Republican Vice President JD Vance has gone through several name changes over the course of his life, with each one tied to a different stage of his upbringing and identity.

Born James Donald Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, on Aug. 2, 1984, he originally carried the surname of his biological father, Donald Bowman. But after his parents separated “around the time I started walking,” as Vance wrote in Hillbilly Elegy, his life changed dramatically.

JD Vances's name changes

When he was six years old, his mother, Beverly, remarried, and his stepfather, Robert Hamel, adopted him. His name was then legally changed to James David Hamel.

In his memoir, Vance explained that while his initials stayed the same, the “D” no longer stood for Donald. He rejected the idea that he had been named after an uncle named David, writing: “Any old D name would have done, so long as it wasn't Donald.”

For years, he continued using the name J.D. Hamel. It appeared on his high school diploma, military records from his service in Iraq as a Marine, his degree from The Ohio State University, and even blog posts he wrote while attending Yale Law School.

Still, Vance admitted the name never fully felt like his own, especially after his mother later divorced his adoptive father. In Hillbilly Elegy, he reflected: “I shared a name with no one I really cared about,” adding that explaining why his last name was Hamel often led to “awkward moments.”

He wrote: “Yeah, my legal father's last name is Hamel. You haven't met him because I don't see him.” He continued: “Of all the things that I hated about my childhood, nothing compared to the revolving door of father figures.”

Eventually, he chose to take the surname Vance in honor of his grandmother, Bonnie Blanton Vance, the “Mamaw” he credits with raising him through a chaotic childhood.

Campaign spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk later explained: “Throughout his tumultuous childhood, Mamaw, or Bonnie Blanton Vance, raised JD and was always his north star.”

She added: “It only felt right to him to take Vance as his last name.”

Vance's background

Although Hillbilly Elegy suggests the change happened around his 2014 wedding, records show he officially became James David Vance in April 2013, shortly before graduating from Yale.

The Vance surname also connected him strongly to his Appalachian roots and the “hillbilly royalty” he described in his memoir. He even noted that a distant relative connected to the Hatfield family helped spark the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud.

Later, when launching his political career in 2021, he made one more subtle adjustment: dropping the periods from “J.D.” and rebranding himself publicly as JD Vance. His campaign confirmed at the time that the new styling reflected how he wanted his name written moving forward.

Today, while his official legal name remains James David Vance, the vice president is widely known simply as JD Vance.

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