Nazi, making it the 78,763rd most common name. 77.2% Dem.

There are 38 registered voters named Jedi, making it the 86,011th most common name. 68.4% Dem.

People who are literally named 'Nazi' are slightly more likely to have college degrees, but are also much more likely to have guns in their house.
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:44 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

It's fun to play with this with fictional characters. Elric of Melniboné is 70% democratic, but Corwin of Amber is better than 50/50 to own a gun...
posted by Mad_Carew at 7:44 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

14 kids grew up with the name Chud and swung hard for the Republicans.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:45 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

@Comrade_robot, do you think there are any people named "Jedi Nazi"?
posted by Mad_Carew at 7:45 AM on March 4, 2014

But the Chunk vote outnumbers the Chud vote and says Yes We Can.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:46 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

There are 11 registered voters named Milhouse

And only 12 named Bort.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:48 AM on March 4, 2014

An interesting gender difference:

Mister: 227 voters, 82.8% Democrat
Master: 178 voters, 78.8% Democrat

Miss: 3260 voters, 55.9% Democrat
Mrs.: 1129 voters, 50.5% Democrat
posted by plastic_animals at 7:50 AM on March 4, 2014

But the Chunk vote outnumbers the Chud vote and says Yes We Can

CHUNK LOVE HOPE
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:54 AM on March 4, 2014 [5 favorites]

Ash is less likely than your average person to carry a boomstick.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:54 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I think this is bullshit or skewed. From a New York Times article last year: In 2012, the share of American households with guns was 34 percent, according to survey results released on Thursday.

Does any name have a less than 34 percent rate of gun ownership?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:56 AM on March 4, 2014

anyone can find a first name than less than 11 people have ?
posted by Riton at 7:57 AM on March 4, 2014

Missed a couple:

Mr: 89 voters, 70.5% D
Ms: 101 voters, 71.5% D
posted by plastic_animals at 7:57 AM on March 4, 2014

James Brady?
posted by symbioid at 7:58 AM on March 4, 2014

C: What are you up to, today, Biff?
B: Not much, Chet? And yourself?
C: I'm about to go vote Republican and own a firearm.
B: Capital idea. Perhaps later you can join me in attending a weekly religious service and having a college degree.
C: Cheers!
B: Cheers!

exeunt
posted by logicpunk at 7:58 AM on March 4, 2014 [8 favorites]

Track not in database; try another!
Portion that have a more Democratic name than Bristol: 20.7%
Portion that have a more Democratic name than Willow: 15.7%
Portion that have a more Democratic name than Piper: 43.2%
Portion that have a more Democratic name than Trig: 95.8%

Surely this must mean something.
posted by R. Schlock at 7:59 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

anyone can find a first name than less than 11 people have ?

There are 10 registered voters named Yax, making it the 235,939th most common name.
posted by swift at 7:59 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

The Fellowship of the Ring also skews weakly Dem, with some members abstaining:

Frodo: 54.6%
Sam: 53.8%
Merry: 50%
Pippin: 66.2%
Gandalf: 53.2%
Aragorn: 59.6%
Gimli: N/A
Legolas: N/A
Boromir: N/A
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:59 AM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]

"wittgenstein not in database;try another"
posted by wittgenstein at 8:00 AM on March 4, 2014

There are 10 registered voters named Yax, making it the 235,939th most common name.

anyone can find a first name than less than 10 people have ?
posted by Riton at 8:01 AM on March 4, 2014

I think I just won this thread:

Champagne: 97.5% have a less Democratic name

I won something.

Beer: 72.2%
Brandy: 62.3%
Wine: 23.8%
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:04 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

anyone can find a first name than less than 10 people have ?

Highlander not in database; try another!

goddammit
posted by R. Schlock at 8:04 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

129 voters named Commie, and surprisingly they still vote Republican 38.2% of the time. But most are gun-toting liberals, probably clones from Project Death Panel just a bunch of regular guys, nothing to see here.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:04 AM on March 4, 2014

That's just a shorthand for Comstock. Yeah. Nothing to see there!
posted by symbioid at 8:06 AM on March 4, 2014

Benito - 72% Democratic.
posted by symbioid at 8:07 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

From a New York Times article last year: In 2012, the share of American households with guns was 34 percent, according to survey results released on Thursday.

Does any name have a less than 34 percent rate of gun ownership?

It might mean, "In your lifetime, you are 50%(ish) likely to own a gun" while the NYT is saying "Right now, 34% of households have guns."
posted by corb at 8:07 AM on March 4, 2014

This database holding only registered voters might explain the difference from the NYT numbers, too.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:08 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

anyone can find a first name than less than 10 people have ?
Beowulf has 10 entries
Squid also has 10 entries

still looking...
posted by Mad_Carew at 8:11 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

My legal/ethnic name is a relatively secular Democrat, while my Anglicized nickname is a churchgoing Republican.
posted by deanc at 8:11 AM on March 4, 2014

Does any name have a less than 34 percent rate of gun ownership?
Frodo is only 28.1% likely to own a gun.

Bilbo, about twice that.
posted by Mad_Carew at 8:11 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

How ISIS votes:

Sterling: 42.3% R - 57.7% D
Lana: 50.5% R - 49.5% D
Malory: 47.7% R - 52.3% D
Cyril: 42% R - 58% D
Ray: 49.6% R - 50.4% D
Algernop: no results
Cheryl: 47.3% R - 52.7% D
Carol: 49.5% R - 50.5% D
Cristal: 30.7% R - 69.3% D
Carina: 33% R - 67% D
Cherlene: 37.4% R - 62.6% D
posted by jason_steakums at 8:16 AM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

There are 28 registered voters named Pud, making it the 107,030th most common name.
posted by Pudhoho at 8:16 AM on March 4, 2014

Beowulf has 10 entries
Squid also has 10 entries

still looking...

Kuli: 10
Cooly: 10
posted by Riton at 8:17 AM on March 4, 2014

42% of Gandhis have guns in their homes.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:18 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Either nobody is naming their kid Dracula or Draculas don't find voting important - either way, I'm disappointed.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:20 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

So far, the biggest percentage I've seen, for either party, is 'Professor,' at 88% Dem.

Ginger: 54.1% R
Mary Ann: 53.5% D
Thurston: 63.5% D (!)
Lovey 70.2% D (but Eunice 61.6% D)
Skipper: 55.9% R (but Jonas 59.6% D)
Gilligan 63.7% D (and there are 30 registered voters with that name)
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:22 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Robert') Drop Table not in database; try another!
posted by achrise at 8:22 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Tyrone and Yeshiva are both rather skewed D.

The most Republican name I could think of was Saxby at 67.
posted by miyabo at 8:22 AM on March 4, 2014

I suspect the database has dropped any name with fewer than 10 results, because I can't find any lower than that either. A few more for your 10-name file: Udina, Magga, Proxy, and Aee.
posted by Copronymus at 8:30 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Only 46% of people named Gunner and 45% of people named Gunnar have guns in their houses.

Only 47% of people named Jesus, 29% of people named Allah, 40% of people named Abraham, and 29% of people named Buddha go to religious services weekly.

Only 49% of people named Doctor, and 48% of people named Master have college degrees. Mercifully, there appears to be nobody named Bachelor, Associate, or Certificate.
posted by Elly Vortex at 8:33 AM on March 4, 2014

There are 72 registered voters named Loki, making it the 54,674th most common name.

Loki is 73% Democratic.
posted by mcmile at 8:35 AM on March 4, 2014

The most Republican name I could think of was Saxby at 67.

That's only 10 people. It's easy to find names that skew drastically Democratic, but the most Republican name I could find that's somewhat common was Douglas at 57.3% Republican (more Republican than 99% of other names).
posted by straight at 8:36 AM on March 4, 2014

I've been trying out some stereotypically-Mormon names, and none of them have beaten Saxby's 67% yet.
posted by box at 8:37 AM on March 4, 2014

My first name (Jeffrey) is more Republican than Bubba. Wow.
posted by DynamiteToast at 8:40 AM on March 4, 2014

Blazecock: "I think I just won this thread: Champagne: 97.5% have a less Democratic name"

Not so fast! Fitz: 97.8% have a less Democratic name.
posted by oulipian at 8:46 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I've been trying out some stereotypically-Mormon names, and none of them have beaten Saxby's 67% yet.

Kumen rings in at 72.4% and Teancum at 73.8% and Jarom at 74.3%
posted by straight at 8:49 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

There are 507,585 registered voters named Helen, which means you can probably find 30 Helens that agree on just about anything.
posted by thecaddy at 8:51 AM on March 4, 2014 [6 favorites]

Portion that have a more Democratic name than Bradly: 99.9%
posted by oulipian at 8:51 AM on March 4, 2014

Basically, the more anglosaxon, the more Republican

Clearly this broad generalization fails on the really important evidence.

Portion that have a less Democratic name than...

Benedict: 63.1%
Alastair: 67.0%
Reginald: 97.4% !!

There are 82,962 registered voters named Reginald out there. Now you can guess their affiliation pretty well.
posted by Winnemac at 8:51 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

99.1% of people have a less Democratic name than DeShawn.

Also, I'm disappointed in people that nobody is named Flavor or Biz.
posted by jimmythefish at 8:54 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Less Democratic than Douglas: 99.0%.

The son I helped pick a first name for gets 40.7% for it (and 97.1% for his middle name, gotten from my father).

The son I picked a middle name for gets 84.5% for it (and 79.8% for his first name, gotten from my wife's father).

My wife gets 42% for first name and 36.9% for her middle name.
posted by Four Ds at 8:57 AM on March 4, 2014

55.9% of people named Gaylord are Republican. I don't know why I felt like looking that up.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:00 AM on March 4, 2014

There are 14 Fidos, 47 Fluffys and 25 Spots registered.
Apparently those who register under the name of a family pet lean Democrat.
posted by gohabsgo at 9:05 AM on March 4, 2014

The most Republican name I could think of was Saxby at 67.

That's only 10 people.

I call shenanigans. If there are 10 results, it's either 60% R or 70% R. Unless the model is more complex then they're telling us, and some people only count as 2/3 R...
posted by Mad_Carew at 9:14 AM on March 4, 2014

Wow. Absolutely no consideration for third-party voters.
posted by anemone of the state at 9:17 AM on March 4, 2014

Ginger: 54.1% R

Portion that have a more Democratic name than Ginger: 92.5%. Guessing this is because I have an old white lady name.

I'd love to see this cross-referenced with the federal name data sets from the Census to get a sense of age/name/likely affiliation. We know that older voters (particularly white voters) skew Republican and I'd be interested in seeing the correlations.
posted by immlass at 9:21 AM on March 4, 2014

Is it really true that ~45% of Americans attend religious services regularly? That is unreal.
posted by anemone of the state at 9:22 AM on March 4, 2014

I've been trying out some stereotypically-Mormon names, and none of them have beaten Saxby's 67% yet.

The 63 voters named "Mitt" are 56.4% democratic
posted by Rumple at 9:22 AM on March 4, 2014

I'm actually pretty surprised at how heavily my name skews toward gun ownership (54%), given that it's 63% likely to be Democrat and only 30% likely to go to church...

My theory is that my name is one of these random kind of old-fashioned ones that these days either skews foreign or hillbilly.
posted by TwoStride at 9:31 AM on March 4, 2014

The fairly radical differences between "Elizabeth," "Beth" and "Liz" make me somewhat suspicious of the overall usefulness of this information.

The most interesting thing to me was how largely invariant the gun ownership stats were. They seemed to move in a very narrow band from about 45% to about 55%.
posted by yoink at 9:32 AM on March 4, 2014

Wow. Absolutely no consideration for third-party voters.

Third parties don't do data analytics.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:35 AM on March 4, 2014

The most interesting thing to me was how largely invariant the gun ownership stats were. They seemed to move in a very narrow band from about 45% to about 55%.

Oh, I just realized what that's probably about, actually. While it's only about a third of the population who owns guns, those who do often feel more pressured about them or are concerned about legislation about them - it makes sense that gun owners might well become registered voters, whether or not registered voters become gun owners.
posted by corb at 9:38 AM on March 4, 2014

Is it really true that ~45% of Americans attend religious services regularly? That is unreal.

In a survey done by the Pew Center 37% of respondents said they attended weekly and 33% monthly/weekly (that last category has quite a range in it). Gallup reports that 40% of respondents in a survey said they attend weekly, which is similar to what they found in the 1930s and 40s.

The number of people who say they never go to religious services is growing, but the U.S. continues to have a higher proportion of religiously observant people than is the case in other countries to which it is frequently compared.

(I assume some people who report attending weekly don't actually do so. However, reported frequency of attendance still says something important, and I'm guessing those who report attending every week likely attend at least semi-regularly.)
posted by Area Man at 9:45 AM on March 4, 2014

Mefi: 68.8% democratic.

(No, seriously)
posted by Pre-Taped Call In Show at 9:50 AM on March 4, 2014

Benito - 72% Democratic.
posted by symbioid

But, but, I'm a registered Independent.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:51 AM on March 4, 2014

Question: If you give your kid a particularly religious-sounding name, are they more likely to attend services?

Results:

• Rabbi: 48 people, 26.3%
• Cardinal: 104 people, 29.9%
• Imam: 126 people, 30.6%
• Friend: 2218 people, 47.8%
• Pastor: 705 people, 42.2%
• Pope: 229 people, 45.6%
• Bishop: 1467 people, 48.7%
• Reverand: 19 people, 61.6%
• Lord: 428 people, 37.5%
• God: 21 people, 31.0%

I guess you're not very likely to find God in church.
posted by rouftop at 9:55 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

it makes sense that gun owners might well become registered voters, whether or not registered voters become gun owners.

It also makes sense to tell strangers calling you up out of the blue that you have a gun in the house even if you don't.

Can't be too careful these days
posted by IndigoJones at 10:11 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Can't believe someone beat me to Saxby!
posted by Big_B at 10:14 AM on March 4, 2014

I suspect that the small variation in gun-ownership stats is, at least in part, due to the smearing-effect of the question being whether or not there is a gun "in the house" rather than "do you, personally, own a gun." Still, there's some odd stuff going on in this data. I'm surprised how independently the "attend church" and "have gun in house" measures seem to move, for example.
posted by yoink at 10:17 AM on March 4, 2014

It just struck me how odd it is that purple has become the color of American unity.
posted by ethansr at 10:19 AM on March 4, 2014

There are only 627 other registered voters with my name :/
posted by gucci mane at 10:19 AM on March 4, 2014

55.4% of Indianas bring a gun to a swordfight, but only 48.7% got their archaeology degree. They're 73.5% Democratic, slightly less than Zorro.

People named Doc aren't particularly likely to have a degree (less than Marty, anyway).
posted by knuckle tattoos at 10:24 AM on March 4, 2014

People named "Poindexter" are also surprisingly unlikely to have a college degree (46%). Maybe they don't need them?
posted by yoink at 10:29 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

This is hilarious.

My first name-- fairly unusual Russian female name: 50.4% gun, 28.7% religious, and 60.8% college degree.

My middle name-- common Indian male name: 41% gun, 34.2% religious, and 70.5% college degree.

I am still not sure what that means.
posted by miss tea at 10:32 AM on March 4, 2014

I am still not sure what that means.

I think it means that if your first name and your middle name get into a fight, your middle name will be outgunned but may be able to compensate with a more complex strategy and the confidence born of belief in an afterlife.
posted by yoink at 10:39 AM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

i entered "bruce" and clicked the button a couple times, and nothing happened.

i am a democrat who hasn't been to church in over 40 years, but i have a gun, a college degree, a law degree, a cat and a collection of cat art.

has anyone tried entering "chewbacca" yet? how do wookies roll in the voting booth?
posted by bruce at 10:39 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

President (88.2%) and Tyrant (87%) are about equal.

There are three times as many people named Jor-El as Kal-El.

Anakin is more religious and better educated than Yoda.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 10:48 AM on March 4, 2014

Perhaps unsurprising that 54.8% of Vaders have a gun in their house. More surprising that they're pretty solidly Democratic.
posted by yoink at 10:54 AM on March 4, 2014

Yoda is overwhelmingly Democratic.
posted by schmod at 10:55 AM on March 4, 2014

Wait. Did three of us seriously do the Star Wars thing simultaneously?
posted by schmod at 10:56 AM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]

Randall at 59.3% Republican is the most Republican name I can find with more than 100,000 voters.
posted by straight at 10:57 AM on March 4, 2014

Designer brand names are extremely irreligious: Prada (16.6%), Gucci (13.2%), Pucci (9.9%).
posted by knuckle tattoos at 10:58 AM on March 4, 2014

"Portion that have a more Democratic name than Namor: 100%"
posted by Mad_Carew at 11:20 AM on March 4, 2014

I'm impressed that there were 178 other registered voters with the same name as my son (Archimedes; we call him Archie). I assumed I was unknowingly part of some kind of trend, especially after my sister completely independently named her first daughter "Penelope."
posted by Scattercat at 11:21 AM on March 4, 2014

It just struck me how odd it is that purple has become the color of American unity.

Ok, I'll bite (this is way too fun):

Red (1200) - 51.9% D
Orange (202) - 83.4% D
Yellow (0)
Green (603) - 67.1% D
Blue (660) - 57.9% D
Indigo (433) - 77.7% D
Violet (45,708) - 56.4% D

Purple (85) - 64.2% D
Black (45) - 74.9% D
White (665) - 65.6% D
Ecru (0)
Chartreuse (0)
Fuchsia (63) - 72.2% D
Salmon (128) - 71.9% D
Brown (875) - 59.8% D
Gray (2,645) - 49% D
Grey (1,391) - 52.8% D
Clear (21) - 73.4% D
Cerise (652) - 64% D
Wheat (25) - 44.2% D
Viridian (14) - 77% D
Auburn (815) - 49.1% D
Gold (160) - 67% D
Silver (1,184) - 68.6% D
Bronze (64) - 58.6% D (I guess that's what you name your third kid)
Brass (14) - 68.9% D
Tan (4,733) - 57.5% D
Taupe (0)
Pink (324) - 71.3% D
Beige (44) - 64.1% D
Lavender (285) - 66.7% D
Magenta (113) - 69.9% D
Crimson (154) - 53.9% D
Puce (0)
Ocher/Ochre (0)
posted by freecellwizard at 11:44 AM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

I dunno about anyone else but some of these lists make me want to weep. Forty-four families named their child beige, ffs.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:59 AM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ironic that a kid named Beige will likely have a hard time blending in.
posted by freecellwizard at 12:17 PM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]

Probability that voters named Ghandi (N=75) have a gun in their house: 48.2%

Something's curious about this, though. If the fraction of American households with guns is ~40% [1], then for "non-partisan" names the numbers should lie in a Gaussian centered about 40%, with a variance that goes inversely with size of the sample (ie, the number of people with that name) [2,3]. For very common names like William, John, Mary, Elizabeth, &c, we'd expect that they're both non-partisan (since those names are not necessarily chosen as markers of identification with particular ideologies), and that the variance of the mean for those samples should be small (because they're large samples of the underlying population). That is, we'd expect that they'd fall close to the average household gun ownership, and that they'd skew high as often as they skew low.

We're not seeing that, though. The household gun probabilities almost always exceed 40%. Of course, it may very well be the case that voters are more likely to have a gun than than households generally; after all, some barriers to voter registration are also barriers to firearm registration, military service can be a fast-track to both citizenship and firearm ownership, and we know that NRA works VERY hard to get their gun-holding members to vote. If voters do indeed have a household gun ownership rate of over 40%, this suggests it would have to be a LOT higher. Eyeballing the mean & variance I get for super-common (top-25 by gender) names, the avg probability that a voter has a gun in their household exceeds 50%. Don't fuck with US voters, I guess, but does anyone have a figure for gun ownership by household amongst voters? Is it really that much higher?

More strangely, it seems generally more probable that popular-named women have a gun in their house than popular-named men -- somewhere around 50% for the men vs 55% for the women (with about the same, possibly smaller, variance). The gun ownership is reported by-household, not by person, so it isn't at all clear to me why these would differ, and if anything I'd expect the difference to go the other way. I've got a grant to write, so I'm not actually gonna look at the distribution of the samples to see if it's skewed significantly higher for the women, but something about that seems off to me.
posted by Westringia F. at 12:17 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

westringia f, the percentage of american households with guns is, in my anecdatal experience, way way higher than 40%. some households do not speak of their guns because 1) fear of government confiscation, 2) informing adversaries about their security status, 3) becoming a target for burglars when out of town.
posted by bruce at 12:37 PM on March 4, 2014

An unfortunate trend in the 70's was to name a girl Aja, after the Steely Dan hit album at the time. I knew of 3 instances of this.

Overwhelmingly Democratic, so I assume that these kids did not grow up contrarian to their parents.
posted by Danf at 1:04 PM on March 4, 2014

I knew of 3 instances of this.

Four. Girl I had a crush on in Grade 6. Both of us born in 79.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:24 PM on March 4, 2014

FFFM, there are 5061 of these people who have registered to vote. . .
posted by Danf at 1:35 PM on March 4, 2014

Right, but these are people who are speaking of their guns to pollsters (Clarity Campaign Labs for the name-based data, Economist/YouGov for the 40% figure), and I wouldn't expect the biasing influences you described to be much different in the groups. Put another way, the question isn't whether the raw figures themselves are accurate -- I agree with you that they may very well be underestimates -- but whether it's true that registered voters have a household gun rate 1.25 times that of the general pop. (And also why, amongst registered voters, do the common women's names have rates which are quite consistently ~1.1 times higher than common men's names.)
posted by Westringia F. at 1:38 PM on March 4, 2014

I was going to point out how not only is there a Cabal, there are actually ten of them. But then I noticed something fishy:

According to the site there are ten registered voters named "Cabal." But then says that 55.3% of these people are Republicans and 44.7% are Democrats.

Uh ... how?? If all 100% can be classified as either R or D, then shouldn't the percentages come in even 10% increments, like 60/40 or 20/80 or some such? What is it, five Republicans, four Democrats, and one guy who's 53% Republican? (Or maybe votes Republican 53 times out of 100?)
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 1:38 PM on March 4, 2014

Heh: Reince not in database; try another!
posted by uosuaq at 1:48 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

OK, I'll play:

Jesus, 73.8% Democrat, 47.6% attend a religious service weekly. 188.777 total.
Chewie, not in database
Chewy, 64.4% Democrat, 55.7% attend religious service weekly. 38 total.
posted by annsunny at 1:53 PM on March 4, 2014

So far, the biggest percentage I've seen, for either party, is 'Professor,' at 88% Dem.

I think we can beat that number.

Latoya, 89% dem
Latanya, 88.9% dem
posted by bile and syntax at 1:55 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

If I had to guess, I'd say that they don't have data for all 10 Cabals and so are making probabilistic inferences based on where the Cabals operate live, how big old they are, &c.

Moreover, having never been observed, Cabals are in a superposition of political states, so one has to factor that in as well.
posted by Westringia F. at 1:58 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Latoya and Latanya beat Professor's 88%, but they don't beat Assata's 90.3%
posted by box at 2:02 PM on March 4, 2014

Afrikka is 90.7% Democrat.
posted by Thing at 2:31 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Russty is 64% Republican.
posted by Thing at 2:37 PM on March 4, 2014

I have two democratic, secular kitties and one churchgoing Republican*. None of them are gun owners, which, considering their lack of opposable thumbs, is probably for the best. Having three kitties hold guns to your head and demand breakfast at 4 AM can't be much fun.

*And one kitty whose name does not show up in the database.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:54 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Roty (10)

I'm trying to find unpopular names. I recommend against trying Cobra villains. Did you know that there isn't a single Zartan in the United States? Or is there...
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 2:57 PM on March 4, 2014

There are 1,676 registered voters named Unique

Hmmm.
posted by yoink at 3:00 PM on March 4, 2014

Only 43% of voters named Gun have a gun in their house.
posted by wildcrdj at 3:19 PM on March 4, 2014

Fitz: 97.8% have a less Democratic name.

Fitzroy turns out to be even more Democratic ("99.8% have a less Democratic name", 89% of respondents Democrat) which surprises me, but I'm English and it says aristocrat to me when to Americans it probably has more trendy, urban, unconventional nuances. Still not as Democratic as Thing's Afrikka, but more Democratic than Africa which again isn't what I would have expected.
posted by Slogby at 4:13 PM on March 4, 2014

Khyron: 79% Democrat
Miriya: 67% Democrat
Rori: 59% Democrat

Rick: 56% Republican
Linn: 52% Republican
Roy: 51% Republican
Lisa: 53% Democrat
Claudia: 65% Democrat

I would have thought the Zentradi would be natural Republicans, especially with their whole attitude towards women and gender. I suppose Khyron was a bit of a free spirit.
posted by wildcrdj at 4:35 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

There are 16 American women named Satana. Only 28% of them regularly attend religious services. What kind of religious services it doesn't say.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:10 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm shocked at how close the split for "Barrack" is (49.7% R to 50.3% D).
Yet it's nice to see that 68.4% of the "Jedi" are Democrats (bodes well for the Bothans).
posted by blueberry at 6:19 PM on March 4, 2014

So close to 50% on everything. That's what comes of having one of the most common-as-muck names of my generation.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:03 PM on March 4, 2014

Apparently, however, it's more likely than not that Nellie the Cat is hiding a gun somewhere in the house.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:04 PM on March 4, 2014

Chad, that is all. If you name your son Chad; Chad is what you get.
posted by vicx at 8:25 PM on March 4, 2014

Mario, Luigi and Peach all trend Democratic (about 60% each). But Toad isn't in the database. Why aren't you voting, Toad?!?!?! Down with the Koopa monarchy!
posted by kaibutsu at 8:43 PM on March 4, 2014

There are exactly 11 people named, you guessed it ... "Eleven". Comes in at 2*11% republican.
posted by klausman at 9:28 PM on March 4, 2014

Well, I see Potomac Avenue found this same thing true and noteworthy. Carry on.
posted by klausman at 9:42 PM on March 4, 2014

Are the Nichaels, Natthews, Narthas and Narys data entry errors?

I hope there are really 239 Mancys.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 11:33 PM on March 4, 2014

Hmm. Assuming that these results aren't completely bogus, then "voters" are less like "non-voters" than I might have thought.

"Registered voters" are only about 2/3 of adults, but we know that they are not a representative sample of "American adults". At least anecdotally, we 'know' that the group "voters" tends to be older, richer, better educated, and just plain more settled than the group "non-voters". (E.g., off the top of my head, I think the average voter is now over 50.)

Which I suppose might explain the much-higher-than-expected rates of "gun in household" and "church attendance".

One detail I think that we're all forgetting here is that there are still more registered Democrats than registered Republicans - - so I think that ANY name pulled from "registered voters" is intrinsically more likely to be D than R.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 6:40 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

There are 3,765,034 registered voters named Michael, making it the 1st most common name.

This is why I hate my name.
posted by lordrunningclam at 7:04 AM on March 5, 2014

My first name showed up mostly Republican however I lean just a bit to the left of Che Guevara. Not sure if that works for me.
posted by damnitkage at 8:28 AM on March 5, 2014

Aa: 54.7% Dem
Ae: 57.8% Dem
Auk: 55.3% Dem
Aw: 52.4% Dem
Bear: 53.3% Dem
Canada: 61.1% Dem
Dem: 64% Dem
Doobie: 52% Dem
Ee: 60.4% Dem
Elk: 68.2% Dem
Feather: 58.7% Dem
Foo: 57.7% Dem
Fr: 50.4% Rep
God: 86% Dem
Gr: 61.3% Dem
Griz: 62.4% Dem
Grizz: 53.5% Rep
Ice: 73.3% Dem
Ii: 63.4% Dem
Iii: 55.1% Dem
Iou: 65.7% Dem
It: 61.3% Dem
Iv: 73.35 Dem
Jagger: 56.8% Dem
Jedi: 68.4% dem
Like: 56% Dem
Lk: 67.3% Dem
Lover: 85.6% Dem
Lp: 66.5% Dem
Mitt: 56.4% Dem
Money: 76.7% Dem
North: 51.1% Dem
Ob: 62.7% Dem
Ol: 61.5% Dem
Oo: 67.2% Dem
Ot: 61.9% Dem
PLO: 56.8% Rep
Poo: 66.6% Dem
Quill: 66.2% Dem
Quit: 63.6% Dem
Rt: 61.7% Dem
Russia: 84% Dem
South: 53% Dem
Tequila: 87.1% Dem
Too: 67.5% Dem
Tr: 58.1% Dem
Trout: 60.5% Dem
Tweet: 52.9% Dem
Venezuela: 82.75 Dem
Voter: 61.5% Dem
Ww: 58.3% Rep
Yr: 64.8% Dem

Edit: 65.2% Dem
posted by univac at 10:00 AM on March 5, 2014

Which names have the largest percentage of college graduates? The highest I've seen so far is Rajeev (74.2%).
posted by desjardins at 11:59 AM on March 5, 2014

Princess: 83.6% Dem
Prince: 83.1% Dem
Queen: 88.7% Dem
Baron: 62.8% Dem
King: 66.7% Dem
Lord: 74.5% Dem
Lady: 67.5% Dem
President: 88.2% Dem
Congress: 80.3% Dem
America: 73.6% Dem
Freedom: 61.6% Dem

Bonus: There are 42 Beyonces! 77.2% Dem.
posted by inertia at 12:03 PM on March 5, 2014

I think the GOP is in trouble. I mean, look at all these abstract ideas that are on the side of the Dems:

Truth (159) 61.8/38.2
Beauty (320) 87.2/12.8
Knowledge (56) 88.1/11.9
Wisdom (235) 74.6/25.4
Courage (49) 74.4/25.6
Temperance (290) 71/29
Justice (2493) 66.8/33.2
Faith (47,303) 54.9/45.1
Hope (51,774) 57.5/42.5
Charity (27,034) 52.9/47.1
Love (1668) 73.6/26.4
Goodness (42) 81/19
Kindness (19) 84.4/15.6
Mercy (6,931) 69/31
Work (20) 70.1/29.9
Success (30) 81.7/18.3
Genius (15) 65.4/34.6
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 6:33 AM on March 6, 2014