Spark It Up!!!: Father Names Baby Sarah McCain Palin

Sen. John McCain hasn’t called. Neither has Gov. Sarah Palin. But Fox News has. So has NBC, the New York Post and Entertainment Tonight. Since early Tuesday morning, Mark Ciptak has been bragging about his new baby girl, whose name has everyone talking.

What started as a routine birth announcement turned into a media frenzy for Ciptak, who spent much of Tuesday explaining why he decided to legally name his newborn baby girl Sarah McCain Palin Ciptak without telling his wife, Layla. She thought they had agreed to name the baby, who was born Friday night, Ava Grace.

“I Googled my name late Monday and two hits came up. I did it this morning and it popped up thousands of times,” the Elizabethton resident said.

Why did he pick that name? To bring attention to the presidential candidates he supports, said Ciptak.

He and his wife had signed two sets of blank birth certificate documents Sunday morning. Ciptak decided before they left the hospital to fill in one of them with the name Sarah McCain Palin Ciptak, a name Layla did not approve of. But a hospital official confirmed that’s the name that will be printed on a birth certificate issued by the Tennessee Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records since both signatures are on the form.

A representative of the Vital Records office said that under Tennessee law, a birth certificate name can be changed within one year if an affidavit is filed with the office.

Ciptak broke the news to his wife Monday after he was contacted by the Times-News. The newspaper learned of the baby’s name through a routine birth announcement area hospitals give to the media.

“To be sure, she was not quite fond of me or of what I had done, but we’ve had some time to talk it over, and she has been really supportive through it all. With so much going on, she told me that made it a little easier to absorb,” said Ciptak.

Ciptak said Monday he picked the name as a way to support the John McCain/Sarah Palin presidential ticket.

“Did I expect this? Did I think it would go this far? Absolutely not. Am I happy that it’s gone this far? Absolutely. That’s what it was all about, to get the word out, to be encouraging, and to be a breath of fresh air to the McCain camp and that ticket. It seems to have taken off.

“We took those vows 13 years ago for better for worse, and we have always planned to stick with (those vows) no matter what happened. Even though it’s not as drastic as it could have been, (our marriage) is for the better. I’ve come to love her and respect her more through this.”

Ciptak said his in-laws and his mother have not been as forgiving as his wife has.

“I think they are planning my funeral behind my back. There’s some resentment from the family. The conversations have been short and to the point. We’ll see them soon, and I just feel like this too shall pass,” said Ciptak.~Read it All