Month: April 2015

Nicknames: Charles

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My husband and I watched the 1975 BBC miniseries Poldark a while ago and, being the name nut I am, one of the things I remember the most clearly is how much I liked the name of the character Zacky Martin. The Zach- names have never been on my list (though if I had to choose my favorite I’d probably say Zachariah) (or Zechariah) (or Zacchaeus!!), and still Zacky struck me as just the greatest nickname. Maybe because it was on a middle-aged 18th-century British man that it felt a bit fresher? At any rate, my mind started clicking about Zacky … how could we work Zacky into the names we’d discussed for our boys? (I think I was pregnant with my youngest at the time.) What I came up with was: Charles.

Charles had long been on my list, being a family name, but neither of us cared for Charlie or Chuck. We liked Cal a lot, but I always worried it would turn into Callie. Watching Poldark, I totally convinced myself that Zacky could be a nickname for Charles. Charles ends in the Z sound after all (at least the way I say it), and starts with a C, and there’s an A in the middle, so I’d convinced myself that, since all the Zacky sounds and/or letters were contained within Charles, that it could totally work. (I still think so.) (I could never convince my husband.)

All that to say — Abby at Appellation Mountain has the best post of unusual/offbeat nicknames for Charles. I’ve referred to that post a few times, most recently last night as I was finishing up a name consultation. Zacky isn’t on the list (surprise!), but lots of other good ones, and one of them — Huck (!) — made me also think that Hutch could totally work for Charles. Check out Abby’s post and let me know what you think!

(Also — she spotlighted Zelie today!)

Baby name consultant: Baby D (#6)

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Mom and Dad D. are expecting their sixth baby at the end of May! Mom writes:

“I am struggling with a good Catholic name for this little one … This current pregnancy & baby I feel are such a gift, given my advanced age. I will be 43 end of June.  I had a miscarriage in 2013 & named the baby Francis Mary- we didn’t know if it was a girl or boy. I prayed to discern God’s will in many holy hours before the blessed sacrament since that miscarriage & through a divine experience, I found out I was to have another baby ( it’s a cool story, but too long to share here). It involves praying the rosary every day for my brother & sister-in-law named Bob & Susan. (They are both doctors) As soon as I started praying the rosary for them everyday, I became pregnant. Absolutely incredible! I still pray for them everyday, I have no idea why I should pray for them, but I just feel I should!!

Can you help me with some girl names?

For a boy, right now I’m thinking Theodore Jeffrey. Theodore I believe means “gift of God” & Jeffrey is my husband’s name.

But just randomly I also like Rocco

My favorite saint is St. Therese. [They’d also previously considered Christianna.]“

As a side note — this is one of the things I just love about talking about names — I inevitably get to hear these amazing stories of prayer and faith, sadness and joy, and always such hope. It’s always such a privilege.

Anyway! Their other children’s names are:

Zachary [Mom’s maiden name]

John Paul

Mary Kathleen Dorothy (Mary Kate)

Charles Gregory

Timothy Michael

All of their names were chosen with a mix of family and faith connections, and they’d love a similar name for their new little one. I came up with a few ideas for them, all of which I loved so much, for different reasons, that I had a hard figuring out how to list them. I always shoot for three suggestions for each gender, which sometimes takes the form of three names, or three categories/ideas … but for this family, there was so much overlap, especially for girls, that I didn’t quite know how to list them! So I’m just throwing all my ideas out there:

Girl

(1) Susanna

The baby’s aunt is Susan, and they previously considered Christianna — Susanna came right to mind. My trusty name-meaning source says Susanna means lily in old Hebrew and rose in modern Hebrew, both of which are flowers associated with Our Lady. Susie’s a sweet nickname, or Anna; other traditional nicks include Sanna, Sukie, and Zuzu (Zuzu’s petals!).

(2) Christianna

Since they loved it before, perhaps they still do? Being that it’s a Jesus name, it makes me think about all the Mom’s holy hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament — a really nice connection.

(3) Gianna

I was so struck by the prayers being offered for the Mom’s brother and sister-in-law, and how she said she doesn’t even know why she’s feeling compelled to pray for them. St. Gianna Beretta Molla is the patron of mothers, physicians, and unborn children. Could it be any more perfect for this situation, with the brother and sil both being doctors?!

(4) Rosary

Isn’t that a crazy suggestion?! But wait! I recently did a consultation for a family who ended up naming their daughter Rosary — check it out: consultation and birth announcement. It’s so specifically meaningful for this baby on the way too, because of all the Rosaries the Mom’s been saying!

(5) Other Marian name (first or middle)

The baby’s due in May, the month of Our Lady; the parents used a Marian name in their Mary Kate’s name, as well as the name of the baby they miscarried; the Mom found out she was pregnant after starting to say the Rosary for her brother and sil — I mean, wow. Mother Mary’s all over this for them! Especially for a little girl, it would be so nice for the sisters to both have a Marian name — a nice thing to share in a male-dominated household! And an old Catholic tradition as well.

They could certainly do a Marian name for a middle — I love the idea of Susanna Mary, Christianna Mary (Jesus and Mary in one name! Pow pow!), and Gianna Mary, or perhaps Rose — there are so many beautiful Marian names! For first names though, I thought of:

  • Elizabeth (somewhat of a stretch, since it’s not *technically* a Marian name, though with Mary’s love for her cousin, it’s pretty darn close. I know a Mary Kate with a sister Elizabeth)
  • Lily (it’s associated with Mary; it’s also a traditional nickname for Elizabeth!)
  • Rose or Rosa (also associated with Mary, beautiful)

(5) Some form of Anne

As I was scribbling down Gianna … Susanna … Christianna on my little post-it when I was first thinking of suggestions for this family, I couldn’t help but notice the Anna that kept jumping in my face! Of course it made me think of St. Anne. Anne is lovely, as is Anna, and then I was thinking about Hannah — Anna is the Greek and Latin version of Hannah — and her story of praying for a baby, and her prayers were answered. It’s a nice parallel to the story of St. Anne praying for a baby, and her prayers were also answered. So any of those seem lovely and appropriate!

Boys

(1) Samuel

I found boys to be much easier to suggest names for! Samuel was an immediate favorite, because of the Hannah and Samuel story. I love it with the other kids’ names, and Sam is a favorite nickname in my family (my husband loves it, as do I).

(2) Luke

Luke was another immediate favorite for me, as he’s a patron of physicians (that connection to the brother and sil again!). Great name.

(3) Joseph

I can’t believe there isn’t a Joseph among the other boys already! I always think of Joseph as a somewhat Marian name for boys, and May 1 is the patron of St. Joseph the Worker — nice connection with the baby’s birth month!

I did consider Robert as a first name, for the Mom’s brother, but I liked it better as a middle. Samuel Robert, Luke Robert, and Joseph Robert all sound very handsome to me. I like Jeffrey with all of them as well, except Joseph – a lot of J’s! But if you love Joseph Jeffrey, I say go for it. Rocco would also be a fun middle!

I do love Theodore also, and if they decide to go with that, it’d be a great choice! The meaning is certainly so appropriate and sonderful! I will just say … Mary Kate’s second middle Dorothy means the same thing! Theodore and Dorothy are basically the same name, just with the elements reversed. It’s not a huge deal – I mean, how many people know what a person’s second middle is? Or that Dorothy and Theodore are related? (Just this crazy lady. :p) But just something to consider. I don’t know what nickname you would use, if any – Theo’s my favorite, and that would be great, but if you went with Teddy, which is also adorable, there’s the Timmy and Teddy thing … but not a deal breaker!

So that’s what I got! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for Baby D?

Little Miss SHAN-ick!

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The SHAN-ick Family’s name dilemma was one of the first I posted — they were good with their boy pick, but were having trouble with a girl’s name. I’m delighted to announced that they did indeed have a girl! And what a beautiful name they chose! Mama SHAN-ick writes:

“I wanted to thank you again for your help and let you know that we had (drumroll) a girl! And we ended up naming her Rosemary Therese. She was born … after a very (blessedly) fast labor! I’ve attached some pictures: one from her birthday and a more recent one. 🙂

We pronounced Therese as “ter-EZ.” She’s named after Mary, obviously, and St. Therese of Lisieux. Rose is also a reference to St. Therese as well as Mary the Mystical Rose, and we’re getting to know Rose of Lima better now too. We haven’t talked about nicknames but we find ourselves shortening it to Rose and Rosie.

We’ve gotten great reactions to her name! It seems like it’s unique enough because although it’s very traditional it isn’t super popular right now (at least not among people I know!) We love it. She is so very Rosemary!

THANK YOU again! Your help was really wonderful.”

Isn’t Rosemary Therese just a gorgeous name?? Congratulations to the SHAN-ick Family on the birth of their beautiful baby girl!!
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Rosemary Therese

Saints’ names at Nameberry

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Abby at Appellation Mountain posted 12 Amazing Saints’ Names (that may shock the priest) over at Nameberry a couple days ago. I didn’t expect to be surprised by any of them, but there were a couple unfamiliar to me, including Endellion, which one of you had suggested for Grace.

If you were making a list of saints’ names that fit Abby’s criteria — “names that are downright stylish – as well as spiritually significant” — what would you include?

A couple Irishy things

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I watched this video the other day and just died: Americans Try to Pronounce Traditional Irish Names. So true, so funny.

And I meant to post this on St. Paddy’s Day and forgot: Selected entries from “Some Common Words Derived From Christian Names” (in Withycombe):

Biddy: nickname for an Irish-woman, from the prevalence of the name Brigid in Ireland; hence old biddy, an old woman. Also used for calling chickens.

mick(e)y: temper, possibly, like Paddy, from the supposed short temper of the Irish, with whom this is a common name.

Paddy: nickname for Irishman (cf. Biddy).

paddy(whack): a rage, fit of temper. (From the supposed irascibility of the Irish.)

Little Man Enloe!

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I posted the Enloe Family’s name consultation back in February, for their second baby due the day after Easter, and I’m so delighted to share the good news: their little boy was born this week! Mama Amy writes:

“Well, our SON was born this week after a crazy and fast 3 hour labor.

Although we almost choose the name James Magnus (to be called mostly by his middle name), we ended up going with:

Martin Kane Enloe II

His dad’s name, only with “the second” added on the end (not Jr.). We will call him Kane. As with his big sister Kristy, we found MANY reasons to use this name, with lots of tradition, meaning and some religious/Catholic connections. 🙂

– Grandpa is Martin Craig and goes by Craig, Dad is Martin Kane and goes by Marty, [the baby] is Martin Kane and will go by Kane. So, while all have the same name, they don’t and it eliminates the confusion and keeps individuals. Grandpa goes by his middle name so it’s like emulating him.

– If you are going to do the Jr. thing, traditionally it should be with the first son.

– We liked the sound/look of II/the second better than Jr. But this is also my way of attributing a name to St. John Paul II. Plus he is our second child.

– Cain was the first born son int he Bible, he is our first born son. In addition/related to this…

– …While pregnant with my first I started reading the new testament aloud to her, a chapter daily. I sadly dropped the practice at about 9 months of age. But I happily picked it up again towards the end of my pregnancy with him, after he could hear me in utero. I finished up the new testament, but for the bulk of our daily ‘Bible stories’ he has been listening to Genesis. The Beginning, where Cain comes in.

– I considered Martin __ (something) and going by the middle name with our first born. I don’t really like the name Martin, which is why I wanted to do that. With this one my husband brought up that he still liked taht idea but preferred his name. I have to admit, I have always liked the ring of his full name and am proud that is my husband’s name. It’s great and built for life. So I reconsidered Kane and the last weeks of pregnancy felt/wondered if that was his name.

– It matches Kristy in sounds, feel, and time period (in my mind). Seems like siblings names, but not the same number of letters/syllables to be too matchy matchy. Although, I don’t think we will name our next with a K, especially as it puts 3 K’s in a row – KKK, no. But anyways, all their cousins have 5 letters in their names, I like that she has 6 and he has 4. I also like that it doesn’t have a y ending as our family is heavy with that – Marty, Amy, Kristy, Lucy and Buckshot (the last two are dogs). Sounds right all together. Marty, Amy, Kristy and Kane. It is also a common/normal name, but not one often chosen now, just like Kristy.

– Other things about the name I like – I got a chance to use a more unique spelling (although I do like the Cain spelling too). You can’t really make a nickname out of it, something I prefer. And my first daughter has my middle name, and our first son has dad’s middle name.”

Isn’t that a great name story?! I love all the connections that are so meaningful to them — family, including a namesake for Dad; faith, including all the biblical connections and even JP2. And Martin Kane Enloe II is such a handsome name! Congratulations to Marty, Amy, Kristy, and Kane!!
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Martin Kane

Humbled and thrilled and blessed beyond measure

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You’re all amazing!! Grace Patton is one lucky lady to have so many wonderful readers who are willing to click over to another blog to leave their thoughts and comments about naming a new little baby, and that new little baby is so lucky to already be so loved and anticipated. You’ve all made my whole week, and Grace’s too I hope.

Some quick little housekeeping-type things:

  • I love every single email I’ve gotten asking for thoughts or suggestions for babies on the way! My answer is always — yes yes yes! I can’t tell you how much joy I get out of sitting down with my name books and my handwritten spreadsheets in order to tackle a name challenge — only a name lover could understand.
  • Though I always try to email back with my ideas within a week, I’m a wee bit backed up with all your wonderful requests, which only means that it might take me up to a month to get back to you. But get back to you I will! With a “report” exactly like the consultations I post here on the blog (in fact, those posts are the responses I’d already emailed to the family, revised/edited just a little to make them appropriate for here).
  • However, I only post consultations on Monday, so my Mondays are all filled up now until almost the middle of August. So great right?!!! You’ll love reading them all, as every single family who has emailed me has just the most amazing, beautiful taste in names. However — I always love for the families to get feedback from readers as well, since, despite my best efforts, it’s more likely than not that I won’t exactly hit the mark, and you all provide such great and thoughtful suggestions. But having Mondays booked up until mid-August means some of you may not be able to have your consultation posted before your due date. Which may not be a problem at all for some of you — maybe you’d rather it not be public! And that’s perfectly fine, there’s no requirement of public posting. When I email you back with my ideas/suggestions, that’s when I’ll ask you (1) if it’s okay if I post it, (2) what privacy controls you’d like, if any (like only an initial for your last name, that kind of thing), and (3) what date I’ve assigned to you for the public post if you’d like it.
  • With each of the emails, be assured I am taking into account the order in which the emails have been received as well as the due dates. In general, first come first served, but if there’s a very-soon due date — and I have gotten a couple — those will get bumped up as much as I think is fair and reasonable.
  • Please don’t let any of this stop any of you from emailing me! I’d much rather have a lot than none. And I can certainly work with any name emergency any of you might have. (Again, something only a name lover could understand.)

Finally, amidst all the Patton excitement is that I had a second article up at Nameberry on Monday! Check it out: Good-Intention Baby Naming. I’m still blown away that they’ve allowed me the opportunity to have a little of my name writing posted (all thanks to Abby at Appellation Mountain!). I’ve also added a new tab up above called “Nameberry articles,” with both my articles listed and linked to. I could just die typing that right now. 🙂

So basically, the moral of the entire story is: God is good. So so good. This blog has blessed me in more ways than you know, and I hope you’ve all felt blessed by it too. ❤

Baby name consultant: Camp Patton’s newest camper

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I’m beyond excited to have the great privilege of offering name suggestions to Grace Patton of the mom/fashion/style/lifestyle/humor blog Camp Patton!

There were a bunch of mama blogs that I read when my older kids were little, and then I took a break from blogs for a while, and then when I dipped my toe back in Grace’s blog was the first new one I started reading and I haven’t stopped. She’s a hilarious writer, and so so cool that I usually feel (1) old, (2) frumpy, and (3) bland when I’m reading her posts and flipping through her photos (which the younguns are calling “grams” I think? At least, that’s what Grace calls them) … but then she refers to herself as a “house mouse” and is blessedly free of the mother-this-way-or-you’re-not-a-good-mom bologna and says she loves shoes and chatting about baby names and that it’s important to her that she and her husband “stay in the saint family of names but I’ll be very honest and admit that I’ve liked a name and then Googled to make sure there is a saint by that name” and I think “soul sisters” and reconsider my aversion to painting my fingernails with the kind of super dark colors she rocks.

Anyway, Grace and her husband Simon have four born babies already, with these amazing names:

Julia Grace

Sebastian Xavier nicknamed Bash

Theodore Augustine nicknamed Theo

Phoebe Annika

Gender-surprise Number Five is due in June, and if you’d asked me before Phoebe was born what Grace and Simon’s style was I’d say Brideshead Revisited without a doubt and start making lists of names like Eleanor and Cora and Charles. Then Miss Phoebe was born and it’s very rare that I’m completely caught off guard by a couple’s name choice, especially if they have more than one other child (two or more gives a really good idea of name style I think, especially when they’re mixed gender), but I was totally blown away by the name they chose, both first and middle. In a good way of course! I loved it the second I read it.

But it really threw a wrench into my name ideas for the Pattons, because I’d been so sure I’d pegged them, and recalibrating my mindset is never an easy task. But recalibrate I did, for an embarrassing number of weeks (I do so enjoy a good name challenge, not joking even a little bit), relying heavily on my trusty Baby Name Wizard book (you remember — for each entry it lists other boys and girls names similar in style/feel/popularity), and came up with what I think are some good ideas. At least, if my children had the names of the Patton children, I’d be pretty happy using any of these for #5. As always, I shoot for three suggestions for each gender:

Girls

(1) Nickname: Lola

It may seem strange to start with a nickname idea, but hear me out: Grace has a style that pervades her whole blog+Instagram, from her fashion sense (for her and her kids) to her music to her interior design to her photographic eye to her funny turns of phrase, and it always strikes me as trendy — but not even close to being so in a bad way — more like, on point, like her finger’s on the pulse. Like how gifts from my similarly cool sibs are often the exact coolest thing that I didn’t even realize was the big new thing or that I looked at from afar and considered too cool for me. Lola strikes me as that kind of name. It feels kind of feisty but sophisticated, and though so far Grace and Simon don’t seem to love nicknameable girls names, they’re really into cool nicknames for their boys (I mean, Bash and Theo? So cool), so Lola kind of bridges what they’ve done already for their boys and girls. And Lola’s a traditional nickname for Dolores, which is Marian, which is always a great Catholic thing to do in naming.

What formal name would I suggest for Lola, you ask? Not Dolores, don’t worry! I have a few ideas, kind of quirky in that they’re not traditionally used as formal names for Lola, but they all strike me as hitting a right note somewhere in the Patton naming scheme. Basically, I tried for names/name combos that had L’s and long O’s so that Lola could be understandable as a nickname. Something like:

  • Violet Louisa (or vice versa)
  • Caroline Lucia (or vice versa)
  • Lourdes (do note that Madonna’s daughter is Lourdes nicked Lola, a surprisingly beautiful choice compared to other [life] choices she’s made)

Or maybe a Mary- double, like … Mary Aloysius. (Kidding!) (Sort of …) Or Mary Olivia, Mary Ophelia, Maria Lauren, even Marie Lorelei (if Lorelei had a better story, it would have been one of my top choices for the nickname Lola for the Pattons … as it is, doubling up with Mary makes nearly every name okay) … they could even do hyphens like the fancy French (probably Marie or Maria would work best?): Marie-Olivia or Marie-Olive, Maria-Ophelia, Maria- or Marie-Lauren, Marie-Lorelei.

If the Pattons like Lola, I know they’ll come up with an amazing formal name for it. Even if they hate Lola, I think Violet, Caroline, Louisa, Lucia, Lourdes, and Mary+[something amazing] are all pretty fab all on their own and fit well with their other kids’ name.

(Just for fun: Lulu also struck me as a fun nickname for them … like fashion designer Lulu Guinness [who was actually born Lucinda, also a possibility] … and I know of a friend-of-a-friend’s recently born baby named Lulu … really cute as a nick for Louisa or Lucia. Also, I love Lucy as a nickname for Louisa, so there’s that too.)

(2) Elisabeth

Elisabeth is long like Sebastian and Theodore, but classic and Biblical like Julia and Phoebe. The Z spelling is fine, and the one I’d likely use if I were to name a daughter this, but I’m loving the S spelling for the Pattons. (I’ve also been reading Elisabeth Leseur’s diary, what a wife she was.) It’s lovely just as it is, but you know I’m a big nicknamer and, again, thinking of Bash and Theo, I love the idea of Tess as a nickname for Elisabeth for them. Of course there are loads of other Eliz/sabeth nicknames that are awesome: Liddy, Libby, Bets(e)y, and Ellie are all favorites of mine.

Another name I almost had as one of my final suggestions for the Pattons is Esme, and I love the idea of making it a nickname for, say, Elisabeth Maria? It totally works!

(3) Felicity or Stella

I had a hard time with girls names for the Pattons, and I found coming up with a third suggestion was so hard I couldn’t decide between Felicity and Stella. I really like them both as sister names to Julia, Sebastian, Theodore, and Phoebe. I even really like Felicity following Phoebe — both starting with an F sound, but having different first initials makes it totally different to me. Felicity’s an amazing saint and it’s one of those names that just has a lot of Catholic cachet. And Stella — you all know how I feel about Stella. So Marian, so classy. I think I’ve been pushing it on nearly everyone who I’ve offered suggestions to. But yet again, I feel like it works here so well. Julia, Sebastian, Theodore, Phoebe, and Stella. Some parents prefer all their kids to have different first initials, which I do understand, and it certainly makes it easier to initial what’s whose (but harder too in a big family to find a whole lotta names that have no first-initial overlap), but like how Phoebe and Felicity both have their own first initial (even while sharing a sound), Sebastian and Stella seem so different to me because of the S- and the St-. That little T makes a difference to me, like S and St are totally different letters. (It’s a little weird here inside my namey head.)

(I also just can’t not leave here some of the names that I thought felt really close to being perfect but ended up deleting them for one reason or another: Penelope, Imogen(e), Genevieve, Iris or Ivy, Lydia, Corinne, and Liv.)

Boys

(1) Maximilian nicknamed Miles

I had a much easier time coming up with three boy names than I did with girl names. Sebastian and Theodore say to me: long, sophisticated, gentlemanly, and the very first name that I thought of was Maximilian. I love Maximilian (as is evidenced by the pseudonym I chose for my boy #5); St. Maximilian Kolbe is one of my very very favorites. I have my boy’s pseudonym nickname listed as Mac, which is an attempt at paralleling his actual nickname in real life, and was previously my favorite nickname for Maximilian, but then I read somewhat recently that someone was considering Maximilian with the nickname Miles and I thought I was going to die of name happiness. I just love an interesting nickname, and Miles is so perfect in my opinion! (If it’s helpful to any of the rest of you, that person considering Miles as a nick for Maximilian was also considering Milo, which I also adore … but not as a brother for Theo.) For the brother of Bash and Theo, I think Miles is awesome. For the brother of Sebastian and Theodore, I think Maximilian is awesome. And not that I’m suggesting middle names (okay I guess I did for Lola) (and for Elisabeth), but I would love a short middle for this long name and right now I’m loving Maximilian James. So handsome.

(2) Francis nicknamed Finn

Yes, I know, me and the nicknames. But the Pattons do nicknames for their boys! Really cool ones! And Francis nicked Finn is one I considered for my own boys, and I felt oh so cool when I thought of it. I’m just not a huge fan of the full Francis for everyday wear or the traditional Frank or Frankie (though my husband kind of loves Frankie, so Pattons, if you prefer Frankie, you’re in good [and normal] company). Francis is, of course, getting lots of Catholic attention because of il Papa, and it strikes me as also fitting right in with that upper-crusty Brideshead feel.

(3) Gregory nicknamed Rory or Gus

This is another one I considered for my boys. I mean, Gregory. As the BNW book puts it, “Popes, saints, and Gregory Peck! Can a name get any more distinguished?” Right? I totally one thousand percent agree. But then the BNW goes on to say, “Except you know he’ll go by Greg, which may conjure up Greg Brady’s bell bottoms instead.” Well we certainly don’t want that (unless such pants are the newest fashion, and if anyone would know, Grace would), and I really really think Rory can work as a nickname for Gregory. I love Rory anyway, and if the Pattons like it but not Gregory, I can also offer Robert nicked Rory. It’s got a formal Brit feel to me right now because of Downton Abbey, which totally works with the other kids’ names, and St. Robert Bellarmine was pretty cool, so that’s covered too. My personal preference would be to pair a name like Robert with a kicky middle, and my first thoughts here were Robert Benedict, Robert Kolbe, or Robert Bosco (Grace mentioned that she once considered Bosco for a first name for a boy).

And Gus? My personal thought is that any name that starts with a G could have the nickname Gus. Oh my, do I love Gus. An S- middle name could help make more sense of it, like Gregory Stephen or Gregory Solanus or Gregory Simon (great way to name after Dad!).

Well! Those are my thoughts on names for Camper #5! What do you all think? Have I hit the target or sailed into the trees beyond? Please leave suggestions — I know I would love to see your thoughts, and i’m sure Grace and Simon would too!

(Apologies if I used the word “cool” too many times in this post.)

See you Monday!

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I won’t be posting any more until Monday morning, and will only be checking for comments and emails intermittently over the next three days. But get ready — I have some great name consultations lined up for the next three Mondays (including a super-cool celebrity-blogger mama this coming Monday!) and some other fun topics to post about, which I’ve scribbled very diligently and professionally on the zillion pink post-its that are all over my desk. I can’t wait!

I hope all of you have a very holy Triduum and a very happy Easter!

Did you know Martin was papal? And a papal mystery solved …

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I’ve looked through the list of popes a handful of times, but I never once noticed Pope Martin! There have been at least five of them! (I only saw references to I and V so there might have been more …)*

Pope St. Martin I seems to be the most famous — he “suffered exile and humiliation for his defense of orthodoxy in a dispute over the relationship between Christ’s human and divine natures” — and his feast day is April 13. I can’t remember now how I stumbled upon this info today, but I like it. (Incidentally, he was named successor to Pope Theodore I — also a name I didn’t remember as being papal!) (Oh I remember how I came across it — he was pope during the First Lateran Council, when he defined the three-pronged dogma of Mary’s virginity — “before, during, and after Jesus’ birth”) (“during” of course referring to the miraculous nature of his birth as “light passes through glass without harming the glass” and Mary remained “intact,” which we talked more about here).

I’ve always liked the name Martin (St. Martin de Porres is a favorite of mine), but knowing that it’s papal makes it extra sparkly to me!

*ETA: Okay I looked up a listing of the popes and found “A complete list of every single pope in the last 2000 years, in chronological order. Links to a biographical essay on each” on New Advent. I did a quick search for “Martin,” to see how many there are, and found … three: Martin I, Martin IV, and Martin V. What happened to II and III? Strangely, when I googled “Pope Martin II,” I discovered that Pope Marinus I was also known as Pope Martin II, and Pope Marinus II was also known as Pope Martin III. Not to fear — Encyclopedia Britannica explains:

“Martin (II),  nonexistent pope. In the 13th century the papal chancery misread the names of the two popes Marinus as Martin, and as a result of this error Simon de Brie in 1281 assumed the name of Pope Martin IV instead of Martin II. The enumeration has not been corrected, and thus there exist no Martin II and Martin III.”

And now we all know a little more Church history. 😉

I could do lots of posts on interesting papal names, and I will! In the meantime — which are your favorites?