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In 2006, mother Kerry Richardson, who is of English and Nigerian descent, gave birth to a white, or Caucasian-looking, boy named Layton a few minutes before delivering a black son named Kaydon.
They also have a younger sister, Tiyannah.
So…
Yeah.
Thoughts?
[view full story at http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/07/26/very-rare-black-and-white-twins-celebrate-fourth-birthdays/?ncid=txtlnkusheal00000002 ]
Adorable kids, terrible names. [name]IMO[/name]. This isn’t as bad as some twin names I’ve read about, but I’ll never understand why people give twins silly matchy names. Repeating the same first initial is bad enough, but names that RHYME? Ugh. ([name]Brayden[/name] and [name]Caden[/name], [name]Kayla[/name] and [name]Kaylee[/name], [name]Addison[/name] and [name]Madison[/name], [name]Jackson[/name] and [name]Jason[/name], [name]Bella[/name] and [name]Isabella[/name] - “hate” is too strong a word for people who name their kids like this, but I will say that if I meet an [name]Addison[/name] and [name]Madison[/name] in the same family, their parents aren’t folks I would strongly consider having over for barbecue. Yeah, I’m a name judger.) Irrespective of popularity, if you want to give your twins a sense of unity, there are lots of potential name pairings that are similarly evocative: [name]David[/name] & [name]Isaac[/name]; [name]Isabella[/name] & [name]Evangeline[/name]; [name]Addison[/name] & [name]Taylor[/name]; [name]Benjamin[/name] & [name]Christopher[/name]; [name]Catherine[/name] & [name]Elizabeth[/name]; [name]Marie[/name] and [name]Celeste[/name]; I could go on and on. Matching outfits are one thing, but so much identity is carried in a name, why give names that say, “essentially, I see you as the same person?” [name]Don[/name]'t twins already have enough of a hard time forging separate identities? /rantover
The article also mentions a black Londoner couple that gave birth to a white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter. It’s funny how genetics works, isn’t it? Much less extreme, but my parents were both the only green-eyed people ever in their families so far as they know; my mom’s family all had blue eyes, and my dad’s family all had brown. My husband and I were talking the other day about how we both have very dark hair and look quite exotic (from Hungarian & Italian on his side, Russian & Native American on mine), but since we both have 2 purely Irish or Scottish grandparents, we could easily have little redheads or blondes who look like they aren’t related to us at all. Of course both of our sisters look much more WASPy than we do. Our first nephew (yay! - [name]William[/name] [name]Taylor[/name], b. 12/14/2010) has a half-Korean parent. He’s only 1/4 [name]Asian[/name] but he was born looking like a tiny Shaolin monk.
[name]How[/name] incredibly COOL is that?
I’m with whistlinggirl on matchy names, though. Why is it necessary? Matchy names make it that much harder for them to have their own separate identities… something that twins often struggle enough with in the first place. Plus, if there are other siblings, it especially drives home the “these two are a matched set” point, and the others may feel like they’re lesser for not being part of a pair. Then the twins feel like they’re lesser as individuals than they are as a set.
Twins, and any siblings for that matter, are individual PEOPLE. Not just babies or kids, PEOPLE who will one day be adults.
[name]Cedric[/name] & [name]Jasper[/name] would be good names (either to either child). Also [name]Tomas[/name] & [name]William[/name].
I’m going to be blunt - those are terrible names! I second (third) all of whistlinggirl’s rant. This kind of genetic thing is so interesting, though - I actually know sisters who have a black mother, and one is clearly mixed race, but the other is so white you’d never guess. And I read a magazine article about identity, and the author was half-[name]Indian[/name], but so pale, with red hair and green eyes.
[name]Auburn[/name]
Yes, those names suck. HOWEVER, I absolutely HATE articles like this. First of all, it is obvious that both boys are biracial. They are not black or white…they are both, clearly and look so imo. I mean, a blind man can see the “black twin” isn’t fully black, and the “white twin” isn’t fully white looking either. I’ve seen many of these articles pop up in the media, and they are all very insulting to people in the interracial community. It’s annoying that people in general don’t seem to understand this. I mean, even people who aren’t biracial often look different from their siblings. My family is black, and we all vary in skin color, hair, eye color and etc. Some could even fool people into believing they are white…lol. Also, my hubby is white, and his family is the same way. He’s blonde with blue eyes…his brother is a brunette with green eyes. Therefore, I don’t really see the newsworthy factor when biracial kids come out looking slightly different from one another. And I think it is rude to say the two brothers [name]AREN[/name]'T the same race. They came from the same parents…they are the same race.
Okay…rant over…lol.
Beautiful boys but terrible twin names!
[name]Martina[/name], it seems this hits close to home, maybe? I completely understand where you’re coming from, but I think that the article (and the responses here, at least my own) are oversimplifying for the very reason that you stated: it is obvious they are both of mixed-ethnic background. Honestly, I’d venture to guess that 99% of the people on the planet are, if you go back far enough. It’s not likely that your entire family history is 100% African (and if it is, it’s likely not all from one geographical lineage), you very likely have mediterranean, middle-eastern, white or something else mixed in. Otherwise you wouldn’t see vast variances in skin tone.
Again, it’s not that people actually think one is of 100% African descent and the other is of 100% Caucasian descent, that would be just plain dumb. People are simplifying the skin tone labels to point out how cool/interesting/unique it is for two children (twins, though obviously not identical, just makes the juxtaposition more fun) of the same parents to turn out so vastly different in racial appearance.
I mean, I have red hair and my brother has brown, but we’re very clearly from the exact same ethnic background. These kids you wouldn’t guess are siblings at first glance, and I think that’s the whole point.
The names are still stupid.
@ Yellow, I get that people want to point out the “coolness” and etc, but I guess I just don’t understand why this is a big deal. I see siblings that look like this every day. I also think “journalists” who write about things like this only make these children into a spectacle. It’s almost as if they are some exhibit at the zoo or something. IR families have a hard time already, and articles like this just make it worse. I’m not getting upset with anyone here on nameberry, but this is just my opinion. It’s hard to understand unless you are in an IR relationship or have biracial children. People from the outside might not mean to be offensive, but often…they are.
Which I am, actually 
no kids, just the relationship.
Everyone’s sensitivities are different, and different things set different people off. I think in this case, it’s a matter of not reading into it too much. Pointing out that something is “cool” doesn’t have to be taken as an underhanded jab, it can be taken at face value - as in “look how cool genetics are,” not “look at these freaky looking twins.” Yeah, there are jerks out there who do think it’s weird, but they really are in the tiny minority (they’re just a little noisier than the more reasonable folks).
Of course it happens all the time, but not everyone is exposed to this sort of thing on a regular basis, which just is what it is. People of mixed racial background are a relatively new phenomenon in the grand scheme of human history (no, of course I don’t mean that it never happened before, just that it didn’t happen quite so frequently because ethnic and cultural groups were so geographically isolated), so it’s still a very new and interesting thing for most people.
I don’t care that it happens all the time, I still think it’s gosh-darn cool that siblings can look so different. [name]How[/name] fascinating that genetics can play out this way!
In the end, “race” is such a silly concept anyway since, from a DNA perspective, you’re splitting hairs on things like skin/hair/eye color/texture/whatever. We’re all human which means we’re all virtually the same combo of nucleotides. Why not relish in the fun little differences we have, and the cool combos that can result from mixing up a couple of peoples’ genes?
I guess I just don’t see the point in it. It is kind of complex, but I think black people can relate a little more to where I’m coming from. I have tons of friends who are in IR families (some of them are black, some are white, and some are [name]Asian[/name]), and it seems like blacks normally tend to understand more why the issue is a bit more sensitive to some people. Like I said before, people might not mean to offend others, but that doesn’t make it any less offensive. I just hope people don’t make comments to me if my kids vary in hue(which they probably will). But I digress…lol.
I think you’re missing the point, but that’s okay 
People can choose to be offended by whatever they want of course, regardless of whether it’s rational to be or not. It just seems silly to be offended by something that clearly has absolutely no ill will, or even ignorance, attached to it. [name]Just[/name] a waste of negative energy is all.
Take for example your statement that black people can understand your point of view better. That could easily be taken as an inflammatory statement, and I could easily be quite offended at the suggestion that I don’t understand because I’m white (though to be fair, that was an assumption on your part likely based on the fact that I stated I have red hair - sort of ironic given your stance on the subject and the fact that red hair has been known to occur on non-Caucasians). However, I understand where you were coming from with that statement and choose to give you the benefit of the doubt, instead of getting huffed about blanket statements regarding my empathy level based on my ethnic background. Assuming the worst and getting offended doesn’t help you, me, or anyone else for that matter.
Point being, I suppose I can’t understand why it’s offensive, at least not in any reasonable, rational way. I can definitely understand how it can be taken the wrong way in order to contribute to an already-held personal pet peeve. To me it seems harmless to say “look how cool” about this. Maybe it’s because I’ve always relished feeling “different” rather than longing to blend in, maybe it’s because I’m generally a pragmatic and scientifically-interested person, or hey, sure, maybe I’m too white to get it.
While I agree with most everything you’ve said, yellow, I think I get what [name]Martina[/name] is saying. I think the sensitive part of the issue is that the article highlights skin color - and particularly blackness/whiteness - as being such a dramatic differential. For instance, my husband is 6’3", built like an offensive lineman, and has black hair and dark brown eyes. His sister is 5’1", 100 pounds soaking wet, and blonde with blue eyes. They actually look more dramatically different than the twins in the article, but nobody would have ever considered writing an article about them. While we nameberryites are just being nerdy, there are others (the intended readers, who would be inspired to buy the periodical) for whom this subject is provocative because it’s OMG race and black and white people are sooo different! Where we don’t see black and white people as any more intrinsically different than, say, Irish people and French people (and probably less different if those black and white people hail from the same country), many others are less enlightened, and sadly, there are still a hefty minority of people who still see a merit difference.
In other words, I think part of the issue is that black and white are seen as a dichotomy, and it’s a false dichotomy.
Yellow , I get what you are saying. So, I don’t think there is any misunderstanding here…simply opposing opinions on the subject. And I never assumed you were white. I never even addressed you personally, so I think you just assumed I was solely talking about you personally. My statements were general, and I did not say “you” and etc, so I don’t see how you thought I was pointing you out specifically.
Exactly, I think you understand part of what I was trying to say…lol. I mean, there are tons of issues that make articles like this offensive. I think glorifying how different the boys look from one another can cause tons of problems(some with the children, and others with the family in general). I know some couples who have kids like this, and the parents have people actually come up to them and make comments. The black moms are often asked if they are the nanny and what not. The white moms are asked if their black looking kids are adopted. I think it is fine to realize we are all different, but I think less emphasis should be placed on it.
I’ll avoid the whole racial issue and go straight to the fact that I also hate, hate, hate matchy names for twins. Thinking of the twins I know there are:
[name]Tanya[/name] and [name]Tara[/name]
[name]Jeremy[/name] and [name]Jason[/name]
[name]Heather[/name] and [name]Holly[/name]
[name]Haley[/name] and [name]Heath[/name]
[name]Kirsten[/name] and [name]Kyle[/name]
[name]Madison[/name] and [name]McKenzie[/name] (I know 2 sets of these)
[name]Jenna[/name] and [name]Jennifer[/name] (why would a parent do this?)
and of course…[name]Aiden[/name] and [name]Hayden[/name]
There are many more but those come to mind. I also know a [name]Pamela[/name] and [name]Susan[/name] (they’re in their forties) which I find to be so refreshing since in this part of the country it seems to be an unwritten law that all twins must have names that match. I hate it.
If you ask me, [name]Martina[/name], the article pinpoints just how STUPID labels-- the very idea of race, really is!!! Although, I definitely believe ethnicity and cultural pride/identity should treasured. In God’s eyes, we’re all the freakin’ same.
[name]Tracie[/name]