Baby name consultant: Time keeps flying for Ana Hahn

sanctanomina Baby name consultant, , ,

When I met my husband he was a devout Evangelical, and not long after we started spending time together, I asked him to read Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s Rome Sweet Home, and when he decided to seriously investigate the teachings of the Church, he handed me a list of books he wanted to read and asked if I would order them for him and they were, almost all of them, books by Dr. Scott Hahn. I will be forever grateful for the role the Hahns played in the life I’ve been blessed with.

So when I discovered Ana Hahn’s blog Time Flies When You’re Having Babies a few years ago, I was initially really starstruck that this is Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s daughter-in-law! And her husband Mike is *the* Michael from the (really well-named) Hahn kids mentioned in the books!

But of course, as I read Ana’s blog, she became Ana of Time Flies When You’re Having Babies! and I became starry-eyed over herself, a young, faithful, Catholic wife and mom and writer who’s funny and very honest and I’ve loved reading about her and Mike’s romance and marriage and her kids’ births (I posted when her son was born) and her recipes (I’ve been meaning forever to try The Mostly Coffee Smoothie) and homemaking (basement reno!) and I felt compelled to email her almost a year ago about this post, which I so identified with. Also the photos/grams/whatever the younguns are calling them (did I see “IG’s” recently?).

When I discovered that she was expecting another baby, I was so excited (as always!) to consider what names she and Mike might like, and I was delighted (as always!) when she agreed to let me do a consultation post. Ana also hasn’t been feeling well, so I’m hopeful this will be a fun diversion for her (it would be so for me!).

Ana and Mike’s other babies have the amazing names:

Naomi Therese
Bernadette Martha
Ignatius John* (home with Jesus)
Lucy Josephine
Joseph Pio

I love them all, each one. Wonderful wonderful names. I also love how they’re kind of eclectic — Old Testament, New Testament, Church Father, French, Super Saintly — I’m guessing that Ana and Mike just go with the name that feels right, which is a great way to do it. It makes it a little harder to predict other names they might like, since the only theme I can really see is “Catholic,” which is the BEST! But also, as we know, really really huge. But! I’m never not up for a good challenge! And so I present you with my ideas for Baby Hahn:

Girl

(1) Judith
I was sure to post the spotlight on Judith last week because I had it in mind for Ana and I wanted to be able to refer to it in my consultation post for her. Naomi really inspired the idea of Judith, and I loved the connections to Mother Mary and St. Anne that I found when I was researching it.

(2) Miriam, Mary Clare, Mary Jane, Rosemary
I could make each of my Mary Names ideas their own number, but then this would be a very long list, so I thought I’d group them together. I love Miriam for the Hahns — like Judith, it was also inspired by Naomi. I’d thought of Clare/Clara and Jane and Rose as ideas on their own, but pairing them with Mary seemed a better fit for some gut-instinct reason (which means nothing, really — my gut’s not always right!). I love Mary Clare, Mary Jane, and Rosemary — each lovely, feminine, saintly, and Marian.

(3) Magdalen(e)
I was reminded the other day that Marlene Dietrich’s given name was Maria Magdalena (Marlene is a contraction of it, and was said “mar-LAY-nuh”), which was reminding me that Magdalen(e) has as much a European flavor to me as biblical, which fits in with the Frenchiness of Therese, Bernadette, and Josephine and the biblical-ness of Martha, John, and Joseph. And of course it’s Super Saintly like all of them, including Ignatius, Lucy, and Pio. And Maggie is the sweetest nickname! Lena could also work, as could Magda, both of which I really like. (My suggestion of (Mary) Clare above and Magdalen(e) here is reminding me of Philip Rivers’ baby girl Clare Magdalen(e), which is a gorgeous combo too.)

(4) Frances
I’ve been crushing on Frances recently — a little girl named Frances is more unexpected to me than a little boy named Francis, and it’s got the cutest nicknames: Francie, Frankie, Frannie. If the Hahns don’t like it for a first name, I would really love to see it in the middle spot — I think it works so well with so many names!

Boy

(1) Martin
Martin is overwhelmingly my strongest suggestion for a little boy. Again, it’s just a gut-feeling kind of thing — I love Martin as a brother to the older Hahn kids! And Martin Hahn sounds very handsome. St. Martin de Porres is a personal fave, but I also love that it could honor our new Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. Marty’s super cute too!

(2) Gerard or Jerome
I really would love to see Gerard get more love. St. Gerard Majella is so amazing! And such a blessing to mamas during pregnancy and labor and delivery. Jerry might be a problem, feeling dated as it does, or it could be vintage cool! If Jerry’s a problem, I think Jed could totally work as a nickname. How cool is that? And Jed could so easily become … Jedi! Ahh! That’s probably crazy. Right? (Maybe Gerard Isaac –> Jedi … so cute!!! And crazy. Yes. Crazy.) (But I’m kind of digging it! 😀 )

(Also, Majella would be a pretty idea for a girl!)

Like Martin, Jerome is just a gut feeling for me for the Hahns. It’s saintly and sophisticated and traditional. Like Gerard, Jerry’s a natural nickname, but I also think they could do a Jed/Jedi kind of thing if it was paired with a middle name like David or Daniel.

(3) Gregory
I know you’re all thinking, “Gregory again?” I do feel like I’ve suggested it a lot! Including to Grace Patton, who’s friends with Ana in real life. But it’s a great name! I’d suggested the nickname Rory to Grace, and I’ve thought Grey and even Gregor could work as nicknames, but I don’t feel like any of those are Ana and Mike’s style. I kind of like Greg for them! Greg Hahn. That’s solid! And Gregory is just so impeccable — don’t forget what the Baby Name Wizard says about it: “Popes, saints, and Gregory Peck! Can a name get any more distinguished?” Love it!

(4) Benedict
I love Pope Emeritus Benedict dearly, and think naming a boy Benedict is such a nice homage to him. Ben and Benny are just great nicknames too. But maybe Benedict’s too close to Bernadette? If so, I would love it in the middle spot. Martin Benedict Hahn has a particularly handsome ring to it … 🙂

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for Baby Hahn? A very big thank you to Ana for letting me post this, and I know you’ll all join me in praying that she feels better soon!

*I hope it’s not inappropriate to keep inserting my own stories in here (so sorry Ana!), but there are a lot of connections that are making me feel like God is extra close to me today, through Ana and this consultation. Like Ana, the baby I miscarried was my third baby as well; like Ana, I feel strongly that it was a boy; like Ana, we named our baby Ignatius. She mentions in her miscarriage post that her brother-in-law had done a report on St. Ignatius of Antioch the day she felt like she was sure the baby was a boy — St. Ignatius of Antioch is who we named our baby after, as it’s my husband’s Confirmation name, chosen because St. Ignatius of Antioch’s writings on the Eucharist were the final and biggest reason he decided to convert.

 

27 thoughts on “Baby name consultant: Time keeps flying for Ana Hahn”

  1. I love all their children’s names, especially Ignatius John (Ignatius has a special place in my heart because I go to a Jesuit university) and all of your suggestions.

    My first thought though was that Benedict was too close to Bernadette. I would honestly save it, because if God blesses them with another baby, I think it could be okay, because there would be enough siblings in-between.

    I LOVE Jerome. So underrated I think, it’s so adorable.

    Gregory is perfection. I adore it and wish it was used more.

    I don’t know if I have any other suggestions for boys. Maybe Benjamin or Samuel or Henry?

    I think a Marian name would be perfect, though I do warn against Mary Jane because of the unfortunate drug connection–which I think is super strong still. But I adore the suggestion of Rosemary, it’s perfectly formal to go with Naomi and Bernadette and then the nickname Rosie would be perfect to go with Lucy.

    Bouncing off your idea of Magdalene, I feel like Margaret would also go very well.

    And also, maybe just Clare/Claire or Clara? Lucy Josephine feels very British to me, and something like Clara Judith or Clara Magdalene could play off that as well.

    I know mom is Ana, but maybe Anneliese? It would be a fun connection between mom and daughter and then it’s similar to Rosemary in that it’s formal to go with Naomi and Bernadette and the nickname Annie is perfect with Lucy!

    Lastly, this one is kind of random, but Julia came to mind for me. I don’t know why, but it just kinda feels right with their names.

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    • I never ever think of the drug reference with Mary Jane, but someone always brings it up, so it’s def something to consider! I love all your other ideas, and regarding Anneliese or other Ann- names — I did think Hannah and Anita both struck me as possibly fitting their taste, and on the one hand I thought it could be a nice nod to Ana (esp Anita, meaning “little Ana”), but then I chickened out!

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  2. I love this last bit about dear St. Ignatius of Antioch!

    All of your suggestions seem like a great fit for them. Benedict is my #1 from your list, but Gerard is also great! I think they should not do two J boys in a row or they’ll end up like me…stuck. Lol!

    Anyway, I think Majella is a little tough for a girl’s name just because “how do you pronounce it?!” (The saint’s surname is essentially “ma-HAY-ya”, but do most Americans say “ma-JEL-ah”? Not sure….)

    I like Rosemary best for them for a girl, but Magdalen(e) also seems like a great fit!

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    • Oh that’s funny! I’ve only ever heard it said mah-JEL-lah, and my name books say the same … it’s fairly common in Ireland too, and they say mah-JEL-lah as far as I know …

      I did consider two J’s in a row, it’s good point you bring up!

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  3. Great Ideas. You are right it is very eclectic. Not sure I have any strong opinions. Love Benjamin. We have a son with middle Jerome and as I mentioned in comment before, have heard issues with it being associated with being an African American name.

    I know on of the other Hahn sister in laws, so know that 2 of the girl names are close to cousin names. Not sure how much that would play into decision. When you are dealing with large Catholic families that will end of with lots of cousins the name pickings get harder. The mentioned family just had their 6th, a boy who very sweetly received the middle name Scott after grandpa – and that is what they are going to call him. Currently very underused mid-century name – super popular in my generation though.

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    • Yes! One of her older posts said there were 21 grandkids in her family and 6 in Mike’s at that time (more now I assume) — it is hard to work with that! I’ve been wondering about Scott recently — I really like the sound — is it time for a revival yet?

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      • I am the other daughter-in-law that just had my 6th. You did great on name suggestions! A few of them we have used on the Hahn side already 🙂 Out of my 6, we have a Maggie & Frances (and the new little guy, Scott 🙂 I love your Rosemary and Miriam suggestions for a girl the most and for a boy– Martin!

        Oh, and Ana & I’s other SIL’s little boy is Leo Gregory!

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      • Thank you for commenting!! Congratulations on Baby Scott!! 🙂 I knew it was going to be hard coming up with not-yet-used names for such a wonderfully big family of grandbabies! I love that you have a Margaret and a Frances, beautiful!! I can’t wait to see what Ana and Mike end up choosing!

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  4. I love Martin as a boy name for the Hahns! It’d fit right in with the others somehow.

    I’m personally also a big fan of Judith and Gregory…two of my kids’ middle names 🙂 i totally think Naomi and Judith fit together, they’re both favorites of mine and both Hebrew names.

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  5. This must be a hard consultation for you, Kate. It seems that they just named their kids after saints that they like and Bible passages that are meaningful for them. So there isn’t really a style besides «Faithful».

    The only name that came to my mind looking at these names was Thomas, because it is both biblical and meaningful in the History of the Church. For a girl, I suggest Elizabeth, to pair up with Bernadette’s ending, like Lucy with Naomi.

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  6. Ana is one of my favpurite bloggers!! I am so excited for her little one on the way, your suggestions are great, in a huge fan of Gerard because it was my child hood parish, hes a wonderful saint, and i never liked the pronunciation ger-ard but i knew a spritely irish woman and her husband had that name and she called him jer-id almost one syllabl and i love it that way.

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  7. Possibly without meaning to they were smart — VERY smart! – to stay eclectic so that they didn’t dig themselves into a sort of name rut! This leaves them open to really choosing whatever they love and/or whatever suits that sweet baby best! Your suggestions are wonderful 🙂

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  8. Great post Kate. I’m with you and I think a Marian name is in order. I clicked over to her blog and noticed that she’s 15 weeks like me though my “bump” was far, far more affected by all the holiday goodies than hers. Uh, oh!

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  12. LOL! I just found your blog and my 5th child, 4th boy is Martin Jerome! If they like it, perhaps they will like my other boys’ names: Francis Joseph, Peter Augustine, and Vincent Blaise. There is my baby name suggestion 😉

    I am glad to have found your blog as my husband and I are beginning to discuss names for baby #6 and are coming up BLANK.

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