I posted a consultation for Ashley and husband last spring, and I’m excited to share that their baby girl has been born and given the fantastic name … Retta Joy!

Ashley writes,

“We named her Retta Joy. She is named after St. Gianna Beretta Molla and St. Joseph as the Scottish name for carpenter is Rett (this would have been our boy name, Rett Thomas).”

Isn’t Retta Joy such a beautiful and unexpected name?! I love the connection with Rett for St. Joseph!! (Read more about the connection here.) How cool!! And for Retta to be for St. Gianna too — so many layers of meaning! Such a great job!!

( As a side note, my grandmother was Mary Loretta and she went by Rett with her friends — Loretta is a nod to Our Lady of Loreto, so if they wanted to include an additional Marian connection to their little Retta, that could work!)

Congratulations to Ashley and her husband and big sisters Emma Grace, Kennedy Faith, and Lillian Hope, and happy birthday Baby Retta Joy!!

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The five baby name consultation openings I had for January have been taken, but Theresa is available to help you out! Email her at TheresaZoeWrites@gmail.com to set up your own consultation! (Payment methods remain the same.)

For help with Marian names, 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). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!