I had the great privilege of doing a consultation for Laura and her husband’s second baby a few years ago, and posting a birth announcement, and then doing a consultation for her third baby this past summer — and here’s the birth announcement! Laura and her husband have welcomed their third daughter and given her the amazing name … Elizabeth Ríonach nn Liesel! I don’t normally include the nickname in the post title and name announcement, but I’m sure you can see why I’m all heart eyes over this gorgeous name and its nickname!

Laura writes,

“We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Elizabeth Ríonach, who we are called Liesel.

Thank you so much for our consultation; it really helped me to understand why I wasn’t quite committed to Liesel: I really wanted her to have a longer, more formal name. This didn’t perturb [hubby], but as a German speaker, it sounded too nicknamey to be her given name. I couldn’t get him to go for Anneliese, but he was happy with Elizabeth, which I suggested after an hour had passed since her birth and she still had no name.

Ríonach was just too lovely to pass up, and I love that she has the Gaelic connection to sister’s Caoilfhinn. We really liked the nod to Our Lady as well.

Juliet Ríonach and Riona Josephine were other contenders. I think we settled on a great name, and having her full name be Elizabeth has helped make the unusual Liesel more approachable for friends and [those] who can’t get over the Sound of Music connection.

More importantly, we are so in love with our little Liesel. Big sisters Clara and Rosalie could not be happier. In fact, Clara told me just this evening at dinner that she’s so happy we picked Liesel to be our baby from Jesus. ❤️”

I just love this whole story! The consultation I did for Laura over the summer was mostly for a middle name (and I’m so thrilled that my suggestion of Ríonach — Irish for “queen,” making it Marian — hit the right note for them!), but how great is it that the consultation helped her and her hubby figure out the best first name for their baby girl as well!

Congratulations to Laura and her husband and big sisters Clara Louise and Rosalie Caoilfhinn, and happy birthday Baby Liesel!!

Elizabeth Ríonach “Liesel” and her big sisters ❤

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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 expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!