--- title: Fun with Numbers - Presidential Syllables --- [![Screen Shot 2020-06-28 at 11.15.20 AM](https://www.kkrasnowwaterman.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202020-06-28%20at%2011.15.20%20AM.png?width=519&name=Screen%20Shot%202020-06-28%20at%2011.15.20%20AM.png)](https://www.kkrasnowwaterman.com/)   # Personal Blog # Fun with Numbers - Presidential Syllables Posted by [K Krasnow Waterman](https://www.kkrasnowwaterman.com/blog/author/k-krasnow-waterman) on Tue, Apr 17, 2007 @ 23:04 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) There's an interesting sidebar to all the presidential candidate analysis.  While most folks are pondering Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's stance on the issues, quite a few people are pondering whether the number of syllables in the candidate's name is a significant factor in elections.  Before the last election, freelance writer [Joy Tomme](http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Could+short+names+be+key+to+election+success%3F-a0114785508) noted that "(w)e've had 12 one-syllable Presidents, 19 two-syllable Presidents and 11 three-syllable Presidents. Only Eisenhower carries the banner for four syllabics."  She asserted that a successful candidate needs to have a one or two syllable name.  At the same time, a fellow named [Chuck Annesi](http://www.anesi.com/presname.htm) posted an analysis supporting the idea that people are more likely to prefer a name with more syllables. Nashville Scene writer [Bruce Barry](http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/Late_Edition/2004/08/05/A_Pronounced_Advantage_/index.shtml) thought that Bush was facing long odds since the last one syllable president before him was 120 years ago and Grant was (until 2004) the only one-syllable president to be elected twice.  And, three syllable candidates?  Barry notes that Teddy Roosevelt was the last three-syllable vice president and many have noted that it's been more than 40 years since Kennedy, our last three syllable president, was elected. I like to play with numbers, so here's my contribution to the topic.  I wondered how all these elections correlated to name distribution in the population.  So, first I compared the distribution of presidential names over history with the 100 most common last names in the United States:                                                 Presidents          Most Common                              Over time          Names in US 1 syllable                  29%                    30% 2 syllable                   45%                   54% 3 syllable                   26%                   16%     Should we read from this that we're due for a few two syllable presidents?  Or, does it reflect a change in the distribution of names over time?  I haven't got time for serious, Ph.D. type research, so I looked for a quick differentiator.  I decided to look at US Senators and Representatives, people elected recently enough that I could see their correlation to current name distributions.                                            Presidents          Most Common                              Over time          Names in US           Senators          Representatives 1 syllable                  28%                    30%                    19%                    20% 2 syllable                   44%                   54%                    56%                    57% 3 syllable                   26%                   16%                    20%                    19% 4 syllable                     2%                      0%                     3%                     5% So, what do you think?  Have three syllable names been overrepresented in our Presidents?  Are we due for a two syllable president?  Based upon these theories, Clinton will beat Obama to the ticket and Giuliani will fall behind Romney or, maybe, Fred Thompson!  You, too, can be a "political linguist"  -- just send your opinion! 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