I had so much fun with last week’s question and follow-up! It was so fun to read about your “almost names”!
Here’s another question for you: How different are your parents’ taste in names? If you were able to ask them right now what names they would have on their list if they didn’t have to take into account their spouse’s taste, what names would they be?
My parents did a phenomenal job naming me and my sibs (most of whom prefer to remain anonymous on here), but their lists are pretty different. I asked my mom last night for one or two of her favorite boy and girl names and she said:
Girl
— Róisín (Irish for “little rose”; said ro-SHEEN)
— Máirhín (the Irish “Mary” [Mair-] + “hín,” which is the ending syllable of the diminutive of her dad’s name — see Dáithín below; said mar-HEEN)
— Áine (used as the Irish equivalent of Anne, which is the name of Mom’s mom; said like the name Anya; Mom prefers this as a middle name, but then thought she preferred the sound of Áine Róisín and Áine Máirhín to Róisín Áine and Máirhín Áine )
Boy
— Fionn (“finn”)
— Dáithín (Mom’s dad was from Ireland and had the given name David, but he attended a St. Paddy’s Day event at my school once and introduced himself as Dáithín , which Mom had never heard before — he was apparently called that when he was small. [He also spoke with a brogue during that event, which he’d also never done.] Dáithí is used as the Irish equivalent of David)
— Mícheál (the Irish spelling of Michael, said MEE-haul)
It’s pretty clear what Mom’s taste in names is! 😂☘️
Dad wasn’t able to get back to me before this story went to press 😀 , but these are names I remember him talking about since I was little:
Girl
— Maureen, nicknamed Mo
— Samantha, nicknamed Sam
Boy
— Daniel (not sure about a nickname?)
— Sebastian, nicknamed Seb(by) (Dad often referenced former track and field Olympian [and current British politician] Sebastian Coe when he talked about this name; it was the nicknames Seb and Sebby that he really loved, I’m not convinced the full Sebastian is actually his style)
Dad loves girl names that can have a boyish nickname!
Mom’s Máirhín and Dad’s Maureen are pretty similar from their girl lists (though I don’t think Mom loves Mo and Dad probably wouldn’t go for an Irish spelling). Both my parents have biblical names on their boy list, which is what my brothers have, and if my sisters and I had been boys we would have had biblical names too, so there’s some common ground there. I love seeing that, though their lists look pretty different, there’s some points of possible overlap and compromise!
How about your parents? Happy Friday!
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!
Sancta Nomina 
My parents still fight about boys names! Like if you want to start them bickering just bring up boys names and they still disagree even though I’m their youngest and I’m 23. They only had girls so God sure knew what He was doing there lol!
My dad ONLY ONLY likes the name John. My mom HATES the name John. My mom likes the names Lucas, David, and Zachary. My dad won’t talk about any name but John.
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This is hilarious Grace!! 😀
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Oh, that’s a cool question. 🙂 Well I just asked my parents about that. My Mum considers herself picky in this regard, especially about boys names (just like me). She doesn’t like the kind of old man/lady names, most of them, even though these traditional names are rising in popularity really speedily here in Poland. She also dislikes very modern nams, especially for boys. She says she likes classics that sound universal and good for all ages, and that are feminine for girls and masculine for boys. For boys she picked names like Krzysztof, Michał, Rafał and Radosław, and for girls real classics like Anna (her own name that really suits her excellently), Maria, Antonina, Eliza, Blanka/Bianka (well Eliza and Blanka aren’t that much classic as the rest are). Unfortunately, the only thing my Dad felt able to say is that he doesn’t know, because he’s never thought about it. And indeed I can’t think about any names that he’d ever say he likes or dislikes.
As I love everything Celtic, I love your mum’s Shamrock taste. 🙂
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I love hearing about your parents! Your dad cracked me up — indeed, I bet a lot of dads are happy not to think about baby names except when they have to!! I love your mom’s taste, lovely. And my mom will be tickled that you love her “Shamrock taste”!! ❤
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Funny!! This reminds me of my parents. My Mom too loves the ultra-Irish names. I’m not sure which are her favorites but I have heard her mention Niamh. She really wanted to use Siobhan for me but compromised with my Dad on my name as a little more accessible (back in the 80s anyway).
My Dad tends toward the vintage traditional. He only likes Biblical boys names, he has said. He wanted three girls named Faith, Hope and Charity. They had three children but it was two girls then a boy. My Mom was happy that they did not try for a matched set especially after my brother was born.
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I usually hear the moms’ perspective on the blog and in emails, so I’m always interested to hear what the dads like. Faith, Hope, and Charity for sisters is interesting!
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My parents names they chose are: Colin James, Mary Katherine,Brendan Joseph,Neil Patrick, Brian Francis,Timothy Joseph, John Robert, Liam Thomas and Clare Elizabeth. They both like Irish names, although Timothy, Patrick, Robert and John are family names. My mom vetoed a couple of “out there” names, Siobhan and Sinead and she never liked Conor, Sean, Bridget or Molly either, my dad still talks about them! I’m pretty sure mom threw in the classic Catholic saint names, James, Joseph, Michael, Francis and Thomas.
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What a great bunch of names!!
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I can’t speak to the difference between my parents taste as minus Redding my dad doesn’t really have one (or at least not one he has mentioned). However I can speak to the difference between me and my mothers taste. Mum loves spunkier and more modern classic names and whilst I also love some modern names I also love more vintage names. Many of the names I’ve mentioned liking have been met with an “Oh no you can’t” and I’ve been told that in future “they will be renamed at granny’s house.” She also ruined the names Belinda and Ethel for me (She has a ditty for EVERYTHING haha).
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Ohhh mothers!! “They will be renamed at granny’s house” oh noooo!! 😀
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[…] Fun Friday Question posts: Who were you almost? (and follow-up), How different are your parents’ taste? (and follow-up), What name pocket are you in (if any?), and What name “rules” have you […]
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