Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child on July 19.In a statement posted on X, the couple announced the birth of their son, whom they named Alec Neel Vance. Alec joins older siblings Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.Given the baby name trends of recent years, the choice of Alec Neel raised eyebrows among experts in this area. HuffPost asked a few to share what they make of the pick ― and what it reveals about the political family’s approach to naming.“Alec was certainly a surprise,” Sophie Kihm, the editor-in-chief of Nameberry, told HuffPost. “I hadn’t heard it chosen for a baby in a long time.”Indeed, the name Alec peaked in popularity in 1995 at No. 112 on the Social Security Administration’s annual list of top baby names in the U.S. “At the moment, Alec is a dad name,” Kihm said. “Most of the Alecs out there today are in their late 20s and early 30s, starting to have children of their own. Alec has fallen far from its peak in the 1990s.”The most recent SSA data shows Alec sitting at No. 977 in 2025. Nameberry’s popularity projector sees the name falling off the Top 1,000 list in 2026 and continuing to decline into the 2040s.“Even this birth announcement is unlikely to reverse Alec’s course,” Kihm said. Baby name consultant Taylor Humphrey called Alec “a good, solid name” but added that it ”doesn’t feel particularly optimized for an upcoming presidential run.”Having worked with high-profile families whose baby name choices are open to public scrutiny, Humphrey believes these decisions offer politicians a chance to build rapport with constituents.“Baby names reveal parents’ deepest-held values, so public figures can ― and do ― use their baby names to communicate their values to the wider public,” she said. “It’s one way politicians and business magnates can build trust with their constituents and shareholders.“Anna Moneymaker via Getty ImagesSecond lady Usha Vance and Vice President JD Vance arrive for a military mothers celebration at the White House on May 6, 2026.The name Alec Neel “feels a bit punchy,” said Humphrey, adding, “It also sounds phonetically similar to famous feminine names like ‘Ally McBeal’ and ‘Alix Earle.’”Had she been consulted, she would’ve suggested an elongated version ― Alexander Aneel Vance ― to improve the flow and add a sense of “strength, weight and gravitas” to the baby name. Looking beyond potential political implications, Humphrey and other naming experts said they appreciate that the name honors both sides of the newborn’s family. “The couple does borrow from both sides of their family tree,” said Abby Sandel, creator of the baby name blog Appellation Mountain. “JD Vance has talked about his Scots-Irish roots, while Usha is the daughter of immigrants from India.“An interesting pattern emerges across the names of all four of the vice president’s children as well. “The parents appear to prioritize familiar choices that are seldom heard,” Sandel said. “Ewan, Vivek, Mirabel and Alec may be somewhat unusual names, but lots of parents are threading the same needle ― how can we find a name that seems familiar, but won’t be too popular?”The result is an eclectic mix of names that fall somewhat outside the mainstream naming trends of today. “The Vances do not stick to an overt theme when it comes to their children’s names,” Kihm said. “Each of their first names has a different origin ― Ewan is Scottish, Vivek is Sanskrit, Mirabel ultimately comes from Latin, and Alec is English from the Greek name Alexander.”“It almost feels like they alternated for their first two children ― a name all from dad’s side, followed by one that’s more about the mother’s background,” Sandel said. “Daughter Mirabel Rose mixes both cultures. Mira comes from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘ocean,’ while Mirabel is from the Latin for ‘wonderful.’ Alec Neel is another good balance of both traditions ― a more Scottish-leaning first with Alec, combined with the Sanskrit Neel, meaning ‘blue.’”In a way, Neel could also represent a cultural crossover when you consider the similar name Neil, which has Scottish and Irish roots. “Neel has never ranked in the U.S. Top 1,000, but Neil was in or around the Top 200 from the 1920s through 1980s,” Kihm said. “Neil is currently at Number 851 and today is considered more of a ‘grandpa name.’ Like Alec, it is out of step with current trends.”She pointed to rising boy names among Indian American families, including Arjun, Veer, Ved, Ahaan, Viraj and Kiran ― which “would have been an especially good choice for the Vances, given its shared sound with the Irish name Ciaran/Kieran.”Social Security AdministrationBeyond its cultural roots, Alec carries on another apparent Vance naming tradition. “Like the other Vance children’s name, Alec has a positive meaning ― ‘defending men,’” Kihm said. “Ewan means ‘born of the yew tree,’ which can symbolize protection and rebirth. Vivek is ‘wisdom’ and Mirabel ‘wonderful.’ All of the names derive from ancient languages and are traditional, while remaining uncommon.”In a political climate where baby names can carry enormous symbolic weight, the Vances seem to have gone in a deliberately quiet direction.“It’s a bit of an understated choice ― not political or broadly symbolic,” Sandel said. “If you’re a high-profile figure, there’s some value to picking a name that leaves plenty of room for your child to choose their own path, and I think Alec Neel does just that.”The name Alec also stands in contrast to the more trend-forward baby names chosen by White House officials ― like Karoline Leavitt’s Viviana and Stephen Miller’s Hawthorne. In that way, it feels less weighty to the experts. “Alec is a largely apolitical name, as it is not associated with any overtly political figures,” Kihm said. “But when holding it up to our ‘Red State and Blue State’ analysis, Alec is more in line with blue choices, given it is a traditional choice with deep roots. And Alexander, the name from which it derives, is very blue.”The Vance family naming approach may in fact even reflect a broader cultural shift in how high-profile families think about heritage.“One hundred years ago, immigrant families often gave their children intentionally American names, as many immigrants came here and traded Giuseppe for Joe,” Sandel observed. “That’s not the case in 2026. Families routinely prioritize reflecting both parents’ heritage with their children’s names.”