It's no coincidence that a large number of famous leaders have last names ending with the letter "n". This "n" factor applies to an amazing number of famous leaders.

U.S. Presidents with names ending with “n”

Sixteen (38%) of the forty-two different U.S. presidents have last names ending with the letter “n”. Among them are some of the greatest – Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Reagan. Others are: Madison, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison (William and Benjamin), Buchanan, Johnson (Andrew and Lyndon), Wilson, Truman, Nixon, and Clinton. But the connection between names that end with “n” and leadership doesn’t end here.

Famous Americans

Five of America’s six most influential Founding Fathers’ (Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and Hamilton names all end with “n”.

Check your wallet! $1 Bill: Washington, $2: Jefferson, $5: Lincoln, $10: Hamilton, $20: Jackson, $100: Franklin, $5000: Madison, $100000: Wilson.

Among the Confederacy’s highest-ranking generals were Johnston (Albert and Joseph), Pemberton, Van Dorn, (double credit?) and Jackson. McClellan and Sherman led vast armies. What about Lee you say? Well, after Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men at the Battle of Chancellorsville (Lee’s greatest victory) Robert E. Lee never won another battle.

Other famous leaders include George Patton, Sam Walton, Booker T. Washington, Clara Barton, Elizabeth Stanton, John Brown, John Glenn, J.P. Morgan, Alfred Sloan, Robert Johnson, George Pullman, Leon Bean, and Albert Einstein.

Famous World Leaders

Who discovered America? Was it Leif Ericson?

Go back in history and you’ll find the famous conquerors, Genghis Khan, Saladin, and Suleiman the Magnificent and great thinkers like John Calvin and Francis Bacon

French King Louis XIV’s last name was Bourbon; Prussian King Frederick the Great was a Hohenzollern.

Wellington, Nelson, and Napoleon were principal commanders in the Napoleonic Wars.

Rabin, Sharon, Begin, and Dayan, led Israel in war and peace.

Also, don’t forget about Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, and Osama bin Laden; so you never can tell what kind of a leader a person with the “n” factor will be.

Life Magazine’s choice for the Top Ten People Who Influenced the Millennium included 50% “n” names:

1. Thomas Edison

6. Isaac Newton

7. Ferdinand Magellan

9. Charles Darwin

10. Thomas Jefferson

Famous Athletes

ESPN’s choice for the Top 25 North American Athletes of the Century included 32% “n” names:

1. Michael Jordan

4. Jim Brown

10. Babe Didrikson

13. Wilt Chamberlain

14. Hank Aaron

15. Jackie Robinson

17. Magic Johnson

24. Sugar Ray Robinson

Do you like music? The number of famous musical performers and innovators includes Beethoven, Haydn, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Jolson, Goodman, Ellington, Hammerstein, Johnson, Brown, Darin, Dylan, Lennon, Joplin (Scott and Janis), Franklin, Clapton, John, Morrison (Van and Jim), Jackson, Springsteen, Lynn, Nelson, Parton, Dion (DiMucci and Celine), and Cobain.

Want a control group? Here is a list of famous news anchors: Cronkite, Huntley, Brinkley, Jennings, Rather, Brokaw, Severeid, Murrow, Chancellor, Swayze, Mudd, Williams, Couric, Edwards, Scheiffer, Daly, Reynolds, Smith, Reasoner, Walters, Gibson, Chung, Hume, and Blitzer . Even if you add Colbert and Stewart, there's only a single name ending in "n" - Charlie Gibson.

Sources:

Life Magazine

ESPN