Happy Monday, everyone! Today is my grandmother’s birthday, whose name was Anne, and she was one of the reasons St. Anne seemed perfect for Sancta Nomina’s patroness. My grandmother, who I called Mimi, passed away 33 years ago — if you think to say a Hail Mary for her and our family, who all still miss her, I’d be so grateful!
I posted a consultation for Erin and her husband two years ago when they were expecting their daughter, and I’m so happy to be able to offer ideas for her third baby — a little boy, her second son! Little Man joins big sibs:
Calvin Frederick
Lucy Renee
I just love these names together! Such a lovely set!
Erin writes,
“I like to include saint/biblical and family names in some combination. My husband is not Catholic, so a name with a religious tie is less important to him. Calvin and Lucy were in our family trees. Frederick is my husband’s MN and grandpa. Renee is my MN and Godmother’s name.
We are having a little boy due September 2nd!
Our top choices we are considering are:
- Henry
- Samuel
- Franklin
- Walter
All of these are family names. Our favorite is probably Henry, but both of us feel it is more popular than we want. I’m also feeling drawn strongly to Samuel, but struggle with it feeling perennially popular. We really liked how Calvin was a well known name but not often heard. Franklin we both like but don’t love, although I do love Frankie as a nick name. My husband really likes Walter. I like Walt, but Walter feels a little too ‘grumpy old man’ to me lol.
Some other names I liked:
- Isaac
- Emmett
- Bennett
- Abe*
- Peter*
- Ambrose
- Beau
- Otto
- Theo
- Everett
Other names hubs liked:
- Max
- Mac
- Harrison
- Elliott
- Benjamin
- Hugh
- Thomas
*Family names
We also both like August, but we’re unsure with his due date being so close to the month.
Our daughter is rooting for Sammy, and our son is convinced his name is Blaise! Lol
Family names we can’t use include: Archie, Eli, Oliver, Joel, Adam, Gavin, Caleb, Charles, and Cole.
Top contenders for middle names are: James and Douglas (my grandpa or dad’s name), but we aren’t super set there.
Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!“
Alrighty, let’s get to it! 😄
As I usually do, I thought I’d start with offering my thoughts on the names Erin and her hubby have discussed, in case they’re helpful:
- Henry: I’m not surprised that Erin said their favorite is probably Henry, as it was far and away the biggest style match for them when I did my usual research in the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link)! It’s a great name! I wonder if switching up the form they use might help it feel fresher, even if they use Henry on an everyday basis? Some of its international versions that I thought they might like include Henrik/Henryk, Hendrick, Hendry, Henning, and Henderson (which is similar to Harrison on Erin’s husband’s list). I think Henry can work as a nickname for all of these, or the traditional Henry nickname Hank. Since Erin mentioned popularity, I looked up the SSA rankings for each of the names and will include them as I discuss them; Henry is no. 7, Henrik is no. 926, and none of the others are in the top 1000 (though Henderson ranked in the top 1000 almost every year between 1900 and 1944!). (For reference, Calvin is no. 148 and Lucy is no. 48.)
- Samuel: Another great name! Samuel is less popular than Henry at no. 20; it’s been rising in popularity for a long time, but slowly — it entered the 20’s in 1997 at no. 27, so in the grand scheme of things it hasn’t moved too much at all. It’s so cute how Erin said her daughter is sure this baby’s name is Sammy! If the nicknames are a big draw for them, I thought I’d mention that my husband and I considered Sam as a nickname for Ambrose, which I see on Erin’s list. I wonder what she and her hubby would think of that? Ambrose is no. 720.
- Franklin: Franklin definitely feels like Calvin to me — “well known but not often heard,” as Erin said. Such a cool name, and awesome that it’s a family name for them! Frankie is a darling nickname, too. I wonder if they’ve considered Francis or Frank as given names? Franklin is no. 408, Francis is no. 462, and Frank is no. 439 (this name family is very consistent popularity-wise!).
- Walter: It’s so funny that Erin’s husband likes Walter but she thinks it’s too “grumpy old man”! I agree that Walt is adorable, and I actually used my own husband’s like of what I considered to be “old man” names to try to convince him of the given name Walsingham with the nickname Walt for our youngest! Walsingham is the name of a Marian apparition location in England, and Our Lady of Walsingham is one of her titles, so I thought I was being incredibly clever; my husband did not agree, haha! One thing that Erin might like about Walter is that I’ve seen it with increasing regularity among the families I work with because of Servant of God Fr. Walter Ciszek. Here are some birth announcements: here, here (he has a big brother Henrik!), and a sibling group that includes a Walter here.
- August: I know what Erin means about August for a baby due in the beginning in September! If he ends up coming early, in August itself, I wonder if that would that make it easier or harder for them to use? Would they consider Augustus or Augustine?
Of the names Erin and her hubby like, I won’t comment on them all except to say:
- Emmett, Bennett, Everett, and Elliott are very revealing! I absolutely tried to find an idea that ends in -tt for them when I was doing my research!
- Abe and Beau (Bo) are both names that I think can work as nicknames for Ambrose; also Bram, which was my favorite idea when I was pitching this to my husband!
- I really want to figure out something with Harrison and Henry, since Harry originated as a nickname for Henry … using Henry as a nickname for Harrison is normally the kind of thing I’d go for, except I’m having a hard time with the fact that it would technically be going *backwards* — Henry isn’t a nickname for the Harry names, Harry is a nickname for Henry! But I want to mention it anyway, in case it strikes this couple as the perfect solution.
Isaac: 42
Emmett: 115
Bennett: 83
Abe: Not in top 1000
Peter: 214
Ambrose: 720
Beau: 89
Otto: 309
Theo: 99 (Theodore is no. 10)
Everett: 81
- I also wonder about their son’s idea of Blaise — what do they think of that?? Could be very cool! Blaise is not in the top 1000.
On to new ideas! I did my usual research for Erin and her hubby in the Baby Name Wizard, looking up the names they’ve used and those they like to find style matches. I was also inspired by all of the names ending in -tt that are on their lists and wanted to find similar options for them. What do you all think of:
(1) Stanley
Walter on their list made me think of my own name conversations with my husband, as I noted about re: Walsingham nn Walt. I wondered if the name that my husband was really crazy about would appeal to them: Stanley nn Stan! I’ve actually seen an uptick in interest in this name among the families I work with because of the recent beatification of Bl. Stanley Rother. I did a really thorough spotlight of Stanley here. Stanley is no. 778.
(2) Malcolm
I was mostly inspired by Mac and Max on Erin’s hubby’s list when deciding to include Malcolm in my official suggestions, as well as the ideal of “well known name but not often heard” like Calvin. I absolutely think both Mac and Max can be nicknames for Malcolm, and I quite like it as a brother name for Calvin and Lucy. Though I don’t think there’s a St. Malcolm, the name itself means “disciple of St. Columba,” who was a great Irish Saint. I had suggested it to Haley from Carrots for Michaelmas — she has a Lucy too! Malcolm is no. 285.
(3) Name ending in -tt
I had fun looking through the BNW for names ending in -tt! Of them, my favorites for this family are:
- Garrett: Garrett is derived from Gerard, which gives it its saintly connection. I love that! It’s no. 463.
- Beckett: This can be literary (Samuel Beckett) or saintly (St. Thomas a Becket(t)) — or both! Beck is a fun nickname. It’s no. 195.
- Dermot(t): This name is usually spelled with one T, but can be spelled with two. There are a few Sts. Dermot; the name in either spelling (Dermot or Dermott) is not in the top 1000.
- Grant: Okay so, yes, Grant doesn’t end in -tt. But it showed up in my research as swirling around the kinds of names this couple likes, and I know of a family who chose Grant for their son with the “grant us peace” part of the Mass in mind, which I thought was clever. Grant is no. 220.
- Atticus: Okay so, yes, again, this doesn’t end in -tt — and doesn’t end in T at all! But when I was skimming the BNW index the double T of Atticus caught my eye and I thought maybe it would be perfect! I’ve seen Gus used as a nickname for it, which kind of loops in their August idea. Atticus is no. 274.
So those are my official suggestions, but I also want to mention that I considered Leo (no. 22), Lincoln (no. 54), Martin (305), Philip (no. 494), Barrett (no. 208), and Rhett (no. 151) for them as well before whittling my list down to just the ones I mentioned above — maybe one of those would be perfect after all?
And those are all my thoughts! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the little brother of Calvin and Lucy?
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!
Sancta Nomina 