Don’t you just love how Marian the month of September is?! We celebrated the Nativity of Our Lady on the 8th, the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary on the 12th, and Our Lady of Sorrows on the 15th, and there are some lesser known ones like Our Lady of La Salette yesterday, Our Lady of Walsingham on the 24th, and Our Lady, Star of the Sea on the 25th. Such a great month!

Enjoy this week’s consultation from my co-baby name consultant Theresa Zoe Williams!

Mama Kelle writes,

“We have 6 biological children and have always dreamed of adopting. We have developed a super soft spot in our hearts for children with down Syndrome and have been pursuing special needs domestic adoption for more than a year. We have a girl name, but have always struggled with agreeing on boy names … We have semi agreed on the name Roman, but haven’t found any great middle names to go with it.”

What a wonderful thing this family is doing and the name Roman is just swoon-worthy!

Little Roman would join big siblings:

• Hannah Claire
• Genevieve “Genna” Marie
• Isaac Thomas
• Andrew “Drew” William
• Benjamin Judah (He goes by both Benjamin and Judah)
• Robert “Bob” or “Bobby” Cecil

What great names!

Kelle writes,

“My husband likes plain, common, Catholic names.  He’d be all over John Paul, but everyone has a John Paul. Other names that have been on past lists but never been quite right are Paul, Jacob, Peter, Matthew. I never liked those enough because they are so common. My husband had a friend named Roman that died a few years ago and that made him a little more open to it. Although he is not sold 100 percent on it. I’m hoping that a good middle name might solidify it for him … Names I like that he’s rejected are Duncan, Wesley, Matthias, Winceslas, Thaddeus. I mentioned using Joseph as a middle name since it’s the year of St. Joseph and he is a foster father. Don’t know how that sounds though with Roman. Any name following Roman sounds like Roman is an adjective.”

First, some thoughts on their shortlist.

Paul– Pretty common in Catholic circles, I agree. It is a great, solid name, though, but I don’t think it has the pizzazz of some of their other kids’ names.

Jacob– Lots of nickname potential here, which might make it more palatable for Kelle, because it is pretty “run of the mill” otherwise. Besides Jake, you can do Jack, or Jay. You could even do Coby! Or, stretching it just a bit, Kolbe. A nickname is probably what would sell this name for Kelle and help it fit in with the other kids better.

Peter– Personally, I love Peter. It’s a strong name (literally means “rock”!) and you can’t go wrong with all the patronages. It also has lots of pop culture ties, making it a name that can cross all boundaries. However, it is popular in Catholic circles, although not as popular as Paul.

Matthew– Another fairly vanilla name that’s still popular over every demographic. I saw this and was going to suggest Matthias as a variant, but then saw that Kelle likes Matthias but Brian (husband) does not! Oh well. There’s a better name out there for them that combines their styles and desires for a name.

Kelle mentioned Joseph as a possibility but that she didn’t want the child to be called Joseph and worried that he would. What about a different name that has the Jo- beginning to honor St. Joseph but is a little less popular? Names I thought of were Josiah, Joshua, Jonah, and Jonathan. There are lots of others!

Or maybe even an international version of Joseph? Jozef, Giuseppe, Jose, etc. The nice thing about Joseph is that it’s so flexible and can literally go with anything and take so many different forms and nicknames. I know a Joseph who goes by Seph, for example! Lots to think about with this name

On to new suggestions!

(1) Charles/Karl

There are lots of saints to go with these names and either would be a nice nod to John Paul II, whose birth name was Karol, another variant! It means “man” or “army/warrior” and wouldn’t that just be a fantastic name for a little Down syndrome warrior? Roman Charles and Roman Karl both sound so strong, too.

(2) Silas

A name I think Kelle may like more than Brian, but I’m hoping maybe to sell Brian on this. St. Silas (also known by the variant name Silvanus) was a companion of St. Paul and helped write a couple of the epistles. It’s a great, underused name that is uncommon but not weird. It means “wood, forest”, if that appeals to them at all. Roman Silas has a strong but unexpected feel.

(3) Gabriel

There are so many saints to go along with this name and it is fairly popular in Catholic circles, but Roman Gabriel just sounded so nice to me that I couldn’t not include it. Its meaning really sold me for them, “God is my strong man”. What a fantastic meaning for anyone! And something I know they want their children to be. This might be the best combining of styles for them.

(4) Oliver

Okay, this one is super popular but for good reason! It’s such a lovely name with several meanings (“olive tree”- I like the tie to peace and the faith with this meaning; “elf army”- meh lol; “ancestor’s descendent”- nice to think about the long line of people this little man would join). There’s also phenomenal saint, Oliver Plunkett to go with! Roman Oliver just rolls off the tongue nicely, too.

(5) Dominic

Again, a name fairly popular in Catholic circles but not overly popular. There are, of course, lots of saints for patronage, too. Roman Dominic just sounds so strong and good. The name also means “of the Lord” which is so cool!

(6) Jerome

I initially was going to leave this name off of the list but then thought how nice Roman Jerome sounds and put it back on. Tons of saints but a very underused name. It also means “sacred name” which is what they’re hoping to give this little fellow!

(7) Jude

Finally, a last minute addition. This name is fairly popular across the board, but especially in Catholic circles. However, it’s still just off the beaten path enough to not feel “plain”.  I think this one may be a good mixing of their styles, too.

What do you guys think?

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I’m currently on hiatus from doing consultations, but Theresa Zoe Williams is available to help you! Email her at TheresaZoeWrites@gmail.com to set up your own consultation! (Payment methods remain the same.)

During my hiatus, please don’t forget about 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!