Best Nicknames

At six, William is the most common name for governors of Florida. John is a close second with four, including Jeb Bush. Spessard Holland was given his mother’s maiden name for a first name while another future governor was named after President Fillmore, ironic because Millard Fillmore got his first name the same way as Spessard.

Ossian may seem to be a unique name but from the mid-18th to mid-19th century, it really wasn’t. Many a lad was named after the bard invented by Scottish poet James MacPherson.

William: 6 Florida governors
William Dunn Moseley (1795-1863) Term: 1845-49
William Marvin (1808-1902) Term: 1865
William Dunnington Bloxham  (1835–1911) Terms: 1881-85, 1897-1901
William Sherman Jennings (1863–1920) Term: 1901-05
W(illiam) Haydon Burns (1912–87) Term: 1965-67

John: 4 Florida governors
John Milton (1807-65) Term: 1861-65
John Wellborn Martin (1884–1958) Term: 1925-29
J(ohn) Wayne Mixson (b. 1922) Term: 1987
John Ellis “Jeb” Bush (b. 1953) Term: 1999-2007

Daniel: 2 Florida governors
Daniel T. McCarty (1912–53) Term: 1953
Daniel Robert “Bob” Graham (b. 1936) Term: 1979-87

David: 2 Florida governors
David Shelby Walker (1815–1891) Term: 1865-68
David Sholtz  (1891–1953) Term: 1933-37

Thomas: 2 Florida governors
Thomas Brown (1785-1867) Term: 1849-53
Thomas “LeRoy” Collins (1909–91) Term: 1955-61

There was only one Florida governor with the following names.
(first by century, then alphabetically)

19th Century:
Abraham Kurkindolle Allison (1810-1893) Term: 1865
Edward Aylesworth Perry (1831–89) Term: 1885-89
Francis Philip Fleming (1841–1908) Term: 1889-93
George Franklin Drew Term: (1827–1900) 1877-81
Harrison Reed (1813–1899) Term: 1868-73
James Emilius Broome (1808-83) Term: 1853-57
Henry Laurens Mitchell (1831–1903) Term: 1893-97
Madison Starke Perry (1814-65) Term: 1857-61
Marcellus Lovejoy Stearns (1839–1891) Term: 1874-77

20th Century:
Albert Waller Gilchrist (1858–1926) Term: 1909-1913
C(ecil) Farris Bryant (1914–2002) Term: 1961-65
Cary Augustus Hardee (1876–1956) Term: 1921-25
Charley Eugene Johns (1905–90) Term: 1953-55
Claude Roy Kirk, Jr. (1926–2011) Term: 1967-71
Doyle E. Carlton (1885–1972) Term: 1929-33
Frederick Preston “Fred” Cone (1871–1948) Term: 1937-41
Fuller Warren (1905–73) Term: 1949-53
Kenneth Hood “Buddy” MacKay, Jr. (b. 1933) Term: 1998-99
Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. (1930–1998) Term: 1991-98
Millard Fillmore Caldwell (1897–1984) Term: 1945-49
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1857–1910) Term: 1905-09
Ossian Bingley Hart (1821–1874) Term: 1873-74
Park Monroe Trammell (1876–1936) Term: 1913-17
Reubin O’Donovan Askew (1928-2014) Term: 1971-79
Robert “Bob” Martinez (b. 1934) Term: 1987-91
Sidney Johnston Catts (1863–1936) Term: 1917-21
Spessard Lindsey Holland (1892–1971) Term: 1941-45

21st Century
Charles Joseph “Charlie” Crist, Jr. (b. 1956) Term: 2007-2011
Richard Lynn “Rick” Scott (b. 1952) Term: 2011-