Happy feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! Our priest’s name is Juanito, and he has a great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe — I only recently remembered that Our Lady called Juan Diego “Juanito” and “Juan Dieguito.” So sweet and affectionate! I’ll have to ask him if that’s his religious name or his given name. Either way, I love it!

Speaking of Marian names, I posted a consultation for Jess and her husband back in October for their baby boy — I’m so happy to share that Jess has let me know their little guy has arrived and been given the amazing name with amazing initials … Alden Edward V___! I never include last name info in the post title or name announcement, but it’s particularly meaningful here because his monogram is the Marian AVE (aVe)! ❤ ❤ ❤

Jess writes,

“I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving. We had a lot to be thankful for this year. I really appreciate your consultation. We narrowed the names down to Edward, Alden, and Roland. Our daughter was strongly advocating for Edward so she could call her brother Teddy Bear. The birth mom decided to meet me for lunch prior to the delivery. When she asked what we planned to name the baby, I told her the options and she had a very positive reaction to Alden. We named our son Alden Edward after her input. Big sis calls Alden his name, Teddy Bear, and Toots (because he farts a lot). We’re smitten. Thanks again!“

(Toots!! 😂😂😂)

Alden Edward is so handsome! And you know I love the aVe monogram!! What a wonderful holiday season for this family!!

Congratulations to Jess and her husband and big sister Josephine Jean, and happy birthday Baby Alden!!

Alden Edward with big sister Josephine Jean ❤

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!