# The origin of "Cletus" as the stereotypical redneck name

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-cletus-as-the-stereotypical-redneck-name/955325>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 2, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-cletus-as-the-stereotypical-redneck-name/955325 "2021-12-02T00:21:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-cletus-as-the-stereotypical-redneck-name/955325/21 "2023-10-30T13:19:09Z")

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Funny thing about Cletus Spuckler from the Simpsons is that his children all have relatively trendy modern names: Tiffany, Heather (two of them), Cody, Dylan, Dermot, Jacob, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany, Wesley, Rumer, Scout, Cassidy, Zoe, Chloe, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Caitlin, Noah, Sasha, Morgan, Kyra, Ian, Lauren, Qbert, and Phil.

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**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-cletus-as-the-stereotypical-redneck-name/955325/22 "2023-10-30T14:07:08Z")

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Wasn’t one named Dubya?

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**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-cletus-as-the-stereotypical-redneck-name/955325/23 "2023-10-30T15:07:14Z")

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Don’t forget Mary!

> **[Mary Spuckler](https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Mary_Spuckler)**
>
> Mary WrestleMania Spuckler is one of Cletus's many children. She is forced to marry Bart in order to save Lou. Bart and Mary end up not getting married but develop a genuine attraction which leads to an on-and-off romance. Their relationship has been...

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-cletus-as-the-stereotypical-redneck-name/955325/24 "2023-10-30T15:12:38Z")

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I remember this name phenomenon being discussed in _Freakanomics_. It’s not random that they have such fancy-sounding names. The Spucklers all have “aspirational names”.

> There is a clear pattern at play: Once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder. Amber, Heather, and Stephanie started out as high-end names. For every high-end baby given those names, however, another _five_ lower-income girls received those names within 10 years.

> **[Where baby names come from.](https://slate.com/business/2005/04/where-baby-names-come-from.html)**
>
> Which is more dangerous: a gun or a swimming pool? How much does campaign spending really matter? What truly made crime fall in the 1990s? These are...

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