<p>An orphan does not have parents. On the other hand an orphaned block has a parent but no children. So shouldn't it be called barren rather than orphan?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-19T17:56:22.663Z
Orphan blocks *can* have children. They just don't have as many children as the best chain.
Nick ODell
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-20T15:04:56.533Z
That's not the origin of the term though, see the linked answer.
Pieter Wuille
<orphaned-blocks><stale-block>
Why are orphans called orphans?
Jus12
# Why are orphans called orphans?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-01-19)

An orphan does not have parents. On the other hand an orphaned block has a parent but no children. So shouldn't it be called barren rather than orphan?

**Tags:** orphaned-blocks, stale-block

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Orphan blocks *can* have children. They just don't have as many children as the best chain.  
> **username_2**: That's not the origin of the term though, see the linked answer.  

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