The White House has seen plenty of unusual first names, but a surprisingly large number of presidents belong to a small group of repeat favorites. James leads the way, while William, John, George, Franklin, and Andrew have all appeared more than once. There are also a few technicalities hiding behind the familiar names: Jimmy Carter was legally a James, Bill Clinton a William, and Grover Cleveland appears twice in presidential numbering despite being the same man.
James Madison
James Madison was the first of six presidents named James, making it the most common first name in presidential history.
James Monroe
James Monroe immediately followed Madison, meaning the United States had two consecutive presidents named James from 1809 through 1825.
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk became the third presidential James when he entered the White House in 1845.
James Buchanan
James Buchanan continued the name’s 19th-century dominance and remains the only president who never married.
James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield was the fifth James to become president, although his presidency lasted only months before his assassination in 1881.
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter was actually born James Earl Carter Jr., giving James its sixth and most recent president.
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the first presidential William and famously served the shortest presidency in American history.
William McKinley
William McKinley became the second William in 1897 and served until his assassination four years later.
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the third William and later became the only former president to serve as Chief Justice of the United States.
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III and later took his stepfather’s surname, making him the fourth presidential William.
John Adams
John Adams, the second president of the United States, began a presidential naming tradition that would eventually include four Johns.
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams shared his father’s first name and became president 24 years after John Adams left office.
John Tyler
John Tyler became the third John to hold the presidency after William Henry Harrison died only weeks into his term.
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the fourth president named John and, so far, the last one to reach the White House.
George Washington
George Washington gave one of America’s most recognizable first names its presidential debut as the nation’s first president.
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush became the second presidential George almost two centuries after Washington.
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush followed his father into the presidency eight years after George H. W. Bush left office, giving the name its third president.
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the first of only two presidents named Franklin, serving from 1853 to 1857.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt brought the name back to the White House nearly 80 years later and went on to win an unprecedented four presidential elections.
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the first presidential Andrew, taking office in 1829 after building a political movement around his populist image.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson became the second Andrew when Abraham Lincoln’s assassination elevated him from vice president in 1865.
