Why are so many 'redneck' kids named Travis, Tyler and Cody?

[fiddlesticks]

Obligatory Simpsons link.

[Acsenray]

I think a lot of the names in question here come from southern military, political, or Old West heroes and celebrities.

@Wendell_Wagner

I dispute your definition of the word “redneck.” You say that they are white farm people from the Midwest or South. As someone who grew up on a farm in northwest Ohio, I can tell you that most people in rural areas in the Midwest wouldn’t call themselves “rednecks.” You say that you grew up in southern Indiana. Southern Indiana is more like the South than like the rest of the Midwest. See the way that it’s classified according to the Nine Nations of North America theory:

In my part of the Midwest, southern Ohio, we certainly used the term “rednecks” as well as “hicks.” It looks like you’re TrueScotsmanning big chunks of the Midwest in order to fit your thesis.

[Wendell_Wagner]

The claim that the term “redneck” originated from the Mingo County miners is almost certainly false. The term goes back much further:

Redneck

redneck | Etymology, origin and meaning of redneck by etymonline

The Mingo County labor uprising was in the 1920’s:

Battle of Blair Mountain

It’s possible that the Mingo County uprising popularized the term. Note though the this is in West Virginia, not in the Deep South, where the term seems to originate. Note also the Mingo County events were among miners, not among farmers.

[Cheshire_Human]

The only Travis I ever met was when I was a kid. He was our neighbor’s kid, and about my age. We lived in the Northeast. He was black.

Can’t get any farther from “redneck” than that.

[Marley23]

What’s being overlooked is that these names have all been popular nationally, so I doubt their use is really limited to any particular group. Tyler in particular was very popular in the 1990s, as my parents found out when one of my brothers started playing Little League. (My parents aren’t rednecks; they’re in suburban New York. There were plenty of young Tylers at that time) According to the good old Baby Name Voyager, Tyler was the ninth most popular boys’ name in the '90s. Its use peaked early in the decade with more than six Tylers out of every thousand babies born nationwide. Cody peaked at couple of years earlier and was ranked 59th in the '80s and 27th in the '90s. At one point there were more than 3 Codys per 1,000 babies. Travis was almost as popular as Cody but peaked in the late '70s and early '80s.

I have no idea if these names are more popular in the rural South or any other region or among any other particular group of people. But the fact of the matter is that a lot of kids have been given these names.

[katydid1031]

Well, I ma from Georgia and have heard plenty of Travis and Tyler names. My brother named his kids Luke and Jessica…Go figure.

[elmwood]

@Zsofia

Plenty of strippers named Savannah, though.

And little old ladies named Charlotte. Still, they don’t seem to portray an image of ruggedness like the Western names. Savanna would probably get her ass kicked by Cheyenne if they had a girl fight.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Travis and Tyler seem like stereotypical suburban white boy names to me. Cody, too.

[Zsofia]

@elmwood

And little old ladies named Charlotte. Still, they don’t seem to portray an image of ruggedness like the Western names. Savanna would probably get her ass kicked by Cheyenne if they had a girl fight.

Princess and Alize will rip your hair extensions out, though, so place names will only take you so far.