Year: 2015

Reading round-up

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I wrote recently about “names that seem to be either/or names — meaning, if you use one for one child, it seems the other is really not usable for another” — like Theodore and Thaddeus, Evangeline and Genevieve. Bree at The Beauty of Names did a much better job with this I think: This or That? (Girls). I commented over there with my favorites of her pairings — I’d love to read yours!

The first set of girl quintuplets born in America happened this week. While the parents’ taste in names is different from mine, I did appreciate that their older daughter and two of the quints share one style (androgynous surnames) and the other three share another (traditionally feminine) — a nice way to tie all the sisters together: Texas Hospital Welcomes First All-Girl Quintuplets Ever Born In U.S.

A reader/friend sent me this, which was so fun: 20 Great Roaring 20s Baby Names Making a Comeback. I’d tell you my favorites from the list if I could, but I can’t, because they’re all amazing. (So fun too to see two of my suggestions for Grace Patton on there — Lola and Violet — as well as Theodore, which she’s already used!)

Finally, as I noted on FB, this just can’t bode well to me for this couple: Man starts online petition in battle over baby name with wife. I haven’t checked out the petition and I’m sure someone’s already thought of this but my suggestion would be Michael Spyridon (first name middle name) or a Greek form of Michael for a first name (according to Behind the Name: Michail, Michalis, Mihail, Mihalis). (Very like the Russian Mikhail, no? Why all the squabbling??) (Also — Kseniya! I mentioned it in the spelling Xenia in my Xavier post!)

Happy Friday all!

Spotlight on: Joachim

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A reader asked me if I would do a spotlight on Joachim, and I’m very happy to do so, because it’s one of my very favorite names in the whole entire world. Yes, it is.

I’ve tried to convince my husband that Joachim is a perfect name for one of our baby boys for years. Years! I just love it — it’s oozing all that Catholic cachet that I love so much and that my other boys have; it’s offbeat and unusual; it’s Mother Mary’s dad for Pete’s sake! And Jesus’ grandfather! It’s also got a pretty pan-European feel, as every European country seems to have a version of it:

joachim - Copy

(From behindthename.com/name/joachim)

Currently there’s Joachim Löw, a “retired German footballer and current manager of the German national football team,” and “retired Irish sportsperson” Joachim Kelly, and Joaquin is probably the most recognizable thanks to actor Joaquin Phoenix …

Joachim is a GREAT name!

But you know why my husband doesn’t like it? Besides the fact that no one ever seems to know how to say it?*

Joakim Noah.

Ask me if I care that there’s an NBA player with the name Joakim? (Answer: not even the tiniest of tiny bits. MAYBE if I was considering “Dennis Rodman” as a first name-middle name combo, but otherwise — no.)

Because of the name’s unusualness in America, “Every guy who watches basketball will think we named our kid after him,” he says. (A decent argument I guess.) Also, given Noah’s African roots (his grandfather was a formal professional footballer from the Republic of Cameroon), he thinks it will seem strange to those who only know the name through Noah that we of northern European descent decided to use it.

Which drives me bananas, because, first of all, I’m pretty sure the reason Noah got his name is because his mom is Swedish! Northern European! She was, in fact, Miss Sweden 1978! Joakim’s even the Scandinavian spelling — and my husband and children are Scandinavian!

As far as I can tell, the only reason the name is unusual in America is because it’s never been common in England. According to behindthename, through St. Joachim’s “popularity in the Middle Ages, the name came into general use in Christian Europe … [but] it was never common in England.” Withycombe concurs: “Joachim is recorded in England from the 13th C, but has never been in general use.” Do you agree that this is likely why it was never common here? Because it was never common in our “parent country”? Every other country — yes. But not here. I think these are great arguments in favor of us using this name — America needs to have more Joachims!

Still he says no — no no no — but when I remind him of the nickname I came up with for it (not Joe, though this would be an amazing way to get to the nickname Joe without using Joseph, if for some reason you couldn’t use Joseph), his face always softens, his mouth invountarily turns up, and he says, “That is a great nickname.”

Aren’t you dying to know?! For a boy named Joachim, I would totally use the nickname … Jake.

Jake! I love love love Jake! My husband does too! We actually considered Jacob for our firstborn, but have since moved into heavy Catholicky Catholic saint territory and Joachim seems a better fit than Jacob. AND if we had a little boy named Joachim and he hated it — he wouldn’t have to ever tell anyone! He could be Jake always!

This is a perfect name for us. I think I’ll be trying to convince my husband of it til the day I die.

Abby at Appellation Mountain has actually mentioned it a bit, including this delicious tidbit:

“Speaking of greatness, the new Danish prince is set to be baptized later today. Dad is Prince Joachim. He has two sons from his first marriage – Nikolai and Felix. The new prince is Joachim’s first with second wife Marie. Royal watchers are betting on Albert for the baby’s name. Tradition dictates that the baby’s name is not revealed ’til the baptism, so we’ll have to wait and see.” (from July 2009) (It seems the baby was named Henrik, and was later joined by sister Athena.)

And she profiled its Spanish form Joaquin (in which she mentioned St. Joachim), and referred to a Swedish hockey player named Joachim (which caused me to jump right over to Google to find out who this was and found that “Swedish hockey player Joachim” yielded Wiki pages for Joachim Nermark, Joachim Rohdin, Joakim Lindström, and Joacim (sic) Eriksson, as well as “NHL players born in Sweden” which included two more, all on the first page of results).

Abby also linked to Roses and Cellar Doors “It’s Big Overseas” post which notes that “there are some name families that aren’t really used in the US at all. Their variants can be found in many other languages, but are practically unheard of in English (sometimes just American English). Weird,” and includes Joachim as one of them.

It causes me pain that this name is not known more here, and used. We know and love St. Anne — whyyy is St. Joachim neglected??

What do you all think of Joachim? Do you like it? Hate it? Find that the ah-MAZing nickname Jake (or the equally friendly and accessible Joe/Joey) makes it seem that much more attractive? Do you know anyone (especially any little ones) with this name? Does he go by the full Joachim or a nickname? What are his siblings named?

______________________________

*We would use the English pronunciation JO-ah-kim, but there are these other possibilities:

joachim - Copy (2)

(From behindthename.com/name/joachim)

(In case you can’t tell, I only recently learned how to do screen grabs, something I’ve wanted to know how to do for ages. I don’t know … are they cool? Are they not? Helpful? Annoying?)

P.S. from my Hubs

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Despite the fact that I keep saying it (he told me so more than once in the early years of our parenthood every time I wanted to talk about names), my husband would like you all to know that his name taste is not actually “Bob.” 😀 ❤

New CatholicMom.com contributor (me!)

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I’ve been holding onto this exciting news until it was okay to tell you, and today’s the day!! Starting this month, I’ll be writing an article every month for CatholicMom.com, and my first one is up today: Patrick vs. Polycarp!

Photo: Gabriel by JDPotter (2009) via Flickr
Screen grab from CatholicMom.com; photo: Gabriel by JDPotter (2009) via Flickr

Some of you may recognize some of the content, as I drew from and combined a couple different posts I did a few months ago in putting the piece together. Please click on over to CatholicMom.com — I’d love to hear your thoughts on the questions I posed!

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