Celebrity Babies: Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck

Actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck welcomed their baby girl into the world on January 6, 2009. Named Seraphina Rose Elizabeth, the newborn joins 3-year old sister, Violet Anne, into the Affleck fold.

Seraphina Rose Elizabeth seems to be a hit with most people on the web, and that's good news. Celebrities are becoming increasingly known for christening their offspring with "crazy" names. From singer Ashlee Simpson's son, "Bronx Mowgli" to actress Lisa Bonet's newborn son "Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha," celebrities are not afraid to go to the extreme when it comes to naming their kids. So, I think many were surprised (and somewhat relieved!) when Jennifer and Ben chose the more modest Seraphina Rose Elizabeth.

From a baby name expert point of view, I think this was a good choice. I'm not crazy about the name Seraphina, but I think it might have been influenced by Ben's humanitarian work in The Congo, Africa. Where's the connection, you ask? Well, "Sarafina!" is a South African musical about students who strongly oppose apartheid, and in December 2008, Ben worked with the United Nations to document the plight of refugees in The Congo.

I'm a fan of the double middle names, "Rose Elizabeth," although professionally speaking, I believe "Elizabeth Rose" flows much better. In this instance, the one syllable name ("Rose") in the middle of two longer syllable names ("Seraphina" and "Elizabeth") breaks the flow, making the overall affect sound a bit choppy. So yes, my vote would've been for Seraphina Elizabeth Rose Affleck, or even more simply, Elizabeth Rose Affleck, Seraphina Elizabeth Affleck, or Seraphina Rose Affleck.