Happy New Year’s Eve everyone!! 🎉🎉🎉

I look forward to doing my Year in Review posts every New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day — it’s SO FUN to look back on all that was accomplished in the last year!

I’m describing 2019 as the year of “scrabbling back,” since much of it was devoted to healing physically and mentally from the baby’s birth in September 2018, which meant my efforts on the blog were slow and erratic, especially in the beginning. Worse, I had to keep putting off returning to baby name consultations — I knew you all understood, but it was so painful to me to know there were mamas (mostly, but papas too!) who were hoping for help naming their sweet babies, and I couldn’t do so! But I gained steam as the year drew to a close — take a look!:

• I did 52 consultations (a mix of public and private) in 2019! Fifty-one of them were done since I reopened consultations on May 1! (The other one was in February — an emergency consultation/dipping my toe back in.) I’m pretty thrilled by this, especially since I only did 55 total in 2018! (Perhaps not the best comparison though, since 2018 was the year of all-day morning sickness and then newborn days. But still!) I posted 23 of them here on the blog, including for some mamas you know (Genie from Barefoot Abbey, Kendra from Catholic All Year, Kortnee from Studio Senn, Meredith from Daily Divine Mercy and Catholic Sticker Club), several repeat clients (Laura, Lily, Amy, Genie — I love seeing your families grow!), and even a TV character! (I can’t wait to watch this show! It’s already my favorite!)
• But I posted even more birth announcements! Thirty-nine babies from among our Sancta Nomina community! Eighteen were the baby siblings of little ones I’d previously posted birth announcements for, three were for families I’d previously spotlighted on the blog, and two were for twins! Among those thirty-nine were the babies of well known mamas Grace from Camp Patton, Rosie from A Blog for My Mom, Kate from The Rhodes Log, Sharon from Baby My Love, Dwija from House Unseen, Genie from Barefoot Abbey, Jenny from Mama Needs Coffee/Off the Charts, Mandi from A Blog About Miscarriage, and Meredith from Daily Divine Mercy + Catholic Sticker Club. Look at these beautiful names — you guys have fantastic taste!

Henry James
Felicity Victoria Kathleen
Michael Dominic
Greer Eileen
Ev@nd3r H@wth0rn (alt characters used for privacy)
Christian Gabriel
Noelle Katherine
Perpetua Carolyn
Bridget Marie
Reina Grace
Basil Anthony Philip
Christopher Rex called Rex
Basil Grace
Linus John
Helena Faustina James
Clement Joseph
Lucy Adelaide
Peter Joseph
Sunday Josephine
Hildegard Edna Marie
Abigail Violet
Genevieve Immaculee Grace
Solan Peter and Magdalen Anne
Helena Mary
Cecily Germaine
Cl3m3nt Mich@el
Theodore Luke
Rosemary Ruth
Ariston Blaise
Finnian Agustin
Benedict Reid
Elizabeth Ríonach called Liesel
Alden Edward
Maria Therese called Maite
Penny Annalise Mariae
Lincoln David

• I posted about two new celebrity babies (Santino Rafael [Mario Lopez] and Valentina StellaMaris [Rachel Campos-Duffy]), and the name announcement for that TV character we all helped name!
• I also posted Name Stories for two different families with amazing taste: here and here
• Eleven CatholicMom posts (I started veering off of the topics of names occasionally this past year!)
• Four posts chronicling my trip to Ireland for my sister’s wedding: Edel, Radek, Anne, and Thaddeus
• Four 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 heard?
• Three Black Friday Specials
• Three giveaways
• Three Name Spotlights: Cosima, Agatha, and Agnes
• Two posts on “proper” pronunciation: Lisieux and Elisha
• One book review
• One article in Radiant Magazine
• One appearance on Jon Leonetti’s Morning Show
• One new term that a reader used for her baby-on-the-way that I think is fantastic and I want to start using: “Sine Nomine” (“without a name”) 😂👏👏👏
• One St. Anne pilgrimage — in Ireland! Perfect for my FIFTH BLOGIVERSARY!!

Speaking of St. Anne, she’s been our patroness since almost the beginning, and this year I also dedicated Sancta Nomina (blog + social media + all associated work) to Our Lady — I should have thought to do so before!

What a year it’s been! I am, as always, so grateful for this little space, and for all of you. I love how wholesome and good it is here — it is such a great antidote to all the bologna, isn’t it? I know 2020’s going to be an amazing year! The word I got for 2020  by Jen Fulwiler’s Word of the Year Generator was THRIVE*, which seems perfect following a year of “scrabbling back”! I hope you’re looking forward with as much hope and joy as I am! Happy Eve of the Feast of Mary, Mother of God!!**

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

*Be sure to try out her Saint Name Generator as well! (I got Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati!)

**Don’t forget Jan. 1 is a holy day of obligation!

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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!