Saintly place names

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty,

In the past, I’ve tended to include Saintly place names in lists of Saintly surnames, but my mind was clicking recently about place names specifically, so I wanted to see how many we can come up with. There are two categories: (1) what I’m thinking of as the “of” categories (St. So-and-so of Somewhere) and (2) places that have faithy associations.

“Of” names (with their Saints) (in no particular order)

  • St. Bernard of Clairvaux
  • St. Joseph of Cupertino
  • St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of Avila
  • St. Joan of Arc (d’Arc)
  • St. Francis of Assisi
  • St. Augustine of Hippo
  • St. Pio of Pietrelcina
  • St. Ignatius of Antioch
  • St. Ignatius of Loyola
  • St. Thérèse of Lisieux
  • St. Elizabeth of Hungary
  • St. Margaret of Scotland
  • St. Rita of Cascia
  • St. Catherine of Siena, St. Bernardine of Siena

And of course there are all the Marian places (Our Lady of Fatima, etc.).

Other place (or place-associated) names (in no particular order)

  • Roma, Roman
  • Tiber
  • Magdalene (of Magdala)
  • Eden
  • Belén (Bethlehem)
  • Isla
  • Nazaret (Nazareth)
  • Olivet (Mount of Olives)
  • Gethsemane
  • Judea
  • Jericho
  • Cana
  • Canaan

I’ve seen a lot of these used for babies, and others not used at all … some probably aren’t name-worthy (like Hippo), while others I haven’t seen at all but could be perfect for the right family (maybe Pietrelcina? It’s related to Peter [it literally means “small stones/pebbles,” as far as I can tell]).

I know there are loads more — what would you add to these lists? Happy Monday!

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 (not affiliate links) — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life! (And check out my buy-the-book-get-a-consultation deal!)

5 thoughts on “Saintly place names”

  2. Oooh, this is fun! Got a little carried away as it’s a snow day here and I had a some time on my hands!

    St. Abadiu of Antinoe (nn Annie, Toni)
    St. Abbo of Fleury
    St. Achillius of Larissa
    St. Adalard of Corbie
    St. Agatha of Sicily
    St. Agnes of Bohemia (nn Bo, Mia)
    St. Ailbe of Emly
    St. Albert of Louvain (nn Lou)
    St. Alkmund of Derby
    St. Amantius of Como
    St. Ambrose of Milan
    St. Anastasius of Pavia (nn Via)
    St. Anastasius of Persia
    St. Anthimus of Nicomedia (nn Nikki, Mia)
    St. Anthony of Kiev
    St. Anthony of Padua
    St. Antia of Illyria
    St. Antoninus of Florence
    St. Antoninus of Piacenza (nn Pia)
    St. Anysia of Salonika (nn Sally, Nikki)
    St. Apollinaris of Ravenna
    St. Aquilinus of Évreux (nn Evie)
    St. Arcadius of Mauretania (nn Maura, Tania, Nia)
    St. Argeus of Tomi
    St. Ariadne of Phrygia (nn Gia, Gigi)
    St. Asterius of Amasea (nn Amy, Macy)
    St. Basil of Ancyra (nn Annie, Cyra)
    St. Beatrice of Silva
    St. Benedict of Aniane (nn Annie)
    St. Bernard of Corleone (nn Leo)
    St. Boniface of Tarsus
    St. Brigid of Kildare
    St. Cassian of Imola (nn Immy)
    St. Castor of Karden
    St. Catherine of Alexandria
    St. Chad of Mercia
    St. Ciarán of Saigir
    St. Clare of Assisi
    St. Clare of Montefalco (nn Monty)
    St. Claudius of Besançon (nn Bess)
    St. Conrad of Constance
    St. Constantius of Perugia (nn Peri, Rue, Gia, Gigi)
    St. Crescentius of Saragossa (nn Sara, Sadie)
    St. Cyriacus of Satala
    St. Damien of Molokai (nn Kai)
    St. Didacus of Alcalá (nn Calla, Callie)
    St. Dionysius of Vienne
    St. Dorothea of Caesarea (nn Cece, Sara, Rea)
    St. Edmund of Abingdon (nn Abby)
    St. Elzéar of Sabran
    St. Emily of Vialar (de Vialar)
    St. Eucherius of Lyon
    St. Eulalia of Mérida
    St. Euprepius of Verona
    St. Felix of Nicosia (nn Nico, Nica, Nikki, Cosy, Sia)
    St. Felix of Nola
    St. Ferdinand III of Castile
    St. Francis of Roye
    St. Genesius of Arles
    St. Germain of Paris
    St. Germanicus of Smyrna
    St. Gertrude of Nivelles
    St. Godelieve of Gistel
    St. Godfried of Mervel
    St. Gregory of Nazianzus (nn Naz, Zee)
    St. Gregory of Nyssa
    St. Hedwig of Silesia
    St. Heliodorus of Altino
    St. Hugo of Lincoln
    St. Ignatius of Santhià (nn Thia)
    St. Íñigo of Oña
    St. Irene of Tomar
    St. Isidore of Seville
    St. Ivo of Chartres (nn Tres, Trey)
    St. Ivo of Kermartin
    St. John of Meda
    St. Joseph of Leonessa
    St. Julius of Novara (nn Nova)
    St. Magdalene of Canossa
    St. Marina of Omura
    St. Martin of Leon
    St. Nicholas of Myra
    St. Nicholas of Tolentino (nn Lenny, Tino)
    St. Norbert of Xanten
    St. Oran of Iona
    St. Peter of Alcantara (nn Ally, Tara?)
    St. Peter of Verona
    St. Placidus of Messina (nn Mina)
    St. Priscus of Auxerre
    St. Procopius of Sázava
    St. Rita of Cascia
    St. Rose of Lima
    St. Seraphim of Sarov
    St. Stephen of Obazine
    St. Theobald of Marly
    St. Thomas of Villanova (nn Nova)
    St. Torpes of Pisa
    St. Venantius of Camerino (nn Cam)
    St. Victoria of Albitina (nn Ally, Tina, Tibby)
    St. William of York

    Bethsaida
    Bethany
    Bethel
    Carmel
    Cilicia
    Corinth
    Cappadocia
    Damascus
    Ephesus
    Galilee
    Havilah
    Lydia
    Marah
    Midian
    Nineveh
    Petra
    Samaria
    Shiloh
    Sinai
    Zorah
    Zion

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  4. Hi Kate!
    Some of my favorites are:
    Siena (St. Catherine)
    Alexandria (St. Catherine)
    Cascia (St. Rita)
    Moriah
    Nuria (Our Lady)
    Lourdes
    Lydia
    Magdala
    Jordan
    Cyrene (St. Simon)
    Carmel
    Lima (St. Rose)
    Marilac (St. Louise)
    Eden
    Calcutta (St. Teresa)
    Assisi (St. Francis)
    Norcia (St. Benedict)
    Clairvaux (St. Bernard)
    Bethany

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