American politics has entered its "Josh" era
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We're in a golden age of Josh, NBC News reveals.
Why it matters: It's a sign of a generational power shift away from boomers named Bob and Doug, toward Gen Xers and millennials.
State of play: The next presidential election could theoretically pit Josh against Josh.
- Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) are both in the mix.
- Politics is riddled with Joshes: Three Democratic U.S. governors — Shapiro (Pa.), Green (Hawaii) and Stein (N.C.) — even have a Josh group chat, where they, ahem, "josh" around. Until 2022, there hadn't been a Josh governor since 1895.
Zoom in: "I do think it's the new four-letter word in politics," says Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), one of five congressional Joshes.
- 🍷 Other notables: Last season's NFL MVP, Josh Allen; the star of the surprise summer hit "Weapons," Josh Brolin; and a wine called Josh.
By the numbers: Josh peaked as a baby name in 1985, at 2.2% of all boys born.
- Sara(h) reached similar levels for girls. But at least in political life, where there are still fewer women, the name isn't quite as common.
How it happened: In an editorial meeting at NBC news, "we noticed that multiple people we talked about were named Josh," says NBC News' Amanda Terkel, who wrote the thoroughly reported piece with Allan Smith, tells Axios.
- "After some joshing around, we realized it could be a fun story."
The bottom line: Josh is no joke.
