The only way to find out what JD Vance was like before he was elected vice president of the United States is to read his best-selling autobiography, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
The future politician disclosed a great deal about his challenging upbringing, which was mostly caused by his mother’s drug and alcohol misuse, in addition to detailing his turbulent Ohio boyhood and acknowledging that he knew very little about the outside world before enrolling at Yale. Multiple name changes accompanied his tumultuous upbringing. Vance has changed his name three times.
Ironically, Vance’s biological father’s name was Donald, and that’s what the “D” in JD initially stood for. Vance was born with the full name James Donald Bowman, but he didn’t keep it until his mother married Robert Hamel, her third husband, who also adopted him. The future vice president’s middle name was also altered to James David Hamel in addition to his last name.
In his work, Vance claimed that “David” had no special meaning. “Any old D name would have done, so long as it wasn’t Donald,” he stated, reports The List. However, his last name eventually became a hardship as well.
Vance was left with the last name of a non-family member after his mother’s divorce. At this point, the future senator from Ohio chose to adopt his grandmother’s last name. After his mother was deemed incompetent to raise him, Bonnie Vance took over and continued to play a significant role in his life.
How JD Vance went from thinking he was gay and changing his name twice to being an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist
https://t.co/hQqWjul6Qu
— Michelle (@Michell33650674) July 19, 2025
When Vance entered politics in 2021, he made one more change to his name by eliminating the periods from his first name. “I will never forget the woman who raised me,” Vance said to the audience as a heartfelt homage to his grandmother after winning a Senate seat, reports Independent.
Even though JD Vance has changed his name three times thus far, at least the pronunciation has never been unclear. For Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, that has never been the case, but he is the one to be blamed for the confusion. The relationship between DeSantis and Donald Trump has experienced many ups and downs, particularly since the governor ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
During their public spat, Trump gave DeSantis a new moniker on Truth Social: “‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious.” This was noteworthy since it happened soon after DeSantis gave varied pronunciations of his last name in different interviews.
For 20 years JD Vance’s name was David Hamel. That’s his father’s last name. He has changed his name several times throughout his career. He changed his last name to Vance after he wrote Hillbilly Elegy. That’s pretty shady. pic.twitter.com/Dyi2vDceej
— HJN (@HJNRose1) March 9, 2025
Some people pronounced it “Dee-Santis,” while others pronounced it “Deh-Santis.” DeSantis refused to affirm either way when the media asked him how to pronounce his last name. “This is ridiculous,” he said when asked the question on Fox News (via The Hill).
“These foolish things. Listen, how should I say my last name? The victor. The governor hadn’t decided how he wanted his last name to sound. In an interview with “The Pulse of New Hampshire,” DeSantis referred to Trump’s dubious monikers as “petty” and “juvenile.”
However, the president was not intimidated, announcing at the 2023 Republican Party Convention in North Carolina that DeSantis had committed a critical mistake. “He’s renaming himself. Trump stated, “Now it’s Dee-Santis”.
Additionally, I sent out a brief message: Never change your name mid-campaign. During a campaign, you don’t change your name. Vance was at least wise enough to choose his last name in advance.
