Hillary Clinton Drops 'Rodham' from Name
However, Clinton's name change aligns her with the 95% of married women who adopt their husband's last name. Clinton is conforming to the social norm that families share a last name. While 25% of women continue to use their maiden name, only 1% of married women use their maiden name and husband's last name together, according to Laurie Scheuble, a sociologist at Pennsylvania State University and author of "Trends in Women's Marital Name Choice: 1966-1996".
This isn't the first time Clinton has changed her name for political ambitions. Clinton retained her maiden name after her marriage to Bill Clinton in 1975. Her husband became governor of Arkansas in 1978 and lost his bid for re-election in 1980. Frank White, the Republican challenger, made it a point to inform voters that his wife went by the name "Mrs. Frank White" while he chastised Clinton's professional independence. Citizens in this conservative state were, in part, uncomfortable with Clinton's use of her maiden name and it was found after the election that her husband had lost up to 6 percentage points in the polls due to the name issue.
Strategically planning a political comeback, the couple regrouped. Clinton dropped her maiden name and became Hillary Clinton while her husband continued to campaign and serve as governor of Arkansas. She also used Hillary Clinton during his first run for the presidential office. Soon after her husband took office in 1993, Clinton adopted the name Hillary Rodham Clinton, when her own political ambitions began to emerge as she worked to develop a health care policy.
Clinton continued to use Rodham Clinton as her last name throughout her husband's two terms of office and during her own campaigns for Senate in 2000 and 2006. New York is a more liberal state than Arkansas and the double moniker proved to serve her well in the state's political climate. Though the country seems to be heading away from the ultra-conservative climate of the past eight years, a name change would ensure that the most conservative of states will not discount Clinton solely because of her name.
Source: Albany Times Union; Eliminating the 'Hillary Clinton' Divide; Stewart M. Powell; April 30, 2007
Published by Lucy John
Lucy is thrilled to be realizing her dream of freelance writing. She got her start at AC, has branched out into a few other content writing sites and has now started to expand into print media. View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentI prefer Hillrod.
Everything Hillary does is pure calculation on her part to get the Democratic nomination- hopefully it won't work!
I agree, it is sad that politicians flip flop like that. But, if something as simple as a name change will get her into office, then I'm all for it.
I found this very interesting. I enjoyed the article. Nice work.
Karen - I agree and I think she has a real chance. Nobody campaigns like Hillary. The way she won over upstate NY was brilliant, really. She went all over the state and campaigned in towns up in the boonies that other politicians don't even look at on the map.
I am a Hilary fan regardless of her name. She has done great things for New York State and I hate to see her go, but it will better our country. Great article !
That kind of flip flopping on her own name gives me more pause than would either choice on its own merits.
Thank you. LOL
That's hilarious, Lucy!
Dennis who?