Baby name consultant: Suggestions for Baby Fisher

sanctanomina Baby name consultant, Baby on the way, Naming resources, Nicknames, Personal stories, Predictions, , , ,

I think I’ve posted a time or two about blogger/writer/mama-of-many Simcha Fisher, one of my favorites. (Find her at Patheos and National Catholic Register; she also wrote The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning.) She’s expecting her tenth born baby and has graciously agreed to let me offer some suggestions for the wee one’s name. And I’m trying not to freak out that (1) I get to offer actual suggestions for an actual baby and (2) that the baby’s a Fisher baby. (I’m also trying not to use too many exclamation points.) (!!!)

Simcha and her husband Damien have name tastes that I would characterize as kind of eclectic but consistent, and somewhat contrary, as well as Old World and elegant. Their older children are:

Lena

Dora

Clara

Moses

Elijah

Sophia

Lucy

Irene

Benedicta (“Benny”)

If I wanted to pin down their style more exactly, I might group them thusly:

A little old-fashioned, like black-and-white-movie starlets or a gorgeous antique or a hardworking immigrant: Lena, Dora, Clara, Lucy, Irene, Moses, Elijah

Old Testament/Jewish: Moses, Elijah

Currently popular or on its way there: Clara, Sophia, Lucy, Elijah

Clearly Catholic: Clara, Sophia, Lucy, Irene, Benedicta

Simcha also posted once about other names they’d considered and rejected at one time or another, which gives a further peek into their style—Alma, Ada, Delia, Beryl, Oceania, Moselle, Edith. Though rejected, they seem pretty consistent with the names they did choose.

So with all that information at hand, I have the following three suggestions for first names for each gender, in descending order:

Girl

(1) Stella

Stella has that same starlet feel to me as Lena and Dora; the same old-fashioned feel as Clara and Lucy; and as it’s part of the Marian epithet Stella Maris (“Star of the Sea”) it totally fits in with Lucy and Benedicta.

(2) Esther or Miriam

I really really like Esther for the Fishers. It’s Old Testament/Jewish, like Moses and Elijah (and I love when a name bridges two styles, as seem to loosely exist between the Fisher girls’ names and the boys’ names); it’s old-fashioned; it’s elegant. But I could see not everyone loving the –er ending of Esther with the –er ending of Fisher. If that were the case, Miriam would be my alternate for choice #2—it has similar attributes to Esther, it flows better with the baby’s surname, and it gets bonus points for being a Marian name.

(3) Hannah

Hannah is soft and sweet, like Clara and Lucy. It’s an Old Testament name, like the brothers’ names, and currently the height of popularity, like Sophia.

Boy

(1) Isaac

Simcha and Damien’s taste for boys so far has seemed pretty straightforward: Old Testament/Jewish. Simcha’s parents converted from Judaism to Catholicism when she was a child, so I’ve always assumed Moses and Elijah are nods to her heritage. Isaac certainly fits that mold. It’s also currently fairly popular, which fits in with Sophia and Clara, but old-fashioned at the same time, with its previous peak being in the 1880’s, like Lena and Dora and Moses. It’s also pretty Catholic, what with St. Isaac Jogues being one of the North American Martyrs (and the recent canonization of St. Kateri Tekakwitha helping to raise his profile even more).

(2) Solomon

Old Testament/Jewish, the end. Also wise and kingly, elegant and old-fashioned. A solid, consistent choice for a brother to Moses and Elijah.

(3) Asa

Asa is old-fashioned and Old Testament/Jewish, and it’s short and punchy like Lena and Dora and Lucy. It’s also a bold choice because of its rarity (it peaked in popularity in the 1880s), potential for mispronunciation by those who are unfamiliar with it, and potential for crossover to the girl’s side because of the –a ending. But I get the sense that Fishers would not be swayed by such considerations, and Ace is a pretty cool nickname (if a nickname were to be used).

What do you think? Have I hit the nail on the head or missed altogether? Do you have any suggestions for naming the new Fisher Baby?

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In formulating my thoughts on the Fishers’ name style and determining other names that I think they might like, I consulted The Baby Name Wizard book and web site, especially the Name Voyager and Namipedia, as well as the Behind the Name web site, and my own mind, which contains a lifetime of conversations about names, reading about names, and thinking about names. (Seriously. I never tire of it.)

90 thoughts on “Baby name consultant: Suggestions for Baby Fisher”

  6. Abigail as a first name with a New Covenant, Catholic middle name to go with it. I saw Hildegard at the other blog and I really like that. (I’m considering it for a middle name if I have another girl.)

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  8. I think Ruth hits the old fashioned, Old Testament/Jewish mark, and yes, I’m shamelessly biased here. I like the name Hope as a middle name, even as a first name if Ruth doesn’t make their foot tap.

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  10. For girls, I think Cecilia, Adelaide, Genevieve, Matilda, Eleanor, Evangeline, Helena, Beatrice, and Rosalind are all fantastic choices– culled from the ancient or medieval world, each with a strong Christian association, but beautiful and timeless.

    For boys, if one wants to stick to the O.T. theme: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Isaac, Joshua, Joel, Samuel, David, Benjamin, Joseph, Tobias or Tobiah, Daniel, Noah, Abel, Josiah

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  12. Here is my comment from Simcha’s blog… before I knew they already used Clara. 🙂

    my suggestions for girl names:

    Clara (variation on St Clare) And my name. 😉
    Clara-Anne (St. Clare and St. Anne)
    Annabel (Just pretty!)
    Nancy
    Rita (St. Rita)
    Arlene
    Celeste
    Stella Marie (play on hymn Stella Maris)
    Grace
    Grace-Anne
    Esther (biblical name)
    Margaret
    Hannah
    Rosemary or Rose-Marie
    Miriam

    Felicity Perpetua (love hearing this in the Mass)

    Edith (Edith Stein)

    Tabitha Rose

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  13. If she comes on the 28th (my second daughter’s birthday) you could name her after her, Kennedy Louise. My daughter is named after both her grandmother’s, the Kennedy is from the Scottish Kennedy’s, not the Irish!

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  14. Isabelle Grace (’cause your due date is the feast of St Isabel, the sister of St Louis, and a favorite name anyway. And Grace, just because!).

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  22. I named my daughter Joy, and I don’t mind sharing! 🙂

    I’m feeling Miriam for this particular baby though, honouring the Blessed Mother and Simcha’s heritage all at once.

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