President-elect's name catches on

Barack Obama may have a "funny name", as he once said - but it might just catch on among the nation's newborns.

A Florida couple became among the country's first to bestow it on their child, even before most news outlets had declared the Illinois senator the president-elect.

Sanjae Obama Fisher was born at 8 pm local time at Hollywood's Memorial Regional Hospital to Patrick and Sasha Hall Fisher.

A hospital spokeswoman says it was the father's idea. But mum still got to watch the election, after 14 hours at the hospital.

Sanjae has two siblings, 8-year-old sister Shaniah and 4-year-old brother Shane.

In Arkansas, Benjamin Barack Kimbrough was born at 2.35 pm local time on Election Day to Walter and Adria Kimbrough. Walter Kimbrough is president of Philander Smith College, a historically black school.

In Maryland, a mother who went into labour on Tuesday after voting for Obama named her newborn daughter after Obamas' two girls, 7-year-old Sasha and Malia, 10.

Lakisha Brown of Joppa gave birth to Sasha Malia Ann Taylor at 12.36 am local time on Wednesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Centre.

GBMC spokesman Michael Schwartzberg said Brown watched Obama's victory speech while she was in labour at the hospital.