It lands differently on the ear; "J. D. Vance" is more memorable than "James Bowman." I'm not saying that I, personally, find it "better," but public figures often change their names for reasons of perceived catchiness, and I expect he took those factors into account.
I guess I have a tin ear on this one. For one thing the only association I have with Vance is Vivian Vance, from I Love Lucy - so Ethel Mertz. And JD just sounds like a twangy boyish nickname - like Buster. So yeah, to me, JD Vance sound like Ethel Mertz's kid who wanted to be a cowboy.
Oh hell. lol. Can you imagine Ethel’s nephew Buster Mertz’s pranks on Ethel and Lucy when he comes to visit? Ricky demands Fred do something about his nephew which accomplishes nothing and Ethel and Lucy eventually connive to put the kid on a bus back to his parents.
Also, as another poster pointed out, "Bowman" is an English name, ancestrally. If he wanted to claim Scots-Irish ancestry, "Vance" is traditionally Scots-Irish.
The name is more common in America than Britain. It's probably German (anglicisation of extremely common Baumann) at least half the time.
Yes, no doubt a lot of the time it's an Anglicization of Baumann.
The English version would more likely be Archer
Could also be Bowman or Fletcher
