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Parents and Baby Names

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered, mutilated and cannibalized 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991, and somehow his parents were to blame. At least according to some psychologists, who claimed that Dahmer’s “disturbing behavior” was a result of a strained relationship with his parents.

Frankly, I don’t buy into the whole blame-all-your-faults-on-your-parents philosophy, and I certainly don’t think Dahmer’s parents were to blame for their son’s psychotic behavior, but there is one fact of life that is the sole responsibility of mothers and fathers: baby names.

When it comes to naming children, parents are the ultimate decision makers. While some moms and dads prefer to bestow traditional names on their offspring, others embrace bizarre monikers, especially celebrity parents.

But in the case of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick it’s not so much what they named their newborn twin daughters, it’s the fact that one girl has more names than the other, that’s making headlines.

According to reports, the celebrity couple’s surrogate delivered two healthy baby girls on Monday in Ohio.

Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick was 5 pounds 11 ounces at birth while Tabitha Hodge Broderick weighed in at 6 pounds.

Take a look at those names again—-did you notice that one girl has four names and the other has just three?

According to ABC News, the girls’ middle names honor family members on Parker’s side. Makes perfect sense to me, after all, the couple’s 6-year-old son James Wilkie was named in honor of Broderick’s dad. James in the Jewish tradition after Broderick’s actor father James Broderick and Wilkie after Parker’s favorite 19th century British writer Wilkie Collins.

What doesn’t make much sense to me is the fact that baby Tabitha appears to have been shortchanged in the name department.

What kind of parent does that?

A baby name imbalance—-that’s a new one.

Some baby naming experts are sounding off on the discrepancy as well saying that it is very unusual for twins not to be given the same number of names.

What do you make of the Broderick’s lopsided name game?

Do you think Tabitha will give her famous parents grief about her name when she gets older?

I can see it now: When the girls get into a fight, Marion will claim to be the superior sibling because she has four names instead of three.

Related Articles:

Baby Names–How Many is Too Many?

Parents, Kids and Nicknames

Cracking Down on Bizarre Baby Names

This entry was posted in Infants (See Also Baby Blog) by Michele Cheplic. Bookmark the permalink.

About Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. She spent the next ten years as a television anchor and reporter at various stations throughout the country (from the CBS affiliate in Honolulu to the NBC affiliate in Green Bay). She has won numerous honors including an Emmy Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow awards honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast journalism. In addition, she has received awards from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association for her reports on air travel and the Wisconsin Education Association Council for her stories on education. Michele has since left television to concentrate on being a mom and freelance writer.