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Tennessee Dad Names Baby After Republican Nominees

Media General News Service

Mark Ciptak chose to endorse his favorite candidates for president and vice president by naming his daughter after the Republican ticket.

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By KELLY CALES

Media General News Service

Published: October 16, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - What's in a name? Politics, if you ask proud new father Mark Ciptak of Elizabethton, Tenn.

Some people distribute bumper stickers, some post campaign signs and others donate cash to support their favorite candidates.

Ciptak had another idea – sparked by the birth Friday of his baby girl.

"I don't have a million dollars," Ciptak said.

So he chose to endorse his favorite candidates for president and vice president by naming his daughter after the Republican ticket.

"I decided to actually name her Sarah McCain Palin," he said. "I'm totally McCain all the way."

A blood bank employee for the American Red Cross, Ciptak said he chose the name to show his support and to encourage others to vote.

But Sarah McCain Palin is not the name Ciptak and his wife, Layla, originally agreed upon.

"I sort of secretively went behind her back and changed the paperwork," Ciptak said.

Ava Grace was the name originally chosen by the couple.

Fueled by his new idea, Ciptak caused a distraction and some confusion at the hospital by using two birth certificate forms.

"With the stress of everything going on, she, I guess, didn't realize that a new form was printed with my handwriting because my handwriting is very noticeable, very unique," he said of his wife.

Ciptak said he had no regrets at the time.

"The very next day, though, I did feel bad, my conscience set in," he said.

Although the stroke of conscience failed to override his decision, he did admit to one concession.

"I was actually gonna name the baby John McCain, even as the girl, but I thought that was maybe too overboard," he said. "I decided to actually name her Sarah McCain Palin, figuring hopefully I would get two weeks in the doghouse rather than two months."

In the event the family decides to overrule the father, they'll have one year to file an affidavit requesting the name change, according to the Tennessee Department of Health's Office of Vital Records.

KELLY CALES is a multimedia intern for WJHL-TV.

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