Obama Victory Sparks Baby Naming Frenzy (PHOTOS)

The U.S. election has triggered a new generation of mini Barack Obamas with parents in Kenya and the United States naming their newborns after the new president-elect.

At the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital in Kisumu, western Kenya, Barack's ancestral homeland, several mothers were naming their babies after the U.S.'s first African-American president.

The mothers told Reuters Television that they wanted their babies to grow up to have the same successful traits as Obama.

"I would like that by the time he is in his 40s he becomes the president of this country," said Nancy Otieno proudly of her newborn son Barack Obama.

Another new mother, Millicent Akoth, named her new daughter Michelle Obama after the soon-to-be first lady.

....South Florida couple Patrick and Sasha Hall were reported on Wednesday to be among the first since the election to bestow the name Obama on their child, Obama Hall, according to the Miami Herald.

Keep reading.

PHOTOS:

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• • • • An unidentified relative to Nancy Kijana, right, holds her newborn son, Barack Obama at New Nyanza Provinvincial Hospital in Kisumu, Kenya. More than half of the babies born in a Kisumu Hospital on the day after the election were named either Barack or Michelle Obama. (AP)

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Read about the Tennessee man who, without his wife's permission, named his newborn daughter Sarah McCain Palin.

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See a slideshow of Obama holding babies or see other Obama slideshows.

Comments

[queotic]

I wonder how many will be named Hussein lol

[VOTER]

An American Candy Company has a real problem.
I ordered blue colored candies with special printing on them for Election Night.
One was to be printed: with OBAMA WINS!
And one was to be printed with: HOPE & CHANGE

I received a phone call telling me they could not fill my order due to
the candidate's name. This company did not want to have anyone
believe they were supporting one candidate over another.

Really kind of silly when they do take orders supporting various sport
teams. Also my friends are not stupid and would know the candies
represented my choice. It didn't matter. No go.

Whatever will they do now when all of the new little Obama babies celebrate
their birthdays and parents want the special candies?

[IndyReader]

Just for grins n' giggles, you ought to put in another tiny order with this candy company to see what their reply is now.

[queotic]

They probably just didn't support Obama and didn't want to tell you the truth.

[Rhonnybay]

I did think about getting a dog just so I could name him/her Obama. lol

[SuxanneUg]

And what happened to Hussein, it makes more sense to name the kid Barack Hussein. Obama is a last name, they are so ....

Dear Hare,
And others who do not understand why people can name their babies OBAMA....this is a tribal name....any one in that tribe can give this name to their baby because it identifies with the tribe....if you noticed above, the lady called OTIENO, belongs to the same tribe as OBAMA therefore she doesnt necessarily have to give the child the father's surname and since in most African tribes children are named after occasions (auspicious or not) and according to tribe......naming a baby OBAMA is the least weird thing they can do.....it is SO appropriate.....as long as its within the tribe......on the other hand...Barak/a and michelle are VERY common names! This is inside info from an African!

[DebB]

Thanks for clearing that up for everyone. People will now start to realize that there are different (not weird) ways of doing things throughout this whole world. Time to break out of our bubble USA and see what the world is like! That is part of the idea of "Hope" the our new President brings - a true and real understanding of the world and that we can all be accepting and understanding of each other - as an American Indian at least that is my hope.

Thank you SuxanneUg!!

[PinkyBear]

I can understand why. This is a very proud moment for Americans. We have shattered a glass ceiling and have reclaimed our country. I wish these babies a long, happy and healthy life with much success. I am hoping that these babies being born can make a better world.

[Daly]

Wonder how many folks named their kid George Bush?

I've heard of a kid name William Jefferson Clinton whatever the last sir name.

and what happen to they guy that named his kid after palin against his wife's wishes - may as well have gone with jezibel

[CaptainVideo]

The interesting question is whether and how many white parents will be naming their children Barack and/or using Obama as a middle name.

[PitbullCatcher]

What about baby Carl Rove....little Lieberman......John Maverick ! lol

[Hare]

And what happened to Hussein, it makes more sense to name the kid Barack Hussein. Obama is a last name, they are so ....

[damali]

Obama is not just a last name; it's also the name of a small town in Japan. I also know people who have first names that are considered last names...i know a guy named Jackson and we all know people named James (first and last named). Broaden your mind...names can be employed however we choose.

[TR12]

Man I am loving it

[raja49]

IM from kenya but live in us
people there need any kind thing to make them feel to become in life so this is good step for them

[Muzikal203]

Sorry, but this is creeping me out. If you want to give the kid their FIRST names, that's fine, but to give the baby Barack and Michelle's LAST names too, especially if you aren't actually an Obama, is just weird. And I say this as an ardent Obama supporter.

[DangitRuss]

People generally will go through a wave of naming children after leaders. I'd bet there are even a bunch of kids named George Bush that are about 8 years old. You can tell them by the amount of swirlies and wedgies they get at schools

[NotBeatenYet]

Don't forget George Washington Carver

[mairs]

So you're creeped out by people giving their kids the middle name of Obama? Why?

[EmotionDetector]

Personally, I think it is a beautiful thing. It can only be a positive. I am more concerned about that guy in the news who named his baby girl 'Sarah Palin'.

[milo h minderbinder]

They're not changing the kids last name, just using it as first and middle name.

Barack Obama Anderson.

Like George Washington Carver.

[changeishere08]

Sweet and funny. I remember this happened with JFK

[DeeW]

I think that's cool, and the babies are so darn cute!

[Shanvan]

Barrack Obama is a Kenyan name. To the person who is annoyed that Kenyans are naming their children B.O get a life and do not display your ignorance. Why would they not name their children B.O when it is a known fact that this is a Kenyan name?. As for the complaint about the aid expectations from the U.S, Kenyans are aware of the fact that Obama is American. A number of Kenyans are hopeful that Barrack's policies towards Africa as a whole, will be more favorable than W's. They have no expectations of getting handouts from Obama's government. Industrialized countries dictate policies that can be either favorable to third world countries or unfavorable. Unfavorable policies, cause a lot of hardships to most of the people on this continent. These people already have a hard enough life, with poverty being so predominant. Nobody expects any handouts just because Obama has ancestral roots in Kenya. Nowadays there is no such thing as free aid. Aid to the African continent always comes with strings attached.

[morbie5]

If the Africans didn't have so many children they wouldn't be so poor.

You can't blame everything on us in the first world.

[snarkopolitan]

If Morbie5 read something now and then he/she wouldn't be so ignorant. Drought, war, political corruption, crop failure, and AIDS have had their roles in the misery in many countries. The World Bank's lending policies, crushing interest rates, foreign aid not getting to those who need it, these are first-world affected conditions that could be improved by paying attention.

Oh yes, you may not have heard: Africans actually live in individual countries, with individual circumstances. Did you go to high school with Sarah?

[goldbry]

Oh really? How are you so sure about this? What are your sources? Or does it just make you feel less guilty to think it's that simple?

[pooka]

Really? Their poverty couldn't have anything to do with their continent having been carved up and pillaged for its riches by imperialist European nations and corporations, including many American corporations? Kleptocrats, corrupt dictators, sadistic regimes and militias control much of the continent's territory and riches and nothing trickles down to millions of people who live in extreme poverty without clean water or health care. That coltan in your cellphone, the diamond on your finger, the gold jewelry sold in malls across America, cobalt magnesium, oil, copper, palm oil, sugar for Coca Cola, exotic woods, animal trade--the list is endless and the rich and powerful keep the population poor. Human rights violations abound. Diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and cholera spread misery and death. Since you are so fortunate to live in the first world, please take the trouble to do a little research before you put forth such hostile and simplistic blame and accusations.

In this country, birth control is available at your local pharmacy or in dispensers in the public restroom. Not so in sub-Saharan Africa.

[JScott]

More correctly if humans didn't have so many children there would be so many poor people on the planet no matter which continent or how wealthy or poor. Blaming imperialism exploitation etc. is avoiding the issue, because all the issues listed in the other comments all can be traced back to too many humans on the planet.