George W. Bush's Real Name: George Walker Bush

Quick answer: George W. Bush's full name is George Walker Bush. He was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, and is widely known as George W. Bush—the “W.” distinguishing him from his father, George H. W. Bush. CSV category “artists” is wrong; he belongs under world-leaders.

Real name and early life

Encyclopædia Britannica lists him also known as George Walker Bush; Library of Congress authority is Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946- (Britannica; LOC). Bush is the family surname; Walker is the middle name. He is the eldest child of George H. W. Bush (41st president) and Barbara Bush; grandfather Prescott Bush was a U.S. senator. Raised largely in Midland and Houston, Texas, he attended Phillips Academy (Andover), earned a Yale history B.A. (1968), flew with the Texas Air National Guard, and took an M.B.A. from Harvard (1975). He married Laura Welch in 1977; they have twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara.

Career highlights

After Midland oil-business ventures and later a stake as managing partner of the Texas Rangers baseball club—sold in 1998 for a large personal profit—he was elected governor of Texas (1995–2000). In 2000 he won the presidency over Al Gore in a disputed electoral-college outcome despite losing the popular vote, then won reelection in 2004. His presidency was defined by the September 11, 2001, attacks, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, education (No Child Left Behind) and Medicare reforms, and the 2008 financial crisis response. He left office in 2009. After the presidency he published memoirs and became known for amateur painting exhibitions, which may explain the mistaken “artists” CSV tag. Across politics and later painting hobby publicity, the documented full name remains George Walker Bush.

Name notes for searchers

“W.” is Walker, not a nickname initial without a name. Prefer Britannica and LOC over partisan blogs. Wikipedia is useful only as a pointer after primary citations.