Birth announcement: Maristella Rose!

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I posted a consultation for Stephanie and her husband at the end of January — in which they were looking for help with a boy name for their green bean 🌱, as they’d already decided on a girl name — and Stephanie’s let me know her little Miss has been born and given a *different* name than planned! Instead of Hope, they went with the gorgeous … Maristella Rose!

Stephanie writes,

“I gave birth to a beautiful daughter on March 2nd and her sex was a complete surprise to us! I was so convinced I was having a boy. We decided in the last few weeks of my pregnancy that the girl name we had chosen early on did not seem to suit us anymore – Hope. I wasn’t too concerned about coming up with another one though because, like I said, I was so convinced I was having a third boy. So you can imagine my surprise when I delivered a baby girl! My husband had suggested Maristella a few days before she was born and I thought the name was lovely. I actually have a friend named Sr. Maris Stella and I love the Ave Maris Stella hymn so I was familiar with the name/title for our Lady. My husband suggested the name again after she was born but I definitely needed to sit on it and pray about it for a few days. I love Marian and unique names but this one seemed a little out of my comfort zone. So I prayed on it and received a lot of grace and peace that this was the name for our daughter. Maristella seemed fitting too because I met my husband at a Maritime college and Mary our Mother has brought us on quite a journey over the last 6 years with 5 kids (two in heaven), 7 jobs, 6 houses in 3 states! But she’s always been our guiding light through all the ups and downs. We chose Rose as her middle name because we have a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the stars in her mantle tied into Star of the Sea.

Anyway I’d love your input on a nickname! Maristella seems so big and long for such a little baby. I sometimes call her Stella Rose but I’m not sure of myself! Do you have any other thoughts?!

Thanks again for your lovely boy suggestions! We’ll save them for next time!“

Maristella Rose is such an amazingly beautiful name!! And all the layers of meaning Stephanie listed blew me away too, what a meaningful choice!!

As for nickname ideas, I actually really love that Stephanie’s calling her Stella Rose — I love nicknames that arise naturally, and since she’s been calling her that, it sounds like Stella Rose is a natural fit. If they wanted to consider others for Maristella though, I could see Mari, Molly, Missy, Milla, and Mia all working pretty well. Even something like Mo if they wanted to combine sounds from her first and middle names. Or Rosie, if they were open to a nickname of her middle name. So many pretty options! Do you have any to add?

Congratulations to Stephanie and her husband and big brothers Jude and Isaac, and happy birthday Baby Maristella!!

Maristella Rose with her big brothers

27 thoughts on “Birth announcement: Maristella Rose!”

  2. Love this sibset! Maisie sounds like a natural nickname for Maristella. I also think something love mila with jude and isaac, but stella is probably my favourite.

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  7. Such a beautiful name! It’s one of the names we’re considering for our baby (sex unknown). We have 5 boys so statistics/chances aren’t great that we’ll actually get to use it. Ha! I don’t have any knickname suggestions for this sweet family but I do have a question regarding the pronunciation of Maristella: um, how do you? …Seems silly asking since it’s on our name list.lol! But is there a right or wrong way to pronounce it? It seems like there could be 4 options.

    Mar-UHStella ( rhymes w/ Care)
    Mar-UHStella ( rhymes w/ Car)
    Mar-EEStella (rhymes w/ Scary)
    Mar-EEStella ( rhymes with Sorry)

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    • Great question re: pronunciation! I say it MARE-i-stella, to rhyme with “care”; I know others who say it MAR-i-stella, to rhyme with “car.” I’ve not heard the Mary/Mari-rhymes-with-Scary/Sorry pronunciations, but if you liked them you could totally do it! I do think Mary/Mari (Scary/Sorry) can work as nicknames no matter what the pronunciation of the full name is. (Also — 6 boys here, I hear you on the UNlikelihood of having a girl!! Congrats on expecting!)

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  10. Congrats!!! It’s just a gorgeous name! I love the suggestions of Maisie and Mari but I think Stella sounds perfect with her brothers.

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  12. Thanks for all the suggestions! I’m still struggling with a nickname for her! We pronounce it Mar-is-stella (as is car) but a lot of people say Mare-is-stella. I’m surprised by how many people (even in Catholic circles) don’t get it. And most people in non-Catholic circles think it’s Marcella. But we still love get name and how it honors Our Lady.

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