# John Kerry's middle name **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592 "2004-02-11T03:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/1 "2004-02-11T03:42:02Z")
Does he ever use it? Does anyone know what it is? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/2 "2004-02-11T03:45:57Z")
It’s Forbes. It does sound a little blueblood, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/3 "2004-02-11T03:46:29Z")
Probably the same as Bucky F. Dent’s 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/4 "2004-02-11T03:49:47Z")
Actually, he might just like the sound of the “John F” part. His hero was JFK. He would also be a JFK, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/5 "2004-02-11T03:52:18Z")
His mother’s family made a ton of money in the tea trade, IIRC. However, there were so many Forbes descendants that the fortune got diluted, and as a result, John Forbes Kerry (aka “JFK” and “Lurch”) himself didn’t have that much, considering. He did marry well, though! Also, I read that the grandfather of his first wife, Julia Stimson Thorne, once owned Hilton Head Island.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/6 "2004-02-11T04:44:10Z")
An Irish Catholic Senator from a wealthy Massachusetts family and his initials are JFK? An Ivy League graduate who served as an officer in time of war? I had paid more attention to his politics than some of these details that seem a little amazing. [quote] **Earl** : His mother’s family made a ton of money in the tea trade, IIRC. However, there were so many Forbes descendants that the fortune got diluted… As did the tea when it was thrown into Boston Harbor… [quote}…and as a result, John Forbes Kerry (aka “JFK” and “Lurch”) himself didn’t have that much, considering. He did marry well, though![/quote] Are you referring to his first or second wife? Also, I read that the grandfather of his first wife, Julia Stimson Thorne, once owned Hilton Head Island. Geez! Do you know his name? Is the first Mrs. Kerry deceased? Do you teach or just spend all of your time reading? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/7 "2004-02-11T04:54:20Z")
His wife is an heir to the Heinze fortune. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/8 "2004-02-11T05:07:10Z")
Actually she is the heir to the Heinz fortune. I believe that John Kerry is divorced from his first wife. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/9 "2004-02-11T05:09:36Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Geez! Do you know his name? Is the first Mrs. Kerry deceased? He’s divorced from the first Mrs. Kerry. There was an interesting [article](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040207/COVER07/TPFocus/) about Kerry in Saturday’s Globe and Mail. ---
**Author:** ![wakimika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@wakimika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wakimika)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/10 "2004-02-11T05:10:30Z")
John Kerry has married two heiresses from Pennsylvania. Teresa Heinz Kerry has married two U.S. senators named John. During one of his senate campaigns, his campaign manager really wanted to push the “John F” thing, but Kerry eventually tired of it and went back to calling himself simply John Kerry. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/11 "2004-02-11T05:22:21Z")
And Julia’s (first wife) grandpa was Landon Ketchum Thorne. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/12 "2004-02-11T05:59:01Z")
> [@wakimika](#): > > During one of his senate campaigns, his campaign manager really wanted to push the “John F” thing, but Kerry eventually tired of it and went back to calling himself simply John Kerry. He’s listed as John F Kerry on the California ballot. Haj ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/13 "2004-02-11T07:02:20Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > An Irish Catholic Senator from a wealthy Massachusetts family and his initials are JFK? An Ivy League graduate who served as an officer in time of war? > > I had paid more attention to his politics than some of these details that seem a little amazing. > > Are you referring to his first or second wife? > > Also, I read that the grandfather of his first wife, Julia Stimson Thorne, once owned Hilton Head Island. > > Geez! Do you know his name? Is the first Mrs. Kerry deceased? > > Do you teach or just spend all of your time reading? John Kerry often has pointed out that he isn’t Irish American despite his name. His grandfather was an Austrian Jew who changed the name from Kohn to Kerry after he immigrated. His father was raised Roman Catholic. here’s the genealogy of the current (and former) candidates [http://hometown.aol.com/wreitwiesn/candidates2004/](http://hometown.aol.com/wreitwiesn/candidates2004/) ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/14 "2004-02-11T07:23:56Z")
> [@syncrolecyne](#): > > John Kerry often has pointed out that he isn’t Irish American despite his name . . . “Kerry” is not an Irish personal name, either a surname or a forename. It’s a place-name. Following American fashion, “Kerry” now turns up very occasionally in Ireland as a girl’s forename. To us, calling a child “Kerry” is about as odd as calling a child “Massachussets” would be in the US. (PS: Much the same is true for “Shannon” and “Brandon”. The first is a river, the second a mountain.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/15 "2004-02-11T07:39:09Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > He would also be a JFK, come to think of it. No, he wouldn’t. Not in the way the original JFK was, in that his initials were used rather than his name. This was done in newspaper headlines because “JFK” is much shorter than “Kennedy”, and even a few characters matters in printing headlines. This followed the pattern started with Roosevelt, who was commonly called “FDR” in headlines. President Johnson was called “LBJ” for the same reason. But Nixon was always called “Nixon” rather than “RMN” – it just didn’t save enough space to be worthwhile. Same will be true with John F Kerry – newspapers will use “Kerry” because it’s already short enough to work in headlines. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/16 "2004-02-11T15:41:14Z")
Actually, newspapers will refer to him as “John Kerry” or “John F\*\*.\*\* Kerry,” with a period after the “F.” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/17 "2004-02-11T16:12:53Z")
> [@syncrolecyne](#): > > His grandfather was an Austrian Jew who changed the name from Kohn to Kerry after he immigrated. According to the link you gave, his grandfather changed the surname to Kerry in Austria in 1901, four years before he emigrated for America. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/18 "2004-02-11T17:39:39Z")
Teresa Heinz Kerry is not really an heiress to the ketchup empire; she married into it, but could still afford the campaign out of petty cash if John wanted to tap it instead of by mortgaging the Louisburg Square mansion (which is what he’s done). She’s the widow of Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz. The prospective First Lady’s background is more interesting: linkypoo > [@](#): > > Maria Teresa (pronounced teh-RAY-zah) Thierstein Simoes-Ferreira was born and reared in Mozambique, the child of expatriate Portuguese parents. Her father was a physician who would take her to see patients in ‘‘the bush.’’ > … > She studied romance languages and literature in college at South Africa and marched against apartheid. She speaks Portuguese, French, Spanish, Italian and English. She was a graduate student at the University of Geneva’s interpreters school in 1962 when she met a young American who would change her life. John Heinz was working at a Swiss bank on a summer break from Harvard Business School. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/19 "2004-02-11T22:09:14Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Actually, newspapers will refer to him as “John Kerry” or “John F\*\*.\*\* Kerry,” with a period after the “F.” Yes, in the text of articles. But in headlines, it’ll likely be just “Kerry”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerrys-middle-name/228592/20 "2004-02-12T17:32:19Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > During one of his senate campaigns, his campaign manager really wanted to push the “John F” thing, but Kerry eventually tired of it and went back to calling himself simply John Kerry. > > He’s listed as John F Kerry on the California ballot. Ballots often list full names, even if that isn’t the name that’s used in commercials, signs, etc. > [@](#): > > Following American fashion, “Kerry” now turns up very occasionally in Ireland as a girl’s forename. To us, calling a child “Kerry” is about as odd as calling a child “Massachussets” would be in the US. > > (PS: Much the same is true for “Shannon” and “Brandon”. The first is a river, the second a mountain.) Similarly, it seems odd to Indians when Americans give their daughters masculine names such as “Ananda” and “Chandra.”