July | 2023 | Sancta Nomina

In my previous post, I told you about my sister and brother-in-law expecting their second baby, their second boy, and asked if any of you might have a guess about what they would name him, based on their love of their Irish heritage and the name they gave their first son. I loved reading all your ideas!! My sister and brother-in-law did as well, and were THRILLED to see that one of you actually guessed it! Not only did reader VEL get the correct first name with the correct spelling, but also the nickname! I’m excited to share that my newest nephew has been given the fantastic and meaningful name … Malachy Golden, nn Mac!

Just like with his big brother’s name, Malachy is an Irish name with an easy, friendly nickname. I love it! His middle name is his grandmother’s maiden name — a great way to honor a special woman in a boy’s name. All in all, I think my sister and BIL did a great job!

Congratulations to the happy parents and big brother Cashel nn Cash, and happy birthday Baby Malachy!

(VEL — I’d love to send you a little prize for guessing the right name and nickname! Email me! sanctanomina at gmail dot com)

My hubby holding Mac! 🥰🥰🥰

Read all about how to get your own baby name consultation from either Theresa or myself here.

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!

Hi everyone! 👋 Since my last post my no. 5 boy graduated from 5th grade, which means he’s moving on the middle/high school his big brothers go to; my no. 7 boy graduated from preschool, which means he’s moving on to Kindergarten (and ending the fifteen years I’ve had a little one in or anticipating being in our school’s sweet Early Childhood program); and we took a two-years-in-the-planning Big Family Vacation with my two brothers and their wives and kids, my parents, and my sister — 21 people in a house by the ocean (my two youngest sisters, brother-in-law, and nephew couldn’t come). While there, we went to Mass at a St. Anne church, checking the box for this year’s St. Anne Pilgrimage (that links to 2020; you can read more about 2021 and 2022 here)! And also: five of my seven kids and my husband came down with a stomach bug while on the vacation, which cut our vacation short, lasted through our drive home and into the next few days as well, and, man. That’s all I have to say.

But today I have a FUN THING!! My youngest sister is due next week with her second baby — a second boy! She and her hubby don’t share their name choices ahead of time so we’ve been having fun trying to guess/predict what her littlest man will be named, based exclusively on big brother’s name: Cashel, nn Cash.

Cashel is an amazingly fantastic name for my sister’s and BIL’s firstborn because they have a super Irish last name and they *got married in Ireland* and Cashel is an Irish place name with historical and faith significance. And it has the fantastic nickname Cash! It’s pretty close to perfect in my book. (Read more about Cashel [the place] here, and the name here and here.)

So today’s question: If you knew a couple with an Irish last name, who got married in Ireland, who gave their first baby boy an Irish place name for a given name, and that name has an easy, jaunty nickname, what names might you suggest or predict for baby boy no. 2??

Read all about how to get your own baby name consultation from either Theresa or myself here.