Best Nicknames

James is the No. 1 name for Governors of Arkansas, but the list of Arkansas governors yields the name Xenophon, which was not unheard of as a given name in the 19th century. However, the name Ozra is a most uncommon appellation for an American boy, being more commonly an Iranian name for a girl.

The two Arkansas governors named George both had the same middle name, being named after the first U.S. President. One governor was named after the President of the Confederacy, which is why we include their birth year. Obviously, they were well out of diapers and had political experience before becoming governor, but when Jeff Davis was born during the American Civil War,  it was exactly one year after Arkansas seceded from the Union. His parents must have taken note of that coincidence even if they had no way of knowing that 39 years later, their son would be governing their state, which was readmitted to the Union in 1868.

Arkansas had 5 governors named James:

• James Guy “Jim” Tucker, Jr. born 1943 (1992-96)
• James Henderson Berry, born 1841 (1883-85)
• James Paul Clarke, born 1854 (1895-97)
• James Philip Eagle, born 1837 (1889-93)
• James Sevier Conway, born 1798 (1836-40)

There have been 4 named John:

• John Ellis Martineau, born 1873 (1927-28)
• John Isaac “Ike” Moore, born 1856 (1907)
• John Sebastian Little, born 1851 (1907)
• John Selden Roane, born 1817 (1849-52)

There have also been 4 named Thomas:

• Thomas Chipman McRae, born 1851 (1921-25)
• Thomas James Churchill, born 1824 (1881-83)
• Thomas Jefferson “Tom” Terral, born 1822 (1925-27)
• Thomas Stevenson Drew, born 1802 (1844-49)

And 4 named William:

• William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton, born 1946
  (1979-81 and 1983-92)
• William Kavanaugh Oldham, born 1865 (1913)
• William Meade Fishback, born 1831  (1893-95)
• William Read Miller, born 1823 (1877-81)

2 Arkansas governors were named George. They both had the same middle name:

• George Washington Donaghey, born 1856 (1909-13)
• George Washington Hays, born 1863 (1913-17)

Only one:

• Archibald Yell, born 1797  (1840-44)
• Asa Hutchinson, born 1950 (2014- )
• Augustus Hill Garland, born 1832 (1874-77)
• Benjamin Travis Laney, born 1896  (1945-49)
• Bob Cowley Riley, born 1924 (1975)
• Carl Edward Bailey, born 1894  (1937-41)
• Charles Hillman Brough, born 1876 (1917-21)
• Dale Leon Bumpers, born 1925 (1971-75)
• Daniel Webster Jones, born 1839 (1897-1901)
• David Hampton Pryor, born 1934 (1975-79)
• Elias Nelson Conway, born 1812 (1852-60)
• Elisha Baxter, born 1827 (1873-74)
• Francis Adams Cherry, born 1908 (1953-55)
• Frank Durward White, born 1933   (1981-83)
• Harris Flanagin, born 1817 (1862-64)
• Harvey Parnell, born 1880 (1928-33)
• Henry Massey Rector, born 1816 (1860-62)
• Homer Martin Adkins, born 1890 (1941-45)
• Isaac Murphy, born 1799 or 1802 (1864-68)
• Jefferson “Jeff” Davis, born 1862  (1901-07)
• Jesse M. Martin, born 1877 (1909)
• Joe Edward Purcell, born 1923 (1979)
• Joseph Taylor Robinson, born 1872 (1913)
• Junius Marion Futrell, born 1870 (1913 and 1933-37)
• Michael Dale “Mike” Huckabee, born 1955 (1996-2007)
• Mickey Dale “Mike” Beebe, born 1946 (2007-14)
• Orval Eugene Faubus, born 1910 (1955-67)
• Ozra Amander Hadley, born 1826 (1871-73)
• Powell Clayton, born 1833 (1868-71)
• Richard C. Byrd, born 1805 (1849)
• Samuel Adams, born 1805 (1844)
• Sidney Sanders “Sid” McMath, born 1912 (1949-53)
• Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr., born 1830 (1885-89)
• Winthrop Rockefeller, born 1912 (1967-71)
• Xenophon Overton Pindall, born 1873 (1907-09)