Still, conservatives maintain a strong place in their heart for President Reagan; liberals a strong admiration for President Kennedy (as well as his political family).

How do we know this?  Using Circle of Moms Child Space data, of course.  We looked at the names parents give to their children.  Notably, Reagan (usually a girl’s name), is the most conservative among the top 250 names Circle of Moms’ mothers have given to their kids: 89% of mothers of children named Reagan identify themselves as conservative or Republican.

On the other side of the coin, Kennedy — also usually a girl’s name — stands as the #11 most liberal name, with 67% of “moms of Kennedy” identifying themselves as liberal or Democratic.

Jalen — which has no political associations we’re aware of — is the most liberal boy’s name, weighing in at 94% liberal.  Colton is the most conservative boy’s name, at 81% conservative.

Fear not, Sarah Palin fans (and haters): Sarah is the second most conservative female name, after Reagan.  Numbers three and four are also Biblical names: Rachel and Rebecca.

After Colton, Scott and Matt are the most conservative names for boys.

The most liberal names for girls are Jada, Maya, and Jasmine; for boys, the most liberal names after Jaden are Xavier and Julian.

Interestingly, common names tend to be favored among conservative moms, while less common names are more common among liberal moms.  All of the top ten most common girls’ names (Sarah, Hannah, Emily, Jessica, Lauren, Madison, Emma, Samantha, Ashley, Taylor, Olivia) are more common among conservatives than among liberals.  And nine of the top ten boys’ names (Matthew, Andrew, Jacob, Noah, Joshua, Ryan, Tyler, Ethan, Michael, and Christopher) are more common among conservatives, while only one (Jordan) is more common among liberals.

Moms who have given their kids uncommon names — names held by less than one in 10,000 Americans — tend to be more liberal.  Nearly half of all children have uncommon names (names at least as rare as Ray, Camron, Sky, Isis, and Jarrod).  And a substantial majority — 58% — of those kids are the children of liberal mothers.

Data for the 1000+ most common names can be accessed using the links below.

Liberal and Conservative Baby Names by Ideology

Liberal and Conservative Baby Names by Name Frequency

Liberal and Conservative Baby Names Sorted Alphabetically

That's a lot of moms!

We celebrated our first birthday today in the office with cake and champagne…and also with the official launch of Child Space. Read all about it at Tech Crunch…and then start microblogging your kids!

Jamie’s a strong contributor in many of her communities, quick to post both questions and responses. Her favorite hang-out is the Young Moms community, in spite of the fact that it gets her behind at work. With almost 300,000 members and covering topics like whether to get your tubes tied as a young woman (that’s one of Jamie’s), it’s no wonder.

Here’s a little time travel with Jamie:

PAST: Share one thing you know now that you wish you’d known when you were a new mom.

That I was going to pee a little when I sneezed when pregnant, and that kids just have stuff coming out everywhere: ears noses, mouth. Yuck.

PRESENT: What’s going on with your family right now?

I’m a mom to three kids, a wife, and an assistant, so I spend my days making sure everyone has what they need and is where they need to be at the right times. We are potty training my youngest and my oldest is a pistol, lol, always testing her limits. Not a bad kid, just curious. My SS (step-son) is finishing up baseball which means more time at my house. My hubby is military and getting ready for a few exciting short trips.

FUTURE: Complete this sentence: When my kid(s) are grown, I hope they’ll always remember…

When my kids are grown, I hope they’ll always remember that I’ve done my best to make them happy and healthy, even if it meant no twinkies, lol.

And who should we tag next?

Marly Kendrick.

Thanks for playing, Jamie, and for all your contributions to the Circle of Moms community. Get ready, Marly, you’re next!

That was Emily C.’s response when I told her we wanted to profile her on the Circle of Moms blog. She’s the only one who’ll be surprised though. This woman is the friend you wish you had in real life: generous, knowledgeable, and unassuming. Her savvy is felt all over Circle of Moms, in large communities (Young Moms aged 20 -30, Moms with School-aged Kids) and small (Atheist Parenting, Diaper Free Moms). I wanted to know more about Emily and so, taking a page from one of my favorite blogs, I asked her five questions:

1. Circle of Moms: Tell us a bit about your family.

Emily C.: I am a CPS social worker and mother of two girls ages six and two and a half. I married early and had my first child at twenty two. I have been a stay at home mom, a student mom, and a working mom and can say that there are stresses and merits to each. We live in the Southeastern United States and enjoy outside time. We are not totally unorthodox but we practice some aspects of attachment parenting like cosleeping and breastfeeding past infancy. I place emphasis on teaching empathy, respect and the value of education to my children.

2. Circle of Moms: Share one thing you know now that you wish you’d known when you were a new mom.

Emily C.: If you’re worried about doing everything “by the book” you aren’t having fun. Your child’s guidance is more important than anyone else’s.

3. Circle of Moms: How did you become involved with Circle of Moms?

Emily C.: It took a while to post after being invited by an “irl” (in real life) facebook friend. Once I started posting it was almost addictive, though.

4. Circle of Moms: What do you like best about Circle of Moms?

Emily C.: There is a forum for every parenting issue. Sometimes it helps just to lurk and read what others have stated.

5. Circle of Moms: Who should we tag next?

Emily C.: Well, since I don’t know who has already been tagged I will throw a couple names out there of people I find interesting- Tamara Routier Jern, Jamie Massie, Brenda Dale, Emily Burlingame.

Thanks for your many contributions, Emily C.! And stay tuned for the next Five Questions…

Mandy Stevenson

Our first Mom of  Week, Winnie Stotts, says,

Mandy is very thoughtful and always takes the time to check in on people she has come in contact with through Circle of moms

Mandy has two boys ages eight & two. We appreciate her dedication to Circle of Moms & her friends there.

Winnie Stots - Mom of the Week

She has made many contributions to Circle of Moms. On a regular basis she:

• welcomes new members & answers questions
• has started & leads the following active communities: Christian Mommies, Toddler Moms, Stay at Home Moms, and a community in Circle of Moms also called Circle of Moms
• generously shares her time & friendship with others.

I asked Winnie to share a bit about her family.

I am a mama of one little boy who is three.  His name is Carson.  I have been married to my husband Matt for 9 1/2 years.  We lived in Wyoming up until May of 08, when we moved to Colorado Springs.  We were blessed to add Carson to our family through adoption.  We were able to bring him home the day after he was born – which we call “Gotcha Day”.  Every year we celebrate his birthday, and then we celebrate the Gotcha Day the day after his birthday.  I am able to stay at home with my son every day, which is a blessing as well.  There are some long days, and a few boring days, but I enjoy being able to be with him through out all of that.

This is how Winnie got involved with Circle of Moms.

I started through an invite to the application and have enjoyed it ever since.  I enjoy getting to know other moms who can relate to exactly where I find myself in the parenting seasons.  I am also a part of two of the adoption support communities.  We were from such a small town, that adoption was a rare story.  I had not really met anyone in my situation before, so these communities have opened my eyes to the different ways that there were so many people in my situation.  Most of my really good friends, have been my online friends in Circle of Moms.

I asked Winnie what she likes best about Circle of Moms:

Everyone is so friendly and they open themselves up in ways that make me feel like I can get to know them better.  It is a great way to social network when you are home bound with the kids and need some adult conversations.  Plus it seems that you can be very open with your questions, and most of the responses are genuine and thoughtful.  I appreciate the women I have met here.  I also appreciate the time and energy the creators of Circle of Moms have put into making these experiences easy and fun!!

We want to thank Winnie for her generous contributions to the Circle of Moms community. We very much appreciate your efforts!

What is the best way to have a Christmas tree with a toddler in the house? And how do you keep little fingers from opening gifts?

Here are some of the best ideas:

• use unbreakable ornaments
• put stuffed ornaments at the bottom within the child’s reach
• one mom is going to decorate her tree with Christmas cards!
• put a fence or child’s gate around the tree
• use a smaller tree & place it up on a table out of reach

For the gifts there was also a number of suggestions:

• one mom buys decorative boxes & uses packing tape
• many suggested not putting the gifts out until within a day or so
• use the playpen to put the gifts in

You can read all of the ideas here.  What are your best ideas for safe & happy holidays?

But back to our communities…here are a few of my favorites.

Some are traditional.  We have Stay at Home Moms and Working Moms.  Single Moms and Moms with Great Husbands.  Toddler Moms and Moms of Kids in College.  Playgroups for moms of children born in the same month.

Others are a little more unique.  A few of my favorites are: Moms Whose Husbands Work the Oilfields.  Gun Toting Mamas.  I’m sure there are more, I just can’t think of them.

Take a look at our communities and let us know if you want to be involved.