Donald Trump’s toxic unpopularity grows even worse for him
Trump has always been obsessed with adding his last name to his properties and businesses. He also prefers “Trump” instead of “I” when talking about himself, using the third person to promote his brand and ensure that the public hears his name spoken as much as possible. Trump is also quick to ridicule others’ names. This Wednesday night, for example, at a rally in Panama City, Florida, Trump focused on Pete Buttigieg’s name. “And then we have a young man, Buttigieg. Boot edge-edge! They say edge-edge,” he explained, trying to poke fun at the unusual spelling and pronunciation.
Now, it appears that Trump has a new name problem of his own. New data from Trump’s own government suggests Trump should have focused at least some of his attention on his first name. The Social Security Administration yesterday released its annual list of the most popular baby names in the United States. After hovering for two years in the high 480s, the name Donald dropped 39 spots in 2018 to #526. Not only did Trump’s first name take a major hit in popularity this past year, but it set a new record for the name’s lowest ranking since the agency began publishing such data in the late 19th century. There were only 533 baby boys named Donald in 2018, down from 600 in 2017.
As the Huffington Post notes, it is not just Donald Trump’s first name that is losing cachet. In the same period, the number of babies named Ivanka fell from 165 to 97, and babies named Barron dropped in number from 136 to 120. Even Tiffany fell in rank from #581 to #690 while Eric dropped from #143 to #160.
Although the name Melania finally cracked the Top 1,000 list at #933 in 2017 with 283 babies, it fell back off the chart in 2018, with only 233 babies taking that name. Once Trump leaves office, the name Donald will likely rebound from its record low as people start finding it easier to disassociate that name from Trump. In the meantime, Donald Duck has every right to feel angry.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month