Year: 2015

Happy Independence Day!! And a question

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I know no one’s reading today, so I’ll probably reblog this later this week, but just in case someone’s looking for something namey to read on this great day and some questions of life-altering import to consider (ha!), here ya go. 🙂

We all have strong opinions regarding names, yes? We all have our tastes and styles, we like what we like. All of which is totally fine, since, as long as we’re not talking about Lucifer or Eva-Braun (hyphenated double first name thankyouverymuch), names are not a moral issue. We’re free to disagree! You can like John and you can like Hezekiah and you can like Kayden and none of it has a lick to do with your worth as a person or how much you love your child or whether you’re a good parent or not or your status before God.

I’ve found that the more conversations I have in which I find out why parents chose the name(s) they did for their child(ren), the more and more obvious it is to me that parents in general choose names for their little ones that they love. Names that really sing for them, that make them light up with joy that yes! This is the name for my child, my beloved.

Now I do think sometimes it’s a kindness to point out to parents trying to decide on a name for their unborn baby if there’s a glaring issue with a name. Like, if you knew parents were considering “Tiger” and you knew there was a chance they didn’t know about Tiger Woods as a celebrity personality, nor as a person with some negative associations due to unsavory information about his private life that was made public, I would think it important to find a quiet moment to gently point it out. Then, once it’s pointed out, you’ve done your job! No need to harp on.

Criticisms of a child’s name after he or she’s already been named? So uncool. So unkind.

I was thinking of all this because I received my very first negative comment!! Not here (as if! You all are so wonderful ❤ ) — over on my Nameberry post. In one few-sentence comment, (1) choosing names like the ones I’d written about was declared “tacky” and “chavvy” and (2) I’m pretty sure our country was one of the “certain countries” said to be “on the decline” intelligence-wise because of, I assume, some of the names American parents have chosen for their children. Ha!

I honestly truly do not care about disagreements in names. I do find it very sad that anyone would feel the need to throw parents and entire countries under the bus because of disagreements in names. I don’t have any interest in engaging in conversation with people who have such opinions, because I would imagine there’s some hurt there, and I don’t want to be the (even inadvertent) stick that pokes at a sore spot. Like when my kids are just totally beyond keeping it together, they often need extra softness from me. But it did make me want to ask you all:

What do you do when you know someone’s considering a name for their child that you think is unfortunate? If there’s a real issue with the name (like some obvious negative connotation), do you point it out? If it’s just a name that’s not your taste, do you tell them? Do you have real-life experiences like this, and how did you handle it? OR — have you been on the receiving end?

Have a wonderful 4th of July everyone!!

“Land where my fathers died! Land of the pilgrims’ pride! From every mountainside, let freedom ring!”

New Nameberry post!

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I have a new article up at Nameberry today!: Baby Names Backwards and Inside Out.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Some of your comments on my original post about this topic were helpful in filling it out for Nameberry, and I included a couple in the article — thanks for always being so inspiring and knowledgeable!

(Today’s giveaway will go up in a little while. 🙂 )

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St. Anne giveaway #2

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I just posted the picture of the second holy card I’m giving away — it’s a four-page holy card of St. Anne. I have five of them, so the first give people who email me at sanctanomina@gmail.com will get them!

I’m having company in a minute, so I won’t be able to respond immediately to emails, nor let you know as soon as I have five winners — so sorry! I’ll be back online this evening. Happy Thursday!!

Catholic royals

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LOOK at these goooooorgeous (!!!!!!) names from Bree over at The Beauty of Names:

“Maria Josepha, of Saxony, Dauphine of France, also known as Marie Josèphe, was born Maria Josepha Karolina Eleonore Franziska Xaveria to Augustus III of Poland and Maria Josepha of Austria. She married Louis, Dauphin of France, who was born Louis Ferdinand.
Their children were:

Marie Zéphyrine, “Marie Zéphyrine of France“, “Madame Royale”, or “la Petite Madame” (Died at age 5)

Louis Joseph Xavier, “Louis, Duke of Burgundy” (Died at age 9)

Xavier Marie Joseph, “Xavier, Duke of Aquitaine” (Died at 6 months)

Louis-Auguste, “Louis-Auguste, Duke of Berry“, later “Louis XVI of France“

Louis Stanislas Xavier, “Louis, Count of Provence“, later “Louis XVIII of France“

Charles Philippe, “Charles, Count of Artois“, later “Charles X“

Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière, “Marie Clotilde of France“, “Gros-Madame”, or “Madame Clotilde”

Élisabeth Philippine Marie Hélène, “Princess Élisabeth of France“, or “Madame Élisabeth”“

I’m in love! They’re so beautiful! And so very very Catholic! THREE Xaviers! And one Xavière! And the first name-middle name(s) combinations! I think I would be completely content if someone told me I had to name my children using only these names.

I looked up Maria Josepha/Marie Josèphe on Wikipedia, and loved this: “Politically reserved, she exerted herself only once, in 1762, in vain, for the preservation of the Society of Jesus in France. The Society had been dissolved by order of the Parlement of Paris, inspired by Jansenist magistrates, against the will of the King.”

What do you think of these names? Any that jump out at you as particularly appealing? Or are they too over-the-top for your taste?

St. Anne giveaway #1

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I just posted the picture of today’s giveaway, a 24-page booklet of a 9-day Novena to St. Anne. I only have two of them, so the first two people who email me (not commenting here on the blog or on Instagram) will get them! Email me at sanctanomina@gmail.com!

Catholic naming outside America

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I read Jenny’s explanation of her kids’ names ages ago over at her blog Mama Needs Coffee, and this bit has stayed with me ever since:

“… while traveling in Italy (the first time) we chatted up a capuchin Franciscan from Poland in a restaurant in Assisi of all places, and as he bounced 7-month-old Joey on his knee, we proudly told him that his middle name was Kolbe “for Father Max.” The happy friar shot us a look of horror and asked in disbelief You took his family name?! So I guess the American trend of assuming surnames is not kosher the world over.”

I think I’m pretty knowledgeable about how to honor beloved saints within the landscape of the American baby naming scene, but I’d never really considered the idea that names that are okay here might be problematic elsewhere. I mean, certainly there’s a limit to how much parents should worry about such things, unless they’re planning to live abroad with their children, and being Catholic helps I think, because our saints come from every country. Biblical names also seem like a safe bet, since we all use the same Bible. But still I wonder …

Do any of you have any insights into what Catholic names to avoid if you’re worried about international opinions/sensibilities? Off the top of my head, certain categories of names that might cause issue are: surnames (as illustrated above), place names, and names traditionally given to one gender being used by the other. Do any of you have stories like Jenny’s?

Find me on Instagram (the celebration continues!)

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My sister, who is eleven years younger than me (=more up on what’s up), keeps telling me “it’s all about social media!” which is why I’ve got Sancta Nomina on Facebook and Twitter, and now — tah dah! — on Instagram! She’s been telling me for a while that I should, and the blogiversary seemed a good time to bite the bullet.

I’m not totally sure what a name blogger puts on Instagram? I thought maybe any names I spot while out and about? But I started with the pics from my trip to St. Anne’s that I’d posted here, and added a couple more from the trip that I hadn’t posted to the blog.

AND — I was determined to go to the gift shop while at the Shrine, specifically because I wanted to get a little something for you all, so I picked up several different holy cards of St. Anne, and I just now posted a picture of all of them and I put descriptions of them in the caption. (And even though I tried reeeeeaaally hard to have a nice-ish picture [I’m not a photographer], somehow my final cropping took out almost all of one of the cards, and none of the crumbs above, and I didn’t realize until after I’d posted it with the looong caption, and I felt like throwing my hands up and taking a nap at the thought of re-doing it all. So — it is what it is.)

I would love to send a holy card to whomever wants one! But since I have so many different ones, I thought the best way to do it would be to have you all see the descriptions of them that I posted today, so you know what all there is, and then starting tomorrow I’ll post a picture of just one, front and back, each day, and if you like that one, email me with your mailing address. (You’ll be able to see better the card that got cut off when I post the picture of just it.) I only have four or five of each, so unfortunately it’ll be first come, first served, and only one per person (one total, not one of each). Does that sound okay? (And please be patient with Instagramming me … I’ve had a personal account for a while and it continues to confound me, and totally irritate me that I can only post pics from my phone. Whyyyy not directly from the computer?? My sister rolls her eyes every time I ask these questions.)

And lest you think I’ve changed from a name blogger to a first-blogiversary-travel-photography blogger, fear not: I do actually have a name question for you all, but I’ll post it separately a little later. 🙂

Baby name consultant: Not-too-difficult Irish name needed!

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Jenny and her husband are expecting their third little one this fall, a girl. Their other two children are:

Caitlin Josephine
Sean David Paul

Good, solid Irish names! There are family names included in both. Her husband is from Cork, Ireland, and all of his family is still there. (Jenny writes the blog Irish by Marriage!) As Jenny writes,

“It is very important to us that the baby have an Irish name. I want an Irish name that Americans will be able to pronounce. I love the Irish names, but I am a teacher and I know the frustration that comes from having your name misread over and over again.”

They did an amazing job naming their first two to fit that criteria!

“For baby #3, we like the name Molly. The problem comes with the middle name. It took us a while to get pregnant the first time and we said a special prayer to Mary that we believe made a difference. My husband really wants the middle name to be Mary. Two of his three sisters have Mary as their second name. His third sister is named Rosemary. I love Mary as a middle name, but I really don’t like Molly Mary together … We also liked the name Cara (possibly spelled Chara), but my husband claims that we are pronouncing it differently. I cannot hear the difference in pronunciation, so we’ve had to cross that one off the list … I would love to include Ann some how. My grandmother is Betty Ann. It isn’t a must, but it would be nice. My husband keeps suggestion Molly Mary Ann or Molly Ann Mary, but I’m still not sold … We were quick to agree on names with our first two children, but this time we are really having a hard time finding names that meet our criteria. A few people have said,” It is only a middle name” but I really need to love the whole name. We would love any suggestions!”

So, as Jenny sums up, the name:

– Must be Irish
– Must be something that Americans can pronounce
– Mary for the middle name
– Ann would be nice, but can do without

You all might have guessed a time or two that I love my Irish heritage 🙂 so I loved working on this. I had four ideas that I thought might be helpful:

(1) Molly is an old traditional nickname for Mary!! That’s its origin, that’s what it means — it’s Mary with a different dress on, it’s a totally, thoroughly, 100% Marian-as-in-Mary name. For real! Behind the Name notes that Molly “developed from Malle and Molle, other medieval diminutives” of Mary. So naming one’s daughter Molly IS honoring Mary! That, to me, solves all the problems!

(2) However, if that’s not good enough for Jenny’s husband — and I know how husbands can be about names (!) — if he really just wants a different Marian name in the middle (and I’m totally with Jenny on Molly Mary … not only is it technically “Mary Mary,” but its flow is … singsongy? Sort of rhymey?), I wonder what they would think of Rose or its many variations? Rose is also considered a Marian name, as the rose has long been associated with Our Lady (“Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland” for one), and Rose can also refer to the Rosary, which is thoroughly Marian. Molly Rose is lovely, as is Molly Róisín (would an Irishy Irish name be okay in the middle? I love Róisín!), or there was even a consultation I posted to the blog in March of a family who ended up naming their daughter Rosary — I’d never seen it used as a name before, but I like it!

(3) As for Ann, someone close to me is named Molly Anne. I’ve always thought it was such a pretty combo! Molly Ann would be so great for this new little baby I think, or, if Jenny and her hubs liked the Rose idea that I mentioned above, maybe something like Molly Roseann or Molly Rosanna would work? (I also love Molly Áine … but I suspect I’m pushing it by suggesting the Irish spellings, even for the middles!) Also, since Ann would be for Grandma Betty Ann, and since Betty is a traditional nick for Elizabeth, maybe a form of Elizabeth would work if they just couldn’t get comfortable with the various ways to include Ann in the name.

(4) Finally, if Jenny and her husband decide that Mary simply must appear somewhere as is, maybe these would be of interest:

  • Mary Ann nicknamed Molly
  • Maura Ann nicknamed Molly (Maura’s also a form of Mary, and I know a little girl whose given name is Maura but she goes by Molly)
  • Ann Mary or Anna Mary

So those were my ideas for this little Irish-American baby! What do you all think? What suggestions do you have for Jenny and her husband?

(Jenny said I could share the photo she used in her pregnancy announcement on her blog — I LOVE IT!)

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