JD Vance has become one of the most recognizable figures in the world as Vice President of the United States. While the name “JD” is now widely known, it hasn’t always been what he went by. In fact, the vice president has changed his name four different times. Here’s why.
JD Vance’s path to the White House began in Middletown, Ohio. Born James Donald Bow, he grew up in a difficult environment shaped by his mother’s struggles with drug addiction.
After his parents divorced, his mother’s behavior reportedly became increasingly unstable. When Vance was six years old, his mother, Beverly, married Robert Hamel, who later adopted him. At that point, his name was legally changed from James Donald Bow to James David Hamel — marking the first major change.
These challenges were only the beginning of a turbulent childhood. In interviews discussing his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, Vance reflected on traumatic experiences growing up. The memoir was later adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard and starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close.
Speaking with NPR, Vance recalled a frightening moment when his mother allegedly threatened to crash the car while he and his sister were inside.
“[I] hopped in the back seat to hide from her. And this got her really angry. And she stopped the car and pulled over and, I think, was going to start hitting me. And so I ran,” Vance said.
JD Vance has changed his name four times
Raised largely by his grandparents, Vance explained that the “D” in his name no longer stood for Donald after his adoption.
In Hillbilly Elegy, he wrote that he rejected the idea that the “D” came from an uncle named David.
“Any old D name would have done, so long as it wasn’t Donald,” Vance wrote.
During high school at Middletown High School and while serving as a U.S. Marine in Iraq, he used the name James David Hamel. His degree from The Ohio State University was also earned under that name.
Later, while attending Yale Law School, he continued using James David Hamel, including on a personal blog. But another name change followed after more family changes.
After his mother and adoptive father divorced, Vance said he no longer felt connected to the Hamel name.
“I shared a name with no one I really cared about,” Vance wrote in Hillbilly Elegy. “Of all the things that I hated about my childhood, nothing compared to the revolving door of father figures.”
Why he chose JD Vance
Eventually, he decided to honor his grandmother, Bonnie Blanton Vance — known to him as “Mamaw” — who helped raise him during his difficult childhood. He adopted the surname Vance as a tribute to her.
According to Fortune, campaign spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk explained: “Throughout his tumultuous childhood, Mamaw, or Bonnie Blanton Vance, raised JD and was always his north star. It only felt right to him to take Vance as his last name.”
When he entered politics in 2021, he also dropped the periods from “J.D.” and publicly rebranded himself as “JD Vance,” which his campaign confirmed was his preferred styling.
So what is the vice president’s legal name today? James David Vance.
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