With Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance recently announced as President Trump’s running mate for vice president in 2024, many are curious about the origins of his name. Vance, 39, has a unique and evolving naming history that reflects his personal journey.
Born James Donald Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, Vance’s childhood was full of major changes: After his parents divorced, his middle name was changed from his father’s name, Donald, to David, which was just the beginning of a series of name changes that Vance would experience.
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As a teenager, Vance took his stepfather’s surname, becoming James Hamel, a name that appeared in his 2003 yearbook at Middletown High School, where Vance was known.
As an adult, Vance legally took his maternal grandparents’ surname, becoming James Vance, in honor of them when he married his wife, Usha, in 2014. Despite the change, Vance has always preferred to be referred to as “J.D.”, and his official U.S. Senate biography lists his first name as J.D.
However, in Vance’s popular 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was adapted into a 2020 Netflix film by director Ron Howard, Vance is listed as J.D. Vance, the spelling that Trump also used when he recently nominated Vance as his running mate.
The evolution from James Donald Bowman to James David Vance is a testament to his complicated background and family influences. Since the publication of Hillbilly Elegy, Vance has emerged as an influential voice within the Republican Party. His journey from a tumultuous childhood to becoming a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, venture capitalist, best-selling author, and now vice presidential candidate is a unique story and transformation.
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Jeremy Yurow is a Hawaii-based political reporter for the USA Today Network. He can be reached at JYurow@gannett.com or X (formerly Twitter @JeremyYurow).
