Happy feast of the Annunciation! Today’s consultation is perfect for this beautiful feast because the baby’s big brother’s name is Gabriel! In fact, he has the so-handsome combo Gabriel Joseph!

Mama Julia writes,

“For the new baby — we found out we were pregnant a few days after the passing of a priest named Fr. Roman, who was something of an important person in my husband’s life, and I just had the random thought — oh, if it’s a boy, what if we named him Roman — after this priest, and also I found it to be a unique name with super cute nicknames: Romie, Romeo, Rome. I raised the idea with my husband and he seemed to like it – but he isn’t too sure about it. I think because using the exact same name means we are naming the baby after this particular priest, which seems maybe too onerous??

Then somewhere along the line I just clung to the name Roman John Paul — St. John Paul II is definitely a key figure in my life as I spent years studying at the JPII Institute in D.C., and my husband and I invoke his intercession every night (along with St. Joseph, and the archangels Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael…).

However, I’m also toying with the idea of using John Paul as a first name. I love what you quoted in the intro of [your book of Marian names] from the Catechism, about one’s Christian name as being a model of one who lived a life of fidelity to the Lord — and obviously John Paul is stand-out in this regard.

Other boys names that have come up:

• Raphael — perhaps Raphael Rocco (Rocco is my father-in-law’s name, and it would be nice to honor him) … so I also wondered about John Paul Rocco
• Giulio — my husband also really likes this name (and it also happens to be the name of a professor who was integral to his life).. I think Giulio Michael could be good if we had a third son… and I like the nickname Jules for a boy 😍
• GianPaolo — as an Italian variant of John Paul (we are Italian Canadian), however we’re leaning away from intense Italian names since Gabriel is not Italian. E.g., we also like the name Serafino, but it’s way too Italian haha
• Gio / Giovanni – for my husband’s grandfather (John)
• Benedict — my husband really likes this, but I don’t. Even though I like Pope Benedict …
• Dominic — again, a pick from husband, but I’m not feeling it

I’d love suggestions for middle names if we use John Paul as a first name … I’m not keen on JP as a nickname but I knew a John Paul and no one ever called him John Paul … which might be an incentive for using it as a middle name rather than first name — to keep its integrity while still being named after a saint?

For girl’s names — we always considered using both our grandmother’s names: Adelina Teresa. I’m named after my Nonna Maria (Julia Maria), and my husband’s sister has both her Nonna’s names (Carmela Teresa). Adelina would be for my Nonna on my mom’s side — who is incredibly important to my life/my faith journey. I don’t necessarily like the nicknames for Adelina (I don’t like Addie) but I think Adele or Delle is cute (my Nonna’s legal name is Adele). I don’t think we would use a nickname for Adelina though (for instance, we don’t refer to Gabriel as Gabe).

We also really like Beatrice and would call her Bea (since it also follows the Italian pronunciation), and I think it’s so pretty (also love the meaning of bringer of Joy). However I cannot think of a good middle name. I wanted a one syllable middle name … my mother-in-law’s name is Rosemary but I don’t think I would want to use Rose just yet. I love the name Grace but my husband has vetoed that one. I’m also so torn between using Adelina or Beatrice since I love how unique Beatrice is, but I think I may regret not naming a first daughter after my grandmother, especially if we only ever have one girl?! So hard to know. I think it’ll all depend on the feeling once the baby is born!

Other girls names that came up: Sophia / Sophie, Chiara (after Chiara Corbella Petrillo), I also really like Noel (Noelle?) if it was a Christmas baby … my husband likes Elizabeth (because he loves the Queen) so that name would be a contender if we ended up having more girls after using the names Beatrice and Adelina haha …. it would be such a blessing to have four children BUT that is in God’s hands 😉

In terms of preferences, I think we like Catholic / Biblical inspired names, but nothing TOO intense or that screams biblical (like Jeremiah, Nathaniel, Isaac, Isaiah, etc.) We like Italian-inspired names, but not Spanish / Hispanic (a lot of the names in the Marian book are beautiful but too Spanish for us).
Some fun ideas that I don’t know if we’d use but perhaps for inspiration: I like the idea of Pio / Pia; and I like the Italian Agnese (after Agnus Dei / lamb of God).

Names we likely won’t consider because they are already family names (i.e. siblings, cousins, close friends): Luca/Lucas, Carmela, James, Lily/ Liliana, Noah, Cristina, Isabella, Sophia, Anthony (is Mark’s middle name — so actually this could be a contender for a middle name), Leo, Andrew.”

First off, I have to commend Julia and her husband on their excellent taste in names! I, too, have always loved the name Gabriel! I think they did an absolutely fantastic job with their first baby.

It was interesting to see that they have a definite Italian sensibility (and a last name to match), but also want to “lean away” from intense Italian names because of Gabriel not being Italian. One of the things I’ve noticed about Italian Catholic families (and Italian families who aren’t necessarily into the faith) is that there are some names that *feel* Italian, even though they’re not. Some I would have suggested to this family in this vein if they hadn’t already used/they weren’t already on one of their lists (list of names they’re considering and list of names they can’t use) include Joseph, Dominic, and Anthony — none of those are Italian, but they have good usage among Italian American families — I’m assuming it would be similar for Italian Canadian families? So that might be a direction they’d like to go, and it was a big inspiration to me when I was making my list of ideas for them.

I also think Gabriel fits right into that, so even though it’s not Italian, I definitely think Gabriel is a fine brother name for explicitly Italian names. In fact, one of my favorite things about Gabriel is that it goes so well with so many different kinds of names! It fits well with biblical and not biblical, with super saintly names and those that aren’t so obvious, and with more ethnic names as well as with names that I think would be more familiar to the English-speaking Canadian ear.

Before getting to those new ideas, I wanted to offer my thoughts on the specific names they’re currently considering, in case they’re helpful:

• Roman: I absolutely love Roman for this family!! I think it perfectly hits all the things important to Julia: it’s a perfect brother name for Gabriel style-wise; it’s Italian(ish) without being over the top, and as such allows for more Italian-y names in the future if they like (but doesn’t box them in); and it honors a significant person in Julia’s husband’s life. We name babies after people all the time, from the living (especially family members) to the deceased (family members and Saints) and there’s no reason a person dear to you that isn’t family can’t be honored the same way.  I’ve known many people who have named their babies after non-family members, including priests — this is an example of a family who was considering the name of a priest close to them for their baby’s middle, and I’ve had several other families who have done so as well, for both firsts and middles. I think for Julia it probably feels a little more obvious because Roman isn’t as familiar as some other names. But I wouldn’t let that stop them! To me, this is the name to beat.

• John Paul (as a first or middle): So even though I said I think Roman is the name to beat, how can I not love John Paul??!! I think Gabriel and John Paul are perfect brothers! However … because these parents like Italian names and might like to use some obvious ones at some point, I’m reluctant to vote too hard for John Paul for their second baby. One of the things I love about Roman is that it doesn’t move their style *away* from their love of Italian names (while not being too obvious just yet), but I think John Paul does (at this point in their baby naming). Does that make sense?

I also want to say I, too, love the full John Paul and I know some John Pauls who go by the full John Paul. It does require firmness and consistency on the part of the parents while the child is young and then on the part of the child himself when he’s older (and he may not agree at that point anyway and prefer to go by JP or something else).

Regarding middle name possibilities, it’s a funny thing with John Paul because it already looks like a first+middle (and you can totally use it that way, even if you call him by John Paul), so an actual middle name ends up looking like a second middle name, which can be annoying for some parents. I actually posted about one family’s way of dealing with this issue here. I think one way to set the middle name apart from John Paul is to use a name that’s not very first-namey, like a family or saintly surname. I really like the idea of John Paul with Julia’s maiden name, for example! I also like the idea of putting a super Italian name in the middle when you use a more English first name, like John Paul Serafino.

• Raphael: Of course I love Raphael, but I always kind of feel like *one* archangel name is enough in a family, first-name wise, unless one is willing to do all three, and then what if there’s a fourth (or more) boy? I do think that if this family uses Raphael for boy no. 2, right after Gabriel, that it feels like a theme and Michael would be the obvious next boy, and if they don’t use Michael for boy no. 3 it will be weird, but if they do use Michael it will be weird, and do they even like Michael as a first name?? I could be being very weird about this, maybe there’s no issue here at all, haha! If they love Raphael, they should definitely go for it, but I would vote for at least shelving it for this baby.

• Rocco: I love the idea of Rocco, and as a middle name it’s perfect in general and also specifically for a name like John Paul as it loops in Italian-ness. But I also love it as a first name — I wonder if Julia and her hubby would consider it?

• Giulio: It’s so interesting to me that Julia said she thinks “Giulio Michael could be good if we had a third son” — given what I said earlier, I think Gabriel, Roman, and Giulio would be a perfect way and order in which to include their love of Italian names in a balanced, not too-intense way. I was also amazed that Jules showed up in my research as a style match for Adele! Very consistent with Julia’s style! I also love that it’s a nice nod to her.

• GianPaolo: Given that they’re “leaning away from intense Italian names,” I would think GianPaolo wouldn’t be the right choice for this baby for a first name, but I’d love it as a middle! Especially for a first name that isn’t Italian or Italian-ish at all.

• Gio/Giovanni: Would John Paul as a first name with the nickname Gio serve the dual purposes of honoring JP2 and Hubby’s grandfather?? That would be really cool!

• Benedict: Hmm … I’m wondering if the Italian Benedetto or Benito would appeal to Julia more? It would still of course have the saintly connection and the fantastic nickname Ben (which is a perfect brother name for Gabe — I’ve seen Gabe and Ben paired up in a few families, usually Gabriel and Benjamin but in Catholic families I often see Benedict). Bennett is a variant that I often suggest, but it feels too far from your Italian style. If you liked it, though, Bennett GianPaolo might be a perfect combo! Two great popes, a great way to use the super Italian GianPaolo, a way of using Benedict without using Benedict.

• Dominic: As I mentioned above, this totally would have been on my list for this family if it wasn’t already on their list! My dad had a friend named Dominick growing up and they called him Dommy, which I think is darling. Nick and Nico are also possibilities. (I feel moved to share, with Rocco on their list and in light of Julia’s husband loving Benedict and Dominic, that I know brothers Rocco and Agostino — I could see her hubby loving Augustine or Agostino!)

• Adelina Teresa: This is just so beautiful!! I love the connection to both grandmothers, and Adele and Delle are sweet (I especially love that Adele is Julia’s grandmother’s actual legal name).

• Beatrice: Another beautiful name! I love Bea, too. This reminded me of a family I did a consultation for who has a similar love of their Italian heritage and incorporated it into their baby naming. Their first is George Francesco, to give you an idea! Their second is Beatrice Lucia Marie, and funny enough, they did the same thing with Beatrice’s name that the mom of John Paul that I linked to above did with his — just like John Paul’s middle name is only on his baptismal certificate, so also is Beatrice’s second middle Marie. Some one-syllable middle names possibilities include Clare, Mae, Faye, Kay, Joy (or would that be too weird with the meaning of Beatrice?), Eve, Liv, Kate, Nell, Tess (this could honor Grandma Teresa as well), Veil, Pearl, Ruth, June, Jane, Jude, Belle, Pax.

• Sophia/Sophie: Beautiful! But it’s on their no list, right?

• Chiara: I love Chiara! It’s one of the Italian names that’s more familiar to English speakers, which I think is that sweet spot for this family. Might they be interested in Clare or Clara as English versions that still point directly to Chiara Corbella Petrillo?

• Noel(le): When I was reading Julia’s email, this felt like an unexpected choice to me, like it was outside their style, but my research showed that it’s considered a style match for a few names that are consistent with their taste, including Roman! I wanted to suggest Natalia, but with Natalia and Noel(le) meaning the same thing, it would be an either/or kind of thing, and I suspect Julia likes Noel(le) better.

• Elizabeth: Such a solid, classic name! It has a thousand and one nickname options, so it can really fit whatever aesthetic you’re going for. The connection to the Queen is pretty cool — they could lean into that, and amp up the Marian connection as well, by doing something like Elizabeth Regina.

Speaking of aesthetic, I briefly touched on these earlier but I want to say a little more here: one strategy for weaving together Julia and hubby’s Italian names and non-Italian names in their children is by bestowing an English name but using an Italian(ish) nickname. Like Elisa for Elizabeth or Gio for John Paul. On the flip side, they could bestow an Italian name and use a nickname more familiar to English speakers, like Rocky for Rocco or Addy for Adelina (though I know Julia said she doesn’t care for Addy). Another strategy is to balance a more English name with a very Italian middle name and vice versa, like John Paul Serafino or Noelle Annunziata (Christmas + Annunciation in one! I love this combo). I think keeping these strategies in mind will help any name they want to use feel like it fits in their family.

Okay! On to new ideas! I started by doing my usual research for you in the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link) as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. As expected, some results were super Italian and some had no Italian connection at all. I’ll be interested to see what these parents think of these!

Girl

(1) Maria

Unsurprisingly, I am a HUGE fan of naming for Our Lady, and I often think of a Mary double as being a perfect way to tie together two stylistically different names. For this family, I would immediately suggest Maria as a first name (or middle). I know many girls and women whose first name is a form of Mary but who go by their middle name, or go by the two names together, so using Maria as the first name doesn’t have to mean their daughter goes by Maria (though it’s lovely!). Maria Noelle is one combo that I immediately liked — it helps Noelle make sense in a family with an Italian last name and possibly Italian-y named siblings (not that Noelle needs to “make sense” — this is just me looking from the outside in and considering what I would think is a cohesive whole. But that doesn’t need to matter to them at all!)

(2) Juliet

I went back and forth on whether to include this idea or not, and obviously decided to do so. I absolutely love the name Juliet, and I love that, like Roman, it’s Italian without being *Italian*. Anyone familiar with the story knows that Romeo and Juliet was set in Italy! I also love that it is a huge nod to Julia, but in a different way than a straight Junior. Juliet is a diminutive of Julia, so it’s kind of perfect for the daughter of a Julia! I did a post on patron Saints for Juliet here. Maria Juliet would also be lovely, and another nice way to nod to Julia. I do realize that Juliet might knock out Roman (too close to Romeo, right? Especially if they use the nickname Romeo?), and also Giulio/Jules, so it’s a little bit of a throwaway idea — I love it, so I wanted to include it, and if Julia and her hubs love it, I’ll be thrilled, but I’ll totally understand if they don’t, and I included a couple extra names on this girl’s list to make up for it.

(3) Caterina (or K/Catherine)

St. Catherine of Siena was Italian, of course, so her name was actually Caterina. I’ve always loved it, what a gorgeous name! Caterina nicknamed Cate or Cat is wonderful with Gabriel in my opinion, as is K/Catherine (if they prefer). I also saw on Behind the Name that Catia is an Italian diminutive of Caterina — I’d never seen that before! I have always loved Katia/Katya, so cool to see an Italian version! Catherine nicknamed Catia would be that English given name/Italian-y nickname idea I had. Also, even though Julia said she’d love a one-syllable middle name for Beatrice, St. Catherine was called Euphrosyne, which means “joy,” when she was a child, so I immediately thought of Beatrice Catherine or Beatrice Caterina as being meaningful. Or Caterina Joy!

(4) Stella, Maristella

Another style match for this family is Stella, which I quite like for them. It’s got good usage among Latinate families (Spanish-speaking, Italian-speaking, etc.), but it’s also got good usage among English-speaking families with no Latin heritage. Our Lady’s title Star of the Sea (Stella Maris in Latin) is such a wonderful connection for Stella, and I also wanted to suggest the longer Maristella, which is that title flipped and pushed together. Isn’t that a gorgeous name?? I’ve done birth announcements for three Maristellas, one of whom has a sister Noelle! The others are here and here, I know you’ll all love to see what the siblings are named.

(5) Camilla

I’m always surprised when Camilla shows up in my research for families, as I’ve never really felt like I have a good handle on what style it is. But according to my research for this family, it fits right in with the names they like! It’s a match for Raphael, Dominic, Adele (as Camille), Sophia, and Noelle (as Camille) — that’s pretty incredible! It’s a beautiful name with sweet nickname options.

(6) Lucia

I was inspired to add Lucia to the list after looking up Baby Beatrice’s birth announcement above and remembering that Lucia is her first middle name. The loo-CHEE-ah pronunciation is specifically Italian, and they can use Lucy as a nickname if they like or if they think it would be easier for everyday usage. However, I do want to share that I know a couple who both come from Italian families, and they named their first daughter Luciana, with the CH pronunciation, and they call her LOO-chee, which I think is so fantastic, that they just leaned into their heritage.

(7) Zita

My last idea for a girl is Zita. This may be too Italian for this family! But I want to make an argument that it’s *not* too Italian, and my big piece of evidence to support that is Servant of God Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary, “the last empress and queen of Christendom” (source). To be fair, she was from Italy, but she’s usually discussed in the context of her beautiful marriage to her husband, Bl. Karl, and their position as monarchs over Austria-Hungary, which dilutes the Italian-ness a little bit. There have been a few Sancta Nomina babies named after her!

Boy

(1) Carlo

My very first idea for a boy when reading Julia’s email was Carlo! Bl. Carlo Acutis has increased the usage of this name among non-Italian families (and Italian families) — he’s an amazing patron for a little boy, and I love that Carlo can nod to St. John Paul, too, since his given name was Karol — both Carlo and Karol are variants of Charles (and actually, a fun detail is that John Paul was named Karol after the very Bl. Karl married to SOG Zita I mentioned above! How cool!). I know a little Carlo whose brother is Reid, so using that one family as a data point, Carlo can go with any kind of name!

(2) Vincent

Like Joseph, Anthony, and Dominic, Vincent is a name that I consider to be one commonly used by families with Italian heritage, so I had to include it! Vince and Vinny are familiar nicknames, but I personally love the full Vincent. So handsome!

(3) Sebastian

I’m always most interested in the names that are style matches for the existing older sibling (s), so I was interested to see that Sebastian is a match for Gabriel! And further interested to see it’s also a match for Dominic! I’ve seen Seb and Sebby, Bastian, and Bash as nicknames for Sebastian, all of which I love.

(4) Nicholas

I would describe Nicholas as being on the outer edges of the non-Italian names that are favored by Italian families, like Joseph, Anthony, Dominic, and Vincent—it’s got such broad usage that it’s hard to pin it down to any one heritage, but it certainly fits in! I suggested Nico above as a nickname for Dominic, and it’s even more obvious for Nicholas. Nick and Nicky have that same friendly feel as Gabe and Ben in my opinion, and the full Nicholas is very handsome.

(5) Hugo

I like to include at least one unexpected idea, which I think Hugo qualifies as! It’s a style match for Adela, which I included in my research as a compromise between Adele and Adelina, since Adelina doesn’t have its own entry and Adela’s matches were different from Adele’s. Roman and Rafael (that spelling) are also matches for Adela! So I was glad to add Hugo to the list. It’s a name my husband and I seriously considered — I think it’s sweet and sophisticated at the same time. There are several holy Hugos, some of whom have ties to Italy.

(6) Santino nn Sonny

I mentioned above Laurence with the nickname Enzo as an idea of an English name with an Italian nickname, and I also wanted to include this idea of an Italian name with an English nickname. You all likely know that Santino nicknamed Sonny is a character in “The Godfather,” which could ruin this for Julia and her hubby, but if not, I loooove it! Santino means “little Saint” and Sonny is such a great nickname! I couldn’t not mention it. My no. 6 boy had a Santino nn Sonny in his preschool class several years ago, I loved hearing his name!

I also thought that, because Julia’s baby is due so close to Easter, she might like to look through my Names for the Glorious Mysteries post.

And those are all my ideas! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for the little brother or sister of Gabriel Joseph?

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