Why did JD Vance officially change his name three times?

JD Vance is a vile moron. Donald Trump’s raging racist running mate and the Republican nominee for vice president in the 2024 United States presidential election once described Trump as “reprehensible” and “America’s Hitler.” However, now that the orange lunatic has chosen him to stand by his side, he acts like an adoring little puppy dog following him around.

But Vance’s opinion of Trump has not been the only thing that’s changed dramatically. His name has also undergone various transformations over the years. So what’s that all about? Well, it’s rather complicated, to say the least.

JD Vance’s name change explained

As Vanity Fair explains, Vance was born James Donald Bowman, with the “Donald” part of his name coming from his biological father, Donald Ray Bowman.

Vance’s mother, Beverly (née Vance), separated from Donald when JD was young and married Bob Hamel (her third husband). When Bob adopted JD, he became James David Hamel. “David” was chosen by JD’s mother. It was the name of one of her brothers and allowed for the removal of JD’s father’s name while preserving his nickname of “JD.” It would be the name he opted to keep during his early adulthood, and he blogged about his time in the military and at Yale Law School using it.

In 2013, close to when he was admitted to the bar, he changed his name again. This time, he chose to change his surname to Vance in honor of the grandmother (“Mamaw” to JD) who helped to raise him, Bonnie Blanton Vance (a lady who, according to Vance, had 19 loaded guns stashed around her house — as per NPR).

Then there’s the matter of the periods (or lack thereof) in the “JD” part of his name. You’ll find instances of both in articles about Vance, but apparently, he prefers the streamlined version without any punctuation. It almost makes you want to write “J.D.” solely to tick him off, right?

Let’s hope the next thing in line for a significant transformation is his horrendous personality.