A few weeks ago Shelby suggested a post on names for the Mysteries of the Rosary, which I loved right away — what a great idea! So every Tuesday for the next four weeks, I’m going to post on a particular set of Mysteries, starting today with the Sorrowful Mysteries, which is so apt for Holy Week, and also for yesterday’s attacks in Brussels. Suffering Jesus, help us.
In case you need a refresher, these are the Sorrowful Mysteries (all referring to Jesus’ Passion and Death) (read more here):
The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Crowing with Thorns
The Carrying of the Cross
The Crucifixion
And here’s how to pray the Rosary.
Shelby and Mary-Agnes both offered some ideas, and I’ve spent the last couple weeks jotting down some more as I thought of them — there are a good few!
Girls
Cruz — cruz is Spanish for “cross” and refers to the Cross of the Crucifixion; used for boys and girls
Dolores — Spanish for “sorrows,” traditionally used for Our Lady of Sorrows (María de los Dolores) and here could refer to both her and to the Sorrowful Mysteries, or to the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows) — the name for the path in Jerusalem Jesus walked on his way to the Crucifixion
Gethsemane — the name of the garden where Jesus suffered His Agony; behindthename lists it as a female name
Magdalen(e/a), Maddelana, Madeleine/Madeline — Mary Magdalene was at the foot of the Cross
Maricruz — a Spanish contraction of María and Cruz
Mary — Our Lady was at the foot of the Cross
Olivia, Olive — for the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (an olive grove); the nickname Via for Olivia would bring in an added nod to the Via Dolorosa (see Dolores above)
Pilar — a Spanish girl’s name meaning “pillar,” which can be a nod to the Scourging at the Pillar (it’s a Marian name referring to the unrelated title María del Pilar — Our Lady of the Pillar, from a Spanish apparition)
Regina — meaning “queen” (or perhaps “royalty” would be the better sense here) because of the Crowning with Thorns
Ruby — “red,” for Jesus’ Blood poured out for us in His Passion and Death
Scarlett — same as Ruby
Veronica — she wiped Jesus’ Face during the Carrying of the Cross
Boys
Cruz — cruz is Spanish for “cross” and refers to the Cross of the Crucifixion; used for boys and girls
Cyrene — Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry His Cross
Dismas — the name traditionally given to the repentant thief crucified next to Jesus
John — John the Beloved Disciple was at the foot of the Cross with Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene
Oliver — see Olivia/Olive above
Rex, Regis — meaning “king” because of the Crowing with Thorns; see Regina above
Simon — see Cyrene above
Tristan — often considered to mean “sad” because of its similarity to Latin tristis (sad)
What others can you add to this list?
+ For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. +
Brenna could be one. It’s possibly from Brennan, which could mean sorrow or sorrowful. So I guess Brennan too could work! (I just like Brenna more 😀 )
These are some awesome suggestions though. I love a lot of the girls!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice one!
LikeLike
Really enjoyed this – so clever – lots of great suggestions. Dolores is definitely the one that comes to mind for me as associated with the Passion.
How about lamb associated names – as Jesus was the lamb led to the slaughter, the sacrificial lamb. So Agnes for a girl. And do you subscribe to Owen having a lamb meaning/origin? If so, that one also.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nekane: Basque form of Spanish Dolores
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! So intriguing! How do you pronounce that?
LikeLike
ne-KAH-ne
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agnes is an awesome suggestion! I’ve never heard of Owen meaning lamb and just looked it up quickly and didn’t see it listed — where did you see that? I’d love it if it had that meaning somehow!
LikeLike
In several places where surnames are discussed – http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Owens
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting! I’ve not seen one mention of the possibility of the meaning “lamb” in any of the first-name sources I have/use, but I really wish it was true, I would love that!
LikeLike
I think Agnes is a very appropriate name for a Easter baby girl, because of the Agnus Dei connection! Another name related to the Holy Name of Jesus!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So beautiful!
LikeLike
Oh and Longinus, who is said to have been the centurion who pierced Christ’s side – and had major conversion. For those who like the unusual/bold saint name.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And whose first name was Cassius.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love Cassius! But I thought Cassius Longinus was a different guy than St. Longinus of the side-piercing?
LikeLike
Yes! I love this! You guys always come up with the stuff I didn’t know or totally missed. Perfect!
LikeLike
Yes, I think you are right. Not same.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lance for the “Holy Lance” that pierced Jesus’s side (done by St. Longinus)?
LikeLiked by 1 person
And actually, Dolorosa itself would make a lovely name with the nickname Rosa, Rose, or Rosie.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ooh that’s true! That’s really pretty, and I love the nickname options.
LikeLike
I probably should have mentioned Lola in my post, since it’s origin is a nickname for Dolores.
LikeLike
I like that!
LikeLike
BOYS
Isaiah or Zechariah: The Passion and death of Christ fulfilled the OT prophecies found in Isaiah and Zechariah.
Joseph: Joseph of Arimathea asked for Jesus’ body and had him buried in his unused tomb.
Murray: Stretch to associate it with one of the Epiphany gifts from the wise men – myrrh. Used for embalming, symbolized his sacrificial death.
Peter: St. Peter plays a large role in early Passion – Garden, when Jesus was before the high priests.
Rooster names: Big stretch again from St. Peter and his denials before the cock crowed. So was looking for name tie-ins. Rooster Cogburn is a movie character – it was a nickname for Rueben. Latin/Spanish/Italian root Gaul for rooster, so some associated surnames that would work Galiano, Gallatzin (Russian prince-priest with significant history in early US)
Calvin: Another possible stretch to Calvary. Both include same root, meaning skull.
GIRLS
Mara or Miriam: All the Marian names are from root word meaning bitter or sorrow. These in particular retain closer tie to bitter/sorrow connotation.
Helen: St. Helen is most associated with finding the remains of the true cross of the passion and death
Claudia: Pilate’s wife – though not named in bible, later Christian tradition refers to her as St. Claudia or St. Procula or Claudia Procula. Told Pilate not to have anything to do with that innocent man because of her dream.
Hyssop: Botanical name, used to soak sponge in vinegar and offer to Jesus on cross
Gardenia: Another botanical name that sounds garden-y
Willow: I always think of weeping willow – so a sorrowful connotation
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful beautiful beautiful. These are great suggestions. I’m particularly loving Calvin — one of those names that needs to be reclaimed! I love the connection you make to Calvary, and its meaning also makes me think of Jesus’ Holy Head and the Crowing with Thorns.
LikeLike
Mara is brilliant! It’s literally related to sorrow! And Helen makes perfect sense, too, because of the cross.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome! Awesome! Really great list. I can’t wait for the rest of the series! I always had in mind, if we had a girl around Easter that we could name here Magdalene Aurora Beatrix – since Mary Magdalene saw the risen Jesus Christ at that blessed dawn. Thanks for doing this Kate!
LikeLiked by 4 people
You’re very welcome! And ohmygosh Magdalene Aurora Beatrix is amazingly beautiful and full of meaning! Wow!!
LikeLike
Really love Dolorosa…always John…Maricruz…lovely thoughts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
girl :
Salome : one of the women at the tomb
Parasha : russian name, meaning ‘born on Good Friday’
boy :
Nicodemus : placed myrrh and aloes in Jesus’ shroud so he could be buried according to Jewish custom
LikeLiked by 2 people
These are so beautiful! I’ve never heard of Parasha, I love it! Nicodemus has long been one of my faves, and Salome is so intriguing. Thank you!!
LikeLike
If I was Russian I guess my name could have been Parasha. I was born on a Good Friday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh wow!!
LikeLike
What about the boys name : Thorn
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yeah!
LikeLike
What a neat post! So many ideas in the comments and so many beautiful names in the post as well. I love this connecting names with the mysteries of the Rosary!
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] with a post about names for the Glorious Mysteries! If you remember, last week I posted about Sorrowful Mystery Names, and you were all so great with your comments! Lots of good ideas […]
LikeLike
[…] post is a continuation of my Mysteries of the Rosary series, having already done names for the Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, and your comments have been invaluable — keep them […]
LikeLike
[…] because their faith connection is similar — I discussed Ruby here and both Ruby and Scarlett here and here. I love how Ruby Hannah and Scarlett Hannah sound, and Scarlett was also a style math for […]
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Sancta Nomina and commented:
A friend of mine from high school died last Friday, and though we weren’t close — in fact, until January I hadn’t seen him since our high school graduation twenty years ago, though we’d connected on Facebook a few years back — I had the privilege of seeing him a few times in the last couple of months, and seeing again his warm, thoughtful self and easy sense of humor, even in the midst of his worsening condition as a result of a tenacious brain tumor that they could never quite get all of. He left behind six children — his youngest the same age as my youngest — and so this week has been a heavy week. I was little more than an acquaintance at his wake and funeral, surrounded by his family and friends who had been a real part of his life without a twenty-year gap, and still … I’m so sad.
I’ve got a bunch of stuff going on here too — not bad, just busy — and I’m going to be off the blog all next week (except the Monday consultation) for Holy Week, so I thought these next four days would be perfect to re-share the Rosary Names series I did last year during Lent. I’m starting with the Sorrowful today, since that’s how I’m feeling. Please add any ideas you have in addition to those left in the comments last year!
LikeLike
I am adding Susanna and Joanna since tradition would hold they were included as witnesses at the cross. Though not named in passion narrative, Luke, Mark, and Matthew all indicate “other women” who had ministered to Jesus who were there watching. Earlier in Luke’s gospel Susanna and Joanna are named as women who were followers of Jesus and who ministered to their (Jesus and disciple) needs. And Joanna is listed in Luke’s gospel as one of the women who took spices to the tomb and is recognized as Joanna the Myrrh Bearer in Orthodox tradition.
Since Susanna means lily – Lily would be an appropriate name suggestion here, I guess.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Lily!
LikeLike
Attending services this week and hearing the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday and Good Friday (And Stations of the Cross), I was struck by how often 3 (three) is mentioned and significant to the Passion story.
Peter was predicted to (and does) deny Jesus 3 times. (then is asked after resurrection if he loves him 3 times)
Agony in the Garden – Jesus asked them to keep watch and withdrew 3 times.
The prophecy was that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days.
Which leads to 3 days in the tomb as that fulfillment.
There were three falls on the way to Calvary.
There were 3 crosses.
It reminded me of the “three” names like Trey, Trip, Trinity, etc. – https://sanctanomina.net/2016/09/08/number-names/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this! Three really is so meaningful, and I love the “three” names!
LikeLike
[…] same ones can work for Scarlett. I also included Scarlett in my lists of names for the Luminous and Sorrowful Mysteries of the […]
LikeLike
[…] looked back on the post I’d done a few years ago on Sorrowful Mystery names and thought it would be appropriate to post it again. Holy names are sometimes a good meditation […]
LikeLike
[…] week is the perfect week to check out my post on names for the Sorrowful Mysteries — I so often find that the names of our faith provide a wonderful meditation on holy things. […]
LikeLike
[…] of style/feel/popularity. I did so for this family, and I also looked at the list of names for the Sorrowful Mysteries and Joyful Mysteries that I posted to the blog a while ago, since their baby is due right around/at […]
LikeLike
[…] of style/feel/popularity, and I looked at past posts I did on names for Divine Mercy and Easter (Sorrowful Mysteries and Glorious Mysteries) and the Sacred Heart (because of Zoey’s comment about Scarlett and […]
LikeLike
[…] heart would be pierced with a sword), so you they can be thought of as rosary names … and from my post on the Sorrowful Mysteries there’s Simon (from Simon of Cyrene), Dismas (the repentant thief), and Rex (meaning “king”) […]
LikeLike