What’s in a name? A lot, according to these name-changing politicians
Like Hollywood actors and adult film stars, some American politicians practice their craft under an assumed name — or, at least, a name different from the one they were given at birth.
Reasons for the name changes vary. Piyush Jindal became “Bobby” at age 4, taking the nickname from “The Brady Bunch,” which reportedly “mesmerized” him. Ted Cruz was known as “Felito” — short for his given name, Rafael — until age 13. But that changed after he grew tired of being teased, the future senator from Texas wrote in his book. William Jefferson Blythe III received his birth name courtesy of his biological father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. But the elder Blythe also passed away before the boy was born, and when his widowed mother remarried to Roger Clinton, the future “Man From Hope” became Bill Clinton.
From Willard (Mitt) Romney to Leslie Lynch King Jr. (the future Gerald Ford), Yahoo News has collected some of the most famous (changed) names in politics, as well as a few of the 2016 Republican candidates’ AKAs. And then there’s the self-proclaimed Vermin Supreme. (Olivier Knox/Yahoo News)
See more politics-related slideshows on Yahoo Politics.
