I posted a consultation for Cassandra and her husband back in October, and she’s let me know her baby has arrived — a little boy given the fantastic name … Levi Nathaniel!

Cassandra writes,

“We welcomed our green bean — a sweet baby boy (boy #3 for us!) on November 2nd. We chose the name Levi Nathaniel. As I had read your name consultation back in October, you made a passing reference to “Levi” being an alternative to Matthew. It immediately struck a chord with me. I really didn’t think my husband would like the name, but I mentioned it to him anyway. To my surprise, he said he liked the name as well and we began to throw around middle names to pair with it. Our top contender for a middle name was Nathaniel. This was a nod to a close college friend of mine who is now a priest. He comes from a family of four boys and I’ve become close to his mother as well (she is actually the godmother of my daughter). So we went into birth with two boy name combinations — Levi Nathaniel and Jonas Matthew. The latter had been on our list since the last baby and I honestly assumed that would be the baby’s name if he was a boy. Well, Baby IS a boy and I had no idea which name to choose. For whatever reason Jonas did not fit him. I can’t explain it, but it wasn’t him. My husband felt the same way so we settled on Levi Nathaniel. It is totally not a name I thought we’d end up with going into this, but I love it. I think people were surprised (mostly in a good way) with our name choice. My best friend here said to me when Levi was a couple of weeks old, “He’s definitely a Levi and not a Jonas.” I completely agree. Another note, Big Sister now insists that “St. Levi” is her favorite.”

I just love this story! I always love to hear how parents settle on *the* name, and it’s always fun when the end result is a surprise even to the parents! I’m also tickled that my mention of Levi was helpful — I do try to include as many of my thoughts as possible in consultations, even if I’m not sure they’re quite right, *just in case*. And it’s pretty awesome that Cassandra had already said, “I feel like we tend towards more traditional names, but I feel like this baby needs something slightly different. Not too out there, but not overused either.” Levi Nathaniel is perfect!

Congratulations to Cassandra and her hubby and big sibs Thomas, Theresa, and David (and Nadia in heaven), and happy birthday Baby Levi!!

Levi Nathaniel with his big brothers and sister ❤

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!