Birth announcement: Lucy Adelaide!

April 30, 2019May 1, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement A Blog for My Mom, Catholic baby names, Powerful patrons

I posted a birth announcement for Rosie (from A Blog for My Mom)’s sixth baby two years ago, and I’m excited to share that she’s had baby no. 7 — a little lady given the gorgeous name … Lucy Adelaide!

Rosie wrote in Lucy’s birth story:

“We settled on a name way more quickly than ever before, which makes me feel really justified in refusing to discuss names before the baby had arrived — Lucy had been on our list for ages but we hadn’t used it because it felt too popular… This time we decided we didn’t care anymore! And Adelaide had also been on our short list (princess, patron of parents of large families) and the flow was perfect so we had a Lucy Adelaide!“

I looove both Lucy and Adelaide, I’m so glad Rosie and her hubs just went ahead and chose it! Popularity, pooh! And Lucy Adelaide really does have an exceptionally good flow. Great job, all around! (Although I don’t understand the collection of words “refusing to discuss names before the baby had arrived” … 😂 )

Congratulations to Rosie and her hubby and big sibs John Paul, Cecilia Therese, Elizabeth Anna, Mary Claire, Peter Damian, and Edith Veronica, and happy birthday Baby Lucy!! (Check out her sweet face on Rosie’s Instagram!)

My book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life!

Follow-up to yesterday’s post: Opposite gender name?

April 27, 2019May 3, 2019 sanctanomina Fun Friday Question Honor names, Just for fun

Thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday’s post here on the blog and also on both Facebook and Instagram! It was so fun to read your responses! One thing several of you shared was the name you would have had if you’d been a boy (all my responders were women) — I didn’t think to share that part of my name story, but I wish I had! My parents planned to name me Joshua if I’d been a boy, which is a name both my husband and I quite like, but it doesn’t work with our last name. That would have been a fun way to name a boy after me though! I loved reading that too — that several of you considered names for your children that were names almost given to you. I’m a big fan of creativity in honor naming!

Happy Saturday, day of Our Lady and eve of Divine Mercy Sunday! (Notable fact: St. John Paul the Great died on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.) ❤ ❤ ❤

Fun Friday Question: Who were you almost?

April 26, 2019May 3, 2019 sanctanomina Fun Friday Question Just for fun

Happy Friday everyone! Is this — could this be — possibly — my *fifth* post of this week?? Did I put up a post every day since Monday?? I can’t even believe it myself!

I have more birth announcements coming for you (so! many! babies! 😍😍😍), but I thought I’d take a quick breather and ask a fun question. A while ago Abby from Appellation Mountain asked about your “pre-name” on Facebook — actually, I can’t remember what she called it, it was something like “pre-name” I think, but probably not because I searched several times for that term and similar ones to find the post and link to it and I can’t, so I must have it wrong — anyway, she meant the name you almost had, or the name(s) that your parents considered for you before deciding on the name they gave you. I’ve been meaning to pose the question here ever since!

I’ll start: My parents considered Tiffany for me! (Which I’ve come to sort of love since I discovered it’s medieval form of Theophania [=Epiphany] and was traditionally given to girls born on the Epiphany. How cool!) (I was not born on or near the Epiphany, though.) They settled on Katherine Marie before changing it to Katherine Morna immediately after I was born (my sweet dad acquiesced to my exhausted mom ❤ ). (Happy day! I don’t feel a bit like a Tiffany, but very very much like a Katherine Morna, and especially a Kate.) How about you? Who were you almost?

Birth announcement: Clement Joseph!

April 25, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Camp Patton, Catholic baby names, Honor names, Marian baby names, Marian names, Powerful patrons

Grace from Camp Patton has been a great friend of Sancta Nomina — I’ve had the great privilege of doing two consultations for her (here and here) and posting two birth announcements (here and here), and Grace also graciously (!) gave my book an amazing endorsement, all of which still blows me away since I was fangirling over Grace before she ever knew I existed. I’m so happy to share that she’s had another baby! (You know I would have been all over doing yet another consultation for her if it hadn’t been for my own plunge into reclusion after giving birth.) I’m happy to share that she and her hubby welcomed their fifth boy and named him the incredible … Clement Joseph!

Grace wrote in the birth story she posted to her blog:

“We had pretty much agreed that if we had a boy we’d name him Clement in honor of Simon’s mom (you might remember the [excerpt from the Prayer of St. Clement] she scripted that was handed out at her funeral last December) … but had a tough time coming up with a middle name. Finally toward the end of my pregnancy “Joseph” just sort of clicked although don’t think I didn’t try to throw some wild and crazy middle name contenders Simon’s way. Simon was pulling for Clementine if we had a girl and I wasn’t completely sold despite the fact that I love the name (I just love a lot of girl names). So Clement Joseph he was!“

Clement! I love it! It’s a sophisticated, saintly, handsome virtue name (clement means “merciful”) and Marian (!) (e.g., “O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary” from the Hail Holy Queen — Clement’s in my book!). And such a perfect and creative way to honor Simon’s mom. ❤ All in all, a great pick! (I’m also loving how Grace said, “don’t think I didn’t try to throw some wild and crazy middle name contender’s Simon’s way” — a girl after my own heart!)

Congratulations to Grace and Simon and big sibs Julia, Sebastian (Bash), Theodore (Theo), Phoebe, Bosco, and Abraham (Abe), and happy birthday Baby Clement! Go check out his sweet face on Grace’s Instagram (including the Clement Clips stories!)!

Birth announcement: Helena Faustina James!

April 24, 2019April 24, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Divine Mercy, JPII, Powerful patrons

I spotlighted Amy’s beautiful family almost a year ago, and I’m thrilled to share that she’s had her TWELFTH baby — a baby girl! (Bringing the total to six boys and six girls!) She’s been given the gorgeous, meaningful name … Helena Faustina James!

Amy writes,

“[Hubby] and I wanted to keep with the theme of John Paul II [like their previous child]. I liked Karol and Karolina. Ryan did not. Being frequent visitors and going to the JP2 shrine, we decided to learn more about St. Faustina, as she was also a Polish saint and JP2 canonized her and instituted Divine Mercy Sunday. I liked Faustina! Ryan did not. 😂 After researching a bit more we found out her name before becoming a nun was Helena Kowalska. Finally a name we both liked and I felt strongly about Faustina being her middle name. 2 weeks before she was born we lost my dear father in law. We decided to honor him and include his name in Helena’s as she was the only grandchild who never got to meet her beloved “Poppy”. Now he will always be with her. ❤ “

This is such a great name story! I love the connection to St. John Paul II in a way that both Amy and her hubby could agree, and I love that they were able to work in Ryan’s dad’s name. Perfect, all around!

Congratulations to Amy and Ryan and big sibs Ray, Josie, Brady, Sean, Evan, Bennett, Mary, Finnian, Charlotte, Sloane, and John Paul, and happy birthday Baby Helena!! Check out her sweet face over on Amy’s Instagram!

Birth announcement: Linus John!

April 23, 2019April 23, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Biblical names, British names, Catholic baby names, Papal names, Powerful patrons, Rainbow baby

I’m still working on catching up on birth announcements from the last several months, but I couldn’t not post this hot-off-the-presses announcement for a baby born Sunday!

I did a consultation and birth announcement for Emily’s second little guy a few years ago, and I’m thrilled to announce that she’s had another little boy — an Easter baby AND a rainbow baby! She and her hubby gave him the so-handsome name … Linus John!

I love Linus! And I love it with his big sibs: Simon Matthew, George Stephen (happy feast day, Buddy!), and Frances Xavier (with Jesus). A great, saintly crew!

Congratulations to the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Linus!!

Birth announcement: Basil Grace!

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Flower names, Nature names, Plant names, Powerful patrons, The Rhodes Log

Happy Easter!! He is risen!!

I posted a birth announcement for Kate’s third baby a few years ago (Kate writes at The Rhodes Log blog, and also: check out the amazing little cabins she and her hubby are building for sweet Texas getaways!), and was so excited when I saw she was expecting number four! Kate and her hubby welcomed a baby girl and gave her the delightfully unexpected and beautiful name … Basil Grace!

Kate commented on her birth announcement on Instagram,

“[My husband and I] really struggle to agree on names. We often find that we are both attracted to names that feel a little too bold and we bail on them. (Jake was almost Huck. Lucy June was almost Juniper.) Basil has been on the list a long time … baby four finally made us brave.”

Oh man. I am so glad that baby four made them brave! Though I love all the names they’ve chosen. ❤

When I asked her more, Kate wrote,

“We only had a boy’s name picked out when she was born, and I hadn’t researched Basil thoroughly even though it’d been on our girl list for a while. But I’ve since discovered that Basil is known as the Holy Communion plant because it was allegedly found at the foot of the true cross and consequently was later used to decorate communion rails. So that was a delightful find!

Her name also shares a root (rather obviously) with Basilica.

Her due date was near the feast of St. Basil, and so we knew going in that if it was a girl she’d probably be named after him — [but we pronounce her name] ‘Bay-sil.’“

Basil for a girl! Said like the plant! With a great patron saint and an etymological connection to the word “basilica”! I love the repeating long A sound in Basil Grace (mirroring the long U of her big sis Lucy June, which I also LOVE), I love how fresh and summery Basil feels (similar to how I’d said her big brother Roman’s name brings to mind “‘roamin’ roads,’ which totally fits the vibe I get from them”), and I love how Basil has basilica like Roman has Rome. I love the way Kate and her hubs think!

Congratulations to Kate and Jacob and big sibs Jake, Lucy June, and Roman, and happy birthday Baby Basil Grace!!

Holy Week, Notre Dame, Sorrowful Mystery names

April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 sanctanomina Prayer Intentions Rosary names

Oh my, what a Holy Week it’s been. Did it not feel like the Notre Dame fire was just a bit too much to handle after this very Lenty Lent? Seeing the pictures of the people camped out by it, singing and praying, made me think about the apostles and how lost they must have felt when Jesus died. What a blessing that the damage wasn’t too bad, and that the sacred relics and the Holy Eucharist were saved.

If I could beg some prayers for my own little community: in the last few days we’ve suffered the death of one of my brother’s good friends from high school, who is also the son of one of my boy’s fourth grade teacher, who is also the uncle of one of my boy’s classmates, who is also the uncle of the children my best friend from childhood nannies for, who was also the best man at the wedding of the funeral director’s son. That’s the kind of community I’m blessed to live in. ❤ He was only 36, with a two-year-old son; he had a heart attack and died in his sleep. Oh my, our whole community is so so sad. Today’s school Mass was offered for him, and the number of his high school classmates who came home for today’s wake and tomorrow’s funeral (including my brother, who flew across the country) is truly moving.

Then, only a couple days after he died, we found out that the dad of a schoolmate of my older boys had also died, also unexpectedly, also of a heart attack. My family doesn’t know theirs quite as well, but the school community as a whole is heartbroken.

What a Holy Week.

I looked back on the post I’d done a few years ago on Sorrowful Mystery names and thought it would be appropriate to link to it again. Holy names are sometimes a good meditation for me, maybe they will be for you too.

I look forward to next week, when we’ll be celebrating! I hope you all have a holy rest of Holy Week, and a very Happy Easter!

Your generosity is needed

April 9, 2019 sanctanomina Sancta Nomina community

Our dear reader Charlotte has an emergency and needs your help, if you’re able! She writes,

“I had to go to the hospital today after some blood work results came back elevated more than usual … They added a medication (bringing my total up to TWENTY daily meds) and two of my specialists squeezed me in for tomorrow … on the one hand, that’s great. On the other … that’s two $90 copays. I just can’t do it. Last week alone cost $400 in copays for appointments and prescriptions. The hope is that they can get my liver to stay stable — and then hopefully we can start doing the tests to get a diagnosis and see which autoimmune disease we’re dealing with. I’ve got more appointments later in the week, but at the moment I’m just really freaking out about getting to tomorrow’s appointments.”

If you can help, Charlotte has a Go Fund Me, and she also has an Etsy shop called Charlotte’s Webbery. I know she’d be so grateful!

Birth announcement: Christopher Rex!

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Birth announcement, Catholic baby names, Jesus names, Powerful patrons

I’ve posted about Sylvia’s beautiful babies before, including a consultation and birth announcement for her fourth baby, and a name reveal and request for prayers and updated name reveal and request for prayers for her fifth baby, and now I’m thrilled to share that after five beautiful girls, Sylvia and her husband welcomed baby number six last summer — a boy! He has the wonderfully strong and regal name … Christopher Rex!

As with their daughters, the baby goes by his middle name; Sylvia wrote on Instagram:

“Rex is named after Christ the King. Viva Cristo Rey!“

Looove it!! What a wonderful tribute to Jesus Himself!

Congratulations to Sylvia and her husband and big sisters Ruth, Rose, Wren, Rhea, and Regina (“[Rex] and Regina shall rule the house!” Sylvia wrote 😀 ), and happy birthday Baby Rex!!