Baby name consultant: Unusual name needed for baby No. 7

Happy feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Before I jump into today’s post, could I just ask you to keep my oldest son in your prayers? (And thank you to all of you who have been praying!) I posted a couple pics explaining the situation on Instagram this weekend — he and I have been in the hospital all weekend for a mysterious swelling on one side of his face that turned out to be an abscessed tooth. Lots of strong antibiotics have really done the trick — last night his face was finally starting to look normal-ish, 48 hours after it started, and this morning he looks wonderful. The doctor will be calling the dentist today and hopefully we can go home in a few hours!

Also, one of you readers emailed me with this very important prayer request:

“My acquaintance/new friend Anne Marie, unbeknownst to me, has a mental/spiritual imbalance that has caused her to be certain that Jesus has asked her to fast to her death. Apparently she has several times fled to distant 24-hr Adoration chapels to pray and await death.

A week ago she again fled the Portland area with nothing but cash, as I understand, leaving behind her new husband of just 15-ish months, and their small son Joseph, 4 months, whom she had been exclusively breastfeeding.

Anyway, since you have many devout readers around the nation, I thought perhaps someone would spot her. She is 5’8″, very thin, conservatively dressed, with long, somewhat greying wavy hair. She has a soft, deep voice, an intelligent demeanor and dry sense of humor. It is best to contact the authorities, rather than acknowledging that you know of her. They suspect she will follow her pattern of fasting until collapse, be hospitalized, and refuse to identify herself.”

This is a news story that tells more about her. Thank you all for being such great prayer warriors! One of the loveliest parts of our little community is how we can ask each other to pray. 🙏

Okay! On to today’s consultation! Cait and her husband are expecting their seventh baby and third girl! She joins big siblings:

Aquinas John Paul (Quin)
Gabriel Benedict
Magdalena Grace
Maksymilian Paul (“spelling due to husband’s bad association with a Max in grade school and finding a book written by St. Maksymilian Kolbe where they spelled his name that way — I think it’s the Polish way“)
Augustine Francis
Socorra Perpetua (often called Corra; named “after Our Lady of Perpetual Help (succour)“; my note: Nuestra Señora del Socorro is a Spanish title referring to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succor)

Aren’t those amazing names?? I love the nicknames and the alternate yet totally legitimate spellings and the all-around creativity. Great job, Mom and Dad!

Cait writes,

“I LOVE Penelope, but she seems to be a saint in the Eastern Church and not ours. I’m having my husband research that, as it seems, from her story there, that we should grab her as a saint too. I also had a dream the baby’s name should have something to do with peace… something we need in our family right now (who doesn’t?)! That’s one way we found Saint Penelope- when she became a Christian she changed her name to Irene, so we’d likely do Penelope Irene, if only I can internally justify not using a Roman Catholic Saint as a first name … [then later I received this update from Cait] As for Penelope, we just found out it’s one of the top 40 names for last year so, sadly, it’s off our list. While we do have a Gabriel, which is ever popular, we tend to shy away from top 100 (or minimally top 50) names.”

So I was shocked to discover that Penelope’s in the top 40! How did that happen! It had barely cracked the top 1000 in 2001, talk about a meteoric rise! I’m sorry that Cait and her hubs have to cross it off their list, I love it! (And there’s a new holy one to use as patron: Ven. Ersilia Penelope Frey!) In its place, I wonder what they’s think of Philomena — it’s similar to Penelope to me, being long and starting with a P, and it’s a really Catholicky Catholic name — it might make a good replacement?

I’m also really interested in Cait’s dream that the baby’s name should have something to do with peace — I did a quick search on behindthename for names that have “peace” in their meaning, and the only one I thought they might be interested besides Irene was Salome. It means “peace” (related to “shalom”) and I posted a really cool tidbit about the name a while ago, which connects the name to Christmas — nice for a baby born this time of year.

Otherwise, I took to my Baby Name Wizard as I always do, looking up the names Cait and her husband have used and those they like/are considering as you know it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. Based on that research and my own mental files, these are my ideas:

(1) Liesse, Lourdes
These are, of course, the names of two Marian apparition sites, and I love them both. Liesse is so pretty with such a feminine sound; it’s a bummer it’s not as well known but I really like how unexpected it is. Lourdes has more use (like Lindsay daughter from My Child I Love You), and has such lovely nickname options like Lulu and Lola.

(2) Archangela
Reader Lisa alerted me to Bl. Archangela Girlani a while ago as a way of having an authenticated saintly connection to Eleanor (because the Helen connection is problematic), and I immediately loved her religious name! Archangela has a familiar feel, because of the archangels and the name Angela, and yet I’d never heard of Archangela as a given name before finding out about Bl. Archangela — familiar yet uncommon is such a great combo!

(3) Anne-Catherine
One of the Sancta Nomina families has a little girl named Anne-Catherine after Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich — I love this idea for this family! Cait’s older kiddos have, on the whole, fairly unusual names, and double names have an immediate “more unusual” feel to them, even if the names themselves are fairly “normal.”

(4) Sidony/Sidonie
During one of the very first consultations I did, I came across the name Sidony/Sidonie and was blown away by what I read about it: “this name was formerly used by Roman Catholics for girls born about the date of the Feast of the Winding Sheet (i.e., of Christ), more formally alluded to as ‘the Sacred Sendon’. Sendon or Sindon (from Latin sindon … ‘fine cloth’, ‘linen’) was used in Middle English for a fine cloth, especially one used as a shroud. The Sacred Sendon is supposed to be preserved at Turn [Turin] … Sidonie is not uncommon in France, and the Irish Sidney is probably really Sidony” (from one of my favorite name books, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names by EG Withycombe). The feast of the Winding Sheet is/was celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, and as Ash Wednesday this year is March 1, the Sidonie feast is Feb. 28, and since Cait’s little one is due in February, I thought it might be perfect.

(5) Charis
There’s a section in the BNW called “Exotic Traditionals,” which I often like to peruse for families like Cait’s who have used names like Magdalena, Socorra, and Augustine, as they have a lot of old religious and/or saints’ names that aren’t used so much anymore. Charis is one of them — it means “grace, kindness” according to behindthename.com and “favor, grace, gratitude” according to Merriam Webster, and I actually read about a family who used the name because it’s contained within the word “Eucharist” (and that element of Eucharist is the “favor, grace, gratitude” meaning of Charis). So pretty!

(6) Jacinta
This is another Exotic Traditional, and one I just love—Jacinta’s one of my favorite favorite names, I totally wish it had more play! I have it on my own list, and love the nickname Jess for it.

(7) Rafaela/Raphaela
There wasn’t a huge amount of overlap in the names similar to the names Cait and her husband like, according to the BNW (which is likely just because the BNW doesn’t look at the world with Catholic-colored glasses like we do!), but Rafaela was listed as a style match for Benedict and Raphaela for Maximilian, so I felt like I definitely needed to suggest it! Such a pretty name, and not as matchy with Gabriel as if they used Raphael.

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for the little sister of Aquinas, Gabriel, Magdalena, Maksymilian, Augustine, and Socorra?

Special for you, on the feast of St. Nicholas ❤

December 6, 2016December 6, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Baby name consultant, Gift ideas, St. Anne

Happy feast of St. Nicholas to you all!! Isn’t it fun to have this little taste of Christmas a few weeks in advance? 🎅🎄🎁

Last night, on the eve of the feast, I finished a novena to St. Anne, in which I included all of you, with special mentions of those of you who are moms and dads or who want to be; those of you who are struggling with infertility, or struggling with taking care of the children you already have; for your babies here on earth and in heaven; and for any of you who aren’t married and would like to be. St. Anne is, after all, the patron of:

against sterility
childless people
expectant mothers
grandmothers
grandparents
mothers
pregnancy
pregnant women
women in labour
unmarried women

among other things (here and here).

This is the novena I used (though I read it out of my Mother’s Manual, which I can’t recommend highly enough, it’s a treasure), and I always love how it says,

“Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted“

It gives me such hope to know St. Anne’s prayers for us don’t end with the end of the novena, but continue until our requests are granted!

I have another gift for you all: today I’m opening my consultations back up! 🎉🎉🎉🎁🎁🎁 Thank you all for your patience!

I’ve spent the last couple of months finishing up the consultations I already had, as well as trying to figure out the best way to go from a donation-based system to a fee-based system. I think I have it figured out pretty well, and while I’ll no longer be doing them for free, I really wanted to be sure that no one feels like a consultation’s outside their budget if they really need help. So, here’s the deal:

Ordinary Consultation: $50
(“Ordinary,” like “Ordinary Time”! 😂 #liturgicalliving)
An Ordinary Consultation is basically what my consultation posts look like — thorough and full of ideas. Specifically:

minimum 5 names for each gender (or 10 for one gender only)
guaranteed delivery of consultation within 3 weeks of your email request (or by your due date, if you’re due sooner than 3 weeks from when you email me)
if I miss that 3-week deadline (due to the unexpectedies of being a mom or other unforeseen circumstances), I’ll refund half your money and do the consultation as soon as I can
guaranteed public post before your due date if you’d like one (I’ll post them on non-Mondays if all my Mondays are full); private consultations are also fine

Mini Consultation: $25
A Mini Consultation consists of:

3 names for one gender only
guaranteed delivery of consultation before your due date (I’ll let you know how long I think it’ll take when you email)
a Monday post if available (if desired; private is also fine)

I’ve taken down my “Donate” button, and will send invoices instead, so if you’d like a consultation, please email me to let me know which one you’d like and your details (names you like and/or are considering; names of your other children; any other relevant info), and I’ll send you an invoice via PayPal.

Financial Aid
One of the things I like the most about the invoice system is that PayPal allows for invoices to be paid in installments, which is one way of helping make the consultations more affordable — you can pay as much or as little as you can until the full amount has been paid. (Be sure to let me know in your email if you’d like this option.)

I’m also happy to discuss alternative arrangements on a case-by-case basis, based on need — I don’t want anyone to feel excluded, Catholic name consultations are for everyone after all, just like the Church! 😁 — so please don’t hesitate to email me and see what we can work out!

Gift certificates are also available — I can make them up as needed (deliverable via email) if you’d like to give them (or receive them!) as gifts.

I thank you all for your enthusiasm and confidence in regards to these consultations! I’ll be grateful until the day I die that something I’ve loved for so long (i.e., names, and thinking of ideas for other people) is actually of value to others, and I feel blessed beyond measure that I’m able to share my love of our faith through my blog. ♥♥♥

Happy happy St. Nicholas Day!!

Baby name consultant: “Nothing is too strange if it honors a saint”!

December 5, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Irish names

Today’s consultation is from a dad, which I always love! Chris and his wife Ali are expecting their fifth baby, their third boy, who joins big sibs:

John-Paul Padraig (“Named for St. John Paul the Great. We decided to hyphenate the name in order to try to ensure that he was always called John-Paul. We really emphasize with him that John-Paul is his name and quickly correct anyone who calls him John or (shudder) JP. Padraig is an Irish twist on my own middle name “Patrick” that my wife permitted as a middle name after I called our baby Padraig for the entirety of his time in the womb. I have no desire to name any of our children [Junior] so this is as close as we’ll be getting to that“)

Jude Peregrine (“The first of two children whose names were largely influenced by their due dates. In the fall of 2010, my father was diagnosed with AML and after failing to achieve remission with his first chemo, the decision was made for him to undergo a stem cell transplant, which we were told would have a 20% five year survival rate. When we found out we were pregnant with our second son, God wowed us when we found out his due date was November 8th, my father-in-law’s birthday and the day that my father received his transplant, a day many in cancer treatment call a patient’s “New Birthday”. We debated back and forth between the name we gave him and a very close second “Thomas Albert”, in honor of our two fathers (my father’s middle name and my father in law’s first name). We also thought Thomas Albert was just swell because of the connection between St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas. In the end we went with Jude Peregrine, in thanksgiving for my Dad’s health and to honor and ask the intercession of St. Jude (patron of hopeless cases) and St. Peregrine (patron of cancer patients). By the way, 6 years later and my father has beaten the odds and remains cancer free. Praise God!“)

Mary-Teresa Agnes (“Our second “due date” baby name. In 2008, just when Ali and I were beginning to seriously date, Ali’s mother, Teresa, suddenly and unexpectedly died from complications of a serious infection and subsequent pneumonia from influenza. Clearly, one of the most difficult times in her life and the life of her family. God’s grace flowed even from this tragedy, as it brought Ali and I closer together rather than splitting us apart, as it could have. Ali’s mother went to Jesus on March 24 of 2008. While God wowed us with Jude’s due date, he floored us with Mary-Teresa’s due date. Though she ended up being born earlier due to the need for a c-section for placenta previa, our due date was March 24. Though we went back and forth on the combinations of the names, we knew we wanted to name our first daughter after our two Mothers in Heaven (Mary our Lord’s Mother being the other) We also took the opportunity to honor one of St.John Paul II’s buddies, as we ended up with Mary-Teresa Agnes, in honor of our two heavenly Mothers, with a nod to Blessed Mother Teresa as well combining it with the middle name“)

Zelie-Louisa Brigid (“Probably our most unique name, and I absolutely love it. No due date connection, but as we were nearing the canonization of the parents of St. Therese, this name became a necessity in our eyes in the light of the secular attack and redefinition of Marriage that were going on at the time of Zelie’s birth. She was named in honor of them and in the defense of Sacramental Marriage, which we are given the opportunity to evangelize about any time people ask about her name’s origin. Brigid was my second touch of Irish – how could you not love a saint who prayed for a lake of beer?!“)

Aren’t these names and stories amazing?? I love each one! Each so thoughtful and purposeful and fantastic! Of course you know I love the Irish bit, and the lake of beer is one of my mom’s favorite stories. ☺☘

Chris continues,

“We would love if you could help us with some advice regarding the name of our upcoming baby #5. In the past, my wife, Ali, and I have been extremely good at deciding baby names at the last minute, or even after birth, once calling a “Baby Name Conclave” in the post-partum room at the hospital. While this process, in my opinion, has produced some excellent names, I think we’d both love to be able to have a definitive before our next child is born.”

(A “Baby Name Conclave”!! 😂😂😂)

“As far as #5 goes. Heaven help him and us! I would summarize my views on names by saying that NOTHING is too strange if it honors a saint. I am also all for a traditional saint name if it it makes sense and has deep meaning or intercessory purpose to it. I also love throwing in Irish saints or touches as well. My wife, Ali, is a bit more wary of stranger names, though honestly and oddly enough she pushed for Zelie more than myself (though now I can’t imagine anything else for our second daughter).”

(“NOTHING is too strange if it honors a saint”!!! 😍😍😍)

Names they’ve considered in the past for boys include:

Thomas Albert (“as above“)
James Gerard (“the other combination of our father’s first/middle names“)
Andrew Edward (“who would be named after my Best Man and priest Father Andres Gutierrez (Ali wouldn’t go for Andres I believe, so Andrew would be as close as possible), and my late Grandfather Edward who was probably the closest to a living saint I’ve ever known“)

Names that Chris particularly likes include:

Ambrose Augustine
Andrew Edward
“I also like Seamus, Dominic (Dom), Marcellinus (Linus), and potentially Vianney
I would also be interested potentially in somehow incorporating Fulton Sheen or Emil Kapaun … Finally, some of my favorite writings include those of St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose, St. Bernard. I’ve also been known to throw out ancient/old/odd enough names as Irenaeus, Ignatius, Aloysius, Majella, etc“

Names that Ali particularly likes include:

Henry (“[for] John Henry Newman, but we already have a John-Paul“)
Francis (“I REALLY do not like that name much“)
Joseph Benedict (“clear intent there“)
George

And in order to help with inspiration, these are some girl names they’ve considered in the past:

Lucy Perpetua (“perpetual Light“)
Anne/Annie
Margaret (“Maggie“)
Molly (“though Ali may blackball this“)

This was really fun to work on! So looking through Chris’ explanations of his kiddos’ names, Jude’s runner-up — Thomas Albert — strikes me as so handsome and full of significance, so I love that idea for he and Ali for this baby, as well as James Gerard, Andrew Edward, Ambrose Augustine (the editor of Catholic Digest, Danielle Bean, has an Ambrose Augustine!), and Joseph Benedict — all those combos are great! I do hesitate though over James and Joseph as first names, since their two other boys also have J- first names. Or maybe that kind of thing doesn’t bother them?

As for the other names I love Seamus (if Ali would go for it, I love the idea of Seamus Gerard instead of James Gerard) and Dominic (I’m a lay Dominican), and I’m interested in Linus as a nickname for Marcellinus — very cool! I wonder if they would consider just Linus?

Unfortunately, Vianney and Majella are all girl to me — the former because of blogger Lindsay Boever’s beautiful daughter Vianney; the latter because those of my name books that list Majella say it’s a girl’s name (and one of my older books particularly says it had decent use in Ireland). That might not matter to them, but I think it’s something they need to know and accept before moving forward with either of those names for their son. (I do know a little boy whose middle name is Vianney — that might be a nice way to work in the name.)

I wonder if they’ve considered Fulton as a first name? And that same Lindsay that I mention above has a little boy named Kapaun! So that’s an option too. We named our miscarried baby Ignatius and I sometimes think of him as “Natey” so I have a soft spot for Ignatius as a first name. 🙂 Actress Cate Blanchett has a son named Ignatius, too, and I believe he goes by Iggy; I’ve also seen Nash. I guess I tend to think of Ignatius as the most usable of those ancient/old/odd names Chris mentioned (Irenaeus feels a bit feminine to me because of Irene; Aloysius will never be spelled right), but those are very subjective opinions of course — I will always encourage all of you to completely disregard me if you love a name I’ve said something potentially negative about!

I love Henry! I assume Chris’ concern is that people would automatically tack “John” onto the front of it in their minds (their last name is very similar to Neumann), and then wonder why they named two sons after saints who have John as their first name? I can see both Chris’ and Ali’s perspectives on Henry, and I’m interested to see what you all think.

Bernard could be great I think! Old, obviously saintly (which I think is what they want), and I know a Bernard who goes by Ben, so they could do that too, which I love!

I’m guessing Francis and George are not huge contenders, since Chris said he really doesn’t like Francis, and he uncharacteristically made no comment on George. I wonder what they’d think of the Irish Francis — Proinsias — perhaps as a middle name? George also makes me think of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati — apparently Giorgio was what he preferred to be called, so maybe they’d like to consider that as a first name? (Though of course that’s not even close to being Irish … going back to George for a minute, Geordie is a traditional Scottish nickname for it, and I hear Geo sometimes too, both of which are super cool.) I also heard of a baby Frassati recently!

As far as new ideas, because they’ve considered due dates in the past I went through the feast days for Dec. 23–Jan. 14 (the baby’s due early January) on CatholicSaints.info to see if there are any saints whose names I thought might be a great fit for them. There are actually a whole bunch!

— One of the Holy Ancestors of Jesus: Their feast day is Dec. 24, and I did a post on Jesus’ genealogy a while back … from that I like for this family Isaac (there’s St. Isaac Jogues too), Boaz (I love Boaz!), Jesse (except for the J- thing) … I also did a post on Mary’s genealogy and I love Joachim (but J) and Simeon (and there’s also Simeon in the temple).

— Any Christmas name! I wrote about a bunch here, here, and here (and an Advent one here, in case the baby comes early)

— St. Stephen the Martyr’s feast day is Dec. 26, and he’s great and all but my favorite thing about Stephen is the way Danielle Bean (the same one who has an Ambrose Augustine!) did it — she named her son Stephen Matthias — they’re next to each other in the Eucharistic Prayer and I love the way they sound together!

— St. Thomas a Becket’s feast is Dec. 29, and I know they’re already considering Thomas, but what about Becket? Cool name!

— There are three Irish saints on Jan. 1 that I thought would be great for this family: Brogan, Colman mac Ronan, and Colman Muillin of Derrykeighan! Colman was actually a name I was going to suggest to them anyway! It’s a good Irish name with the possibility of the awesome nickname Cole.

— Jan. 2 is Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and Doctors of the Church. Such heavy-hitting guys! I see Basil from time to time in the families that I come across through the blog, and Gregory’s one of my faves — Greg is overly Brady for a lot of people, but I like the ideas of Rory (which Chris might love because Irish!) and Gus (perhaps for Gregory Stephen? Gregory Aloysius?) as nicknames for it.

— The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is on Jan. 3 — lots of good possibilities there, see the Christmas articles I pasted above.

— St. John Neumann (different than John Henry) has his feast on Jan. 5! I don’t suppose that’s helpful though … And St. Simeon Stylites is Jan. 5 — I mentioned above that I love that name (I really do!).

— Jan. 6 is the Epiphany! (Or at least it used to be, but I still consider it to be so, because my son was born on Jan. 6 and I love that he was born on the Epiphany 🙂 ) Great names for the Epiphany are the names of the Three Wise Men: Balthazar, Casper/Caspar/Gaspar/Jasper, and Melchior, and all of their feast days are also Jan. 6.

— Another saint with a feast of Jan. 6 is Felix of Nantes … and Felix of Heraclea is Jan. 7 … and Sts. Felix of Nola and Felix of Rome are both Jan. 14 … backing up, Felix of Bourges is Jan. 1 as well. So Felix is a big winner for this family date-wise!

— I don’t know how they feel about the name Atticus in light of the new To Kill a Mockingbird book (Go Tell a Watchman), but it’s such a cool name and Atticus of Constantinople’s feast is Jan. 8.

— Dermot of Inis Clothrann’s feast is Jan. 10 — how about Dermot? I really like it — I think it’s one of those really Irish names that’s doable outside of Ireland (not like its Irish counterpart Diarmiud).

— Nicanor of Cyprus is also Jan. 10 — I feel like I could really see Chris liking Nicanor! He’s one of the seven deacons chosen by the Apostles themselves, and a really fun twist on the Nic- names.

So those were all my ideas based on some likely dates of the baby’s birth, but I have a few more ideas for too (of course! 😁), based on their taste in names and my own ideas. You all know that I almost always start a consultation by looking up in the Baby Name Wizard the names the parents have already used and those they like/are considering as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. Based on that and my own mental files, these are my additional ideas:

(1) Kolbe
Kolbe is for St. Maximilian Kolbe of course, and I think it’s perfect as a brother to all Chris and Ali’s kiddos! I don’t know if you’ve seen the Sibling Project I’ve been working on, but I did an entry for John Paul to see what names the readers and I considered to be style matches (basically trying to fill in some of the holes in the Baby Name Wizard, as it doesn’t have John Paul as an entry), and Kolbe, Jude, and Mary (alone or as a double name) all made the cut! And if I were to do an entry for Kolbe itself, Zelie would totally be one of the style matches. So I think Kolbe is a great fit for this little guy.

(2) Campion
To continue with the last-name idea for a minute, I think Campion could also be a great fit, for St. Edmund Campion. I’ve also always loved Cam as a nickname for a boy, and Campion’s a great saintly way to get to it.

(3) Eamon
Speaking of St. Edmund Campion, maybe they’d like the Irish form of Edmund, Eamon? Danielle Bean (of Ambrose Augustine and Stephen Matthias fame) also has an Eamon!

(4) Bosco
Another last name! Though Chris might have the same issue with Bosco as he does with Henry, because of course we’re talking about St. John Bosco. But I love it!

(5) Xavier
Ditto Kolbe, Campion, and Bosco: Xavier’s another great saintly surname, but it’s had enough use as a first name that it has less of a surname feel.

(6) Malachy
I wonder if they’ve ever thought about the name Malachy? It’s the name of an Irish saint, very similar to the name of the prophet Malachi, and I think Mac can totally work as a nickname, I love it!

(7) Leo
My last three ideas were the result of trying to think of Irish names that weren’t *too much*. Leo is papal and saintly, a really really great name for a little guy and a grown man. That -o ending is hot right now too! I know, you’re all probably thinking, “But Leo’s not Irish!” And of course you’re right, but in my super Irish family there are loads of Leos, so to me it’s Irish. 🙂

(8) Brendan
Brendan is a great one — I think it’s obviously saintly to most people, and certainly Irish … blogger Colleen Martin recently named her sixth boy/seventh baby Brendan (they also have a John-Paul!).

(9) Timothy
And finally Timothy — nice and biblical like John, Paul, Jude, and Mary, and with a definite Irish feel. I love Timothy; Timmy’s great for a little guy; and Tim’s solid and handsome for a man. Great name!

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What would you suggest to Chris and Ali for their little boy?

Baby name consultant: Rainbow baby needs a meaningful name

November 28, 2016November 28, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Catholic baby names, French names, Rainbow baby

Today’s consultation is for a bilingual family living in Canada who are expecting their fifth baby — a little boy. The mama writes,

“I am Belgian (francophone) and my husband is American (anglophone) and we live in Montreal, a very bilingual city. We might very well come back to the US eventually, but we need to consider that our kids could live in a French speaking society as well. We want our kids’ names to be written the same in both languages as much as possible (at least their first names), but we don’t mind if the pronunciation differs (so no Luc/Luke, but Colin was ok). We want them to have a clear patron saint.

[Because of our last name] I have a little problem with names ending in “elle” because of the repetition.

Our fourth baby died of SIDS last August and I have been toying with the idea of honoring him in our “rainbow” baby’s name. Maybe by including St.Gerard who allowed us to baptise Thomas 3 days before his unexpected death? Our 5th child is expected for early December.”

What a sadness this family has been through! I really like the idea of using a Saint’s name who had a special connection with the baby in heaven, and I have some other ideas how to connect to their little Thomas as well (below).

Their older kiddos’ names are:

Claire Marie-Therese
Vincent Nathaniel
Colin Matthew
Thomas Francis

I love each one! Such a handsome set of names!

The mama continues,

“We’re not really excited by anything we’ve thought up yet, and I admit I actually have a hard time bonding with this new little one and spending time thinking about it. Maybe an awesome name will help! I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas!“

I’m so happy we can help this mama by coming up with name ideas!

Alrighty, so jumping right in, you all know that I almost always start a consultation by looking up the names the parents have used and those they like in the Baby Name Wizard as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity (according to the American naming landscape, which may not be so accurate for this family, but hopefully it’s helpful!), and I was somewhat surprised when I looked up Claire, Vincent, Colin, and Thomas, as there was more overlap than I expected! These parents have very consistent taste!

Okay! Between my research in the BNW and my own mental files, these are my ideas for this family’s new little guy:

(1) Blaise
My first few ideas are based on style matches for the other kids as listed in the BNW. Blaise is similar in style to Claire and Vincent, and it gets a good amount of love from families I hear from/talk to. And it’s a French name! I assume it’s pronounced the same in French and English?

(2) Julien
Julian did quite well for this family as well, being similar to Claire and Vincent. It’s a great name for a boy, and I think it would fit in well with the other kids. I assume they’d prefer the French spelling Julien?

(3) Grant
I was surprised by Grant! It’s a match for Claire and Vincent, and I was thinking that, if Mom and Dad liked it, they could attach a meaning to it that would be quite appropriate for them, and could be a nod to their Thomas. One possibility might be in Job 6:8, when he says, “Oh, that I might have my request, and that God would grant what I long for” (which is consolation in knowing he never disobeyed or disrespected God, even though he went through “unremitting pain”). Another is the beginning of the Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” I think both speak in a gentle and wonderful way to the sadness of losing their Thomas.

(4) Tristan
Tristan was another match for them (Vincent, Claire) that I thought might be nice as a nod to Thomas because of starting with the same first letter—some families honor others this way. Then I remembered that its meaning is often associated with sadness, which could be perfect, or maybe falls too much into the “burdensome for the new baby to bear” category. I am loving Tristan Gerard.

(5) Bennett
My last idea for this family is Bennett. It’s a variant of Benedict (Benedict seemed a bit too heavy for them I thought), which means “blessed” — a lovely meaning for a rainbow baby. It’s also a style match for Claire!

And those are all my ideas! What do you all think? Given these parents’ older kiddos’ great names, and the loss of their little Thomas, what would you suggest for their little boy?

Baby name consultant: “Geek Catholics” need help naming No. 3

November 14, 2016November 14, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Catholic baby names, Geek names, Scandinavian names

It’s always fun for me when I’m able to post a consultation for a frequent commenter, and today is such a day! Julia (whose handle here is ethelfritha!) and her husband Ben are expecting their third baby — a little boy! He joins big sibs:

Petra Jeanne
Corwin Matthias

Can you believe those names?! So great!!

Julia writes,

“I’ve been a longtime reader and now I am so excited to ask you for advice myself! My name is Julia, but you may recognize me as commenter Ethelfritha, which is my internet alias for reasons that are very silly. Anyway, my husband Ben and I are hoping you (and your readers!) can help us out with names for our baby [boy], due in mid-January.

Ben and I have relatively similar naming tastes, or at any rate, we’ve come to understand each other’s tastes and have worked out a mutual style. First of all, we are HYUUUUUGE geeks. While I would love to say that we named Petra after one of the many wonderful St. Peters, that would not be 100% accurate in the sense of being true. In fact, we actually named her after Petra Arkanian from the sci-fi novel Ender’s Game (although of course we are thrilled that she has so many saintly patrons as well!). Her middle name, Jeanne, is for St. Joan of Arc, both mine and Ben’s confirmation saint.

Corwin is an old English name (in the same family as Edwin and Godwin), but Ben actually found it in the fantasy series The Chronicles of Amber. I haven’t read it, so we can’t really say we named him AFTER that character, but it was certainly the inspiration. Matthias is from the Redwall character (and the 13th apostle.)“

I have to admit I read Julia’s email with a big ol’ grin on my face — what a cool couple, I love that they just own their geekiness! 😎

Names that they’re considering for their little guy include:

Victor (“our top for a boy, but we’re only meh about it“)
Theo (“we don’t like Theodore and do like Theo, but are hesitant to give a nickname as a given name. We don’t really like Leo, which otherwise might be a good alternative“)
Christian (“we like this so I included it, but we probably won’t go this route since Corwin has a very similar sound“)

BUT

“We definitely need more boy name ideas! We’re just not crazy about any of the ones we’ve come up with.

In general we like shorter names with strong consonants, and usually prefer a harsher (for lack of a better word) sound (Ruth, Victor, Sigrid) over a softer, more Latin-inspired sound (Isabella, Sophie, Francis).

We don’t typically go for traditional Irish names (Liam, Patrick, etc.) Not that we don’t like those names, they’re just not really our style.

The names don’t have to be saints’ names, but we’d like at least one of the names (either first or middle) to be connected to the faith in some way.

Names with a geeky connotation are a plus, but hardly necessary!

We are willing to go pretty far out there with middle names.

No names beginning with a J, please.”

Also, it’s worth noting for inspiration purposes that some of the girl names they like are Ruth, Sigrid, and Ada (for the first computer programmer Ada Lovelace).

So first off, how great is it that St. Joan of Arc is the confirmation saint for both Julia and Ben!! I love that!!

Second, I had a total blast working on this—looking up “geek names” was so fun! I love the Catholicky Catholic names—obviously!—but I started the blog because there was a hole in regards to Catholic names, not because I don’t love other names—I looooove other names too! And Julia and Ben are great examples of one of things I think is so great about blogging about Catholic names—people who think “I hate the names Mary and Joseph and will never give those kinds of names to my kids so that’s one more thing about the Catholic Church that’s irrelevant and outdated and uncool and one more reason for me to turn my back on the faith” are shown that actually, that’s one impediment that doesn’t exist! Names of ALL kinds can have saintly connections! And if your favorite name doesn’t, that’s what middle names are for!

Okay! Rant over! Haha! 😀

I do just have to say that as much as I love names of all kinds, I don’t feel as confident in coming up with names outside of the names connected to the faith, so I’m not sure my ideas will be quite right!

That said, based on the names Julia and Ben have used and like and their science fiction, fantasy, and computer programming connections, I did lots of research on names having to do with those areas and found some amazing sites! Between A History of Computer Programming Languages, An Overview of Computer Programming, and A Brief History of Computer Programming Languages (#Infographic), I gave myself a quick education on the people involved with the history of computer programming and Ada’s confreres and came up with what I thought were some great ideas. Then I looked up fantasy names (being familiar with some—LOTR, A Wrinkle in Time, e.g.—but not sure which works Julia and Ben consider appealing [is Star Wars too mainstream? Harry Potter? Game of Thrones? Too recent? Comic books/superheroes? Video games? Are they a fan of Big Bang?]) and found some brilliant resources!! Like:

Fantasy Name Generators (this site is ah-MAZ-ing!! So! Many! Names! And all sorts of ways to search for just what you’re looking for! I actually found it really overwhelming, especially since I wasn’t totally sure what I was looking for)

What’s in a name? A lot when it comes to fantasy

Sci-Fi Names (another that requires a lot of time to sift through, but otherwise seems great!)

Geek Names (I love this one too and have used in the past. Great resource!)

Geek and fandom mamas!!!

Geek Chic Names for Boys (there’s also Geek Chic Names for Girls)

Geeky Baby Names That Won’t Scar Your Kid for Life

Uncommon Baby Names: Classic And Quirky Ideas For Geeky Parents

Fairytale/Fantasy Names

So if my thoughts aren’t quite right, Julia and Ben have a lot of good resources for their own hunting! The last one there is a post on the babynamewizard discussion forums, which would also be a great resource for Julia and Ben — I think the readers there would know exactly the right names to suggest for them—the only reason I know Ender’s Game, for example, is because I see it pop up in the comments over there from time to time. There are computer scientists there too and scientists of all kinds really—they happily think of themselves as geeks, which I just love! (But they’re not so great with the faith connections.)

I also did my usual research in the Baby Name Wizard book to see what suggestions it had for siblings of Petra and Corwin, taking Ruth, Ada, Sigrid, Victor, Theo, Christian, Jeanne, and Matthias into consideration. That’s where it became clear to me that Julia and Ben definitely seem to love Scandinavian-type names! Some that were suggested as good matches for them that I didn’t think were quite right included Astrid, Casper, Elsa, Gunnar, Ingrid, Lisbeth, Konrad, and Pim. Great names all! But too similar to Corwin or Petra/too soft/too weapon-y, etc.

But I came up with a bunch of other ideas that might work — like, a lot of other ideas. I maybe went a little crazy. But it was so fun to find each new name that I thought might be perfect, and my list just kept getting longer … and since it was just for boys and not for both girls and boys I’m just going to go ahead and include them all here!

(1) Theoden, Theodred
They love Theo but don’t care for Theodore … Theo can stand on its own, but Julia and Ben might be interested in Theoden or Theodred? From LOTR? I really wanted to suggest Theon too—I was reading about Sr. Thea Bowman recently and discovered she chose her religious name after her dad, Theon. It was the first time I saw Theon as a name outside of Game of Thrones, and I love its meaning (related to “God,” as is the Theo- in Theodore); when I looked it up I discovered it’s also the name of a second-century Greek philosopher and mathematician, as well as a saint. Very cool! But I do think the GOT character has irreversibly tainted it, at least for now.

(2) Charles
I know Charles is probably really plain and maybe even boring to Julia and Ben, but I was thinking of mathematician and pre-computer programmer Charles Babbage, and Charles Wallace from A Wrinkle in Time, and Charles Xavier from X-Men (looove this one!), and I just had to suggest it. I thought maybe Karl was more their speed, but it’s probably too similar to Corwin, right?

(3) Hollerith
I was really intrigued by inventor (“widely regarded as the father of modern automatic computation”) Herman Hollerith’s last name because it reminds me so much of Julia’s handle ethelfritha! I don’t know what to do with that except it might be fun as a middle name nodding to both Herman and, in a funny way, Julia.

(4) Murray, Hopper
I was sorry that computer scientist Grace Murray Hopper’s first name is so common—so cool to see another woman in the mix! But I thought her second and third names would be great for a boy’s first or middle, or a girl’s middle. Actors Sean Penn and Robin Wright (Princess Bride!) have a son named Hopper.

(5) Pascal
I wonder if Julia and Ben have ever considered Pascal?? It’s one of my very favorite ideas for them!! It’s the name of a programming language, which was named after Blaise Pascal, which is also a really cool reference, and Pascal means “Easter” and there’s also a St. Pascal Baylon … I’m totally loving Pascal!!

(6) Linus/x
Is it too weird to consider the name of computer operating system Linux? Because otherwise I LOVE it! Linus to me is all papal (the Peanuts connotation has long faded for me, but I know I’m in a naming bubble), and I totally think Linux could work as a nod to St. Linus as well as the language. (Also, in case any of you are cringing every time I say “programming language” or “language,” I don’t actually know what I’m talking about, so I apologize!) The name Sixtus is translated into Italian as Sisto, so I would take that as a precedent for X’s and S’s sometimes being interchangeable.

(7) Sander
Speaking of X’s and S’s being interchangeable … the Dutch and Scandinavian Alexander short form Sander seemed to me one that Julia and Ben would like. I didn’t actually find it in any other research than my normal BNW research, so I don’t know if there’s any geeky connection, but it just sounds to me like it would fit in with all those names! And of course there are loads of Sts. Alexander.

(8) Lando
My oldest boy said to me recently, “Did you know there was a Pope Lando?” And I was like, “There was not!” and of course then he went and proved me wrong—Pope Lando was also known as Landus or Landon and was pope from 913–914. There isn’t much known about him except he had a Star Wars name centuries ahead of its time!! 😀

(9) Monty
Monty Python is a whole geekiness in and of itself—and maybe not quite Julia and Ben’s taste? But I saw that the Python language was named for Monty Python, and Monty’s a really cute nickname. Montgomery’s the normal long form, but I think Monty can also stand on its own.

(10) Rossum, Rasmus
Rossum is for programmer Guido Van Rossum—it struck me as similar enough to Ross that it could work as an unusual first name. Rasmus is for programmer Rasmus Lerdorb, and it’s actually a name my husband and I considered a time or two, as his mom’s maiden name was Rasmussen. Rasmus is the Scandi version of Erasmus, which is the name of several saints.

(11) Ged (Gerard)
I saw Ged in a listing of fantasy+sci-fi writer Ursula LeGuin names, and while I know she’s supposed to be amazing, I’ve never read anything by her and I’m totally unfamiliar with her characters. So I have no idea if Ged’s a good guy or not, but I’ve seen it suggested as a nickname for Gerard, so I love the idea of Gerard nn Ged or Ged on its own with St. Gerard Majella as patron.

(12) Hugo
Hugo’s got lots of great geek cred! It’s the name of Ron and Hermione’s son in the last Harry Potter book, and the annual awards for sci-fi writing are called Hugos! It’s also the name of a couple of saints … do be warned though that it’s increasingly in popularity across Europe.

(13) Rupert
Rupert is a form of Robert, and St. Robert Bellarmine’s a great patron! I didn’t find any connection to any geeky thing except that Rupert Grint plays Ron in the Harry Potter movies, but it still struck me as the kind of name Julia and Ben would like.

(14) Arthur
How about Arthur? It’s from Camelot of course and A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and has that old British-y feel I get from Corwin.

(15) Tycho
Tycho is for astronomer Tycho Brahe, and I see it regularly pop up in name discussions by science nuts. I love the sound and look of it, and there’s also St. Tycho of Amathus!

(16) Remy
I really really really like Remy for a boy (though I do know sometimes it’s used for girls … maybe Julia and Ben would like to consider it for a possible future girl?). It’s X-Men character Gambit’s “real” name, and a variant of Remigius, of which there are several so-named saints.

(17) Tobias, Tobit
Tobias was a big winner for Julia and Ben in the BNW, but I don’t know … maybe it’s striking me as softer than they would like? It’s also the “real” name of the Divergent character Four, which I’ve found tends to annoy people rather than appeal to them. Tobit is similar and said to be a form of Tobias, but it’s got a harsher, more abrupt sound, which I suspect they’d prefer. It’s biblical (Book of Tobit) and I consider it Catholicky Catholic since the Book of Tobit isn’t included in Protestant bibles.

(18) Wolf
Wolf was actually suggested a bunch of times for this family in the BNW! It’s so cool and edgy, kind of Wolverine but also Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It can be spelled Wolfe or Wulf, and I’ve also seen it as a nickname for Wilfred. I could see Wilfred and Corwin being smashing brother names! There’s also a St. Wilfred of York.

(19) Bram, Ambrose
Finally, Bram is one of my own personal favorite names. I saw a name dilemma on BabyCenter ages ago (like ten years ago!) for a family who had three boys already: Jack, Finn, and Bram. I fell in love with that brother set! Of course we’ve seen Jack and Finn both surge in popularity, so maybe Bram will too, but I don’t see it discussed that much, and I still think it’s awesome. It’s a Dutch short form of Abraham, and also the name of Dracula author Bram Stoker (though I think his name is said BROM, rhymes with bomb, while I prefer BRAM, rhymes with lamb). If Julia and Ben don’t like Bram on its own—or if they don’t like it at all—Ambrose was a style match for them, and of course it’s super saintly, and I’ve often thought Bram could be a nickname for it.

(20) Boethius
This one doesn’t fit the science/fantasy/computer geek vibe, but it does for anyone who geeks out on philosophy and the faith. And I die over the nickname Bo! This post and its follow-up provide good arguments in favor of Boethius.

I also think this post on theologian+science/nature names might be inspiring, just in general.

Whew!! That might be one of the longest consultations I’ve ever done! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the little brother of Petra and Corwin, born to parents who are self-professed “HYUUUUUGE geeks”? 😀

Baby name consultant: Name needed for no. 6, a boy!

November 7, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Irish names

Amanda and her husband are expecting their sixth baby — a little boy! Little Mister joins big sibs:

Faith Cecilia
Bennett Luke
Maya Evangeline (“Maija is the Finnish form of ‘Mary’ but we Americanized it since our last name gets mispronounced All. The. Time.”)
Catherine Felicity (“Cate”) (twin of Jude)
Jude Xavier (twin of Cate)

I just love these names, each one and each combo, as well as the whole feel of these names together — Amanda and her husband have done such a great job!

Amanda writes,

“We’re due with #6 and were hoping you could help us find ‘the name’. We seem to have partially exhausted our naming mojo… 😀 We love classic, Saintly, and somewhat uncommon (though not unheard of) … Hubby is crazy picky and vetoes almost everything right off the bat but once it has time to percolate, there usually emerges a frontrunner or at least an avenue worth pursuing. 🙂 Last name rhymes with ‘yellow’ and we have Finnish, Italian, and French heritage that we sometimes try to incorporate (but not a must). We have some particular devotions (St. Francis Xavier, St. Cecilia, and St. Maximilian Kolbe, also my hubby, a convert, LOVES St. Eliz. Anne Seton) but those are not a must either.”

Names they’ve considered for this little guy include:

John (“paired with something more out-there like Augustine or Ignatius“)
Maximilian
Simon
Dominic (“middle name only“)

And this worry regarding using John:

“At this point, I think [John Augustine is our frontrunner] … having a Jude and a possible John (or a Jack, depending) right in succession sort of tweaks my name senses, especially since we haven’t had a pattern thus far.”

Okay, so first off, my heartiest support is for their frontrunner of John Augustine, with the strong suggestion to nickname him Gus! That way they’d have the incredible John+[something-out-there] combo (I think John+ is SO handsome!!), but they don’t have to worry about John/Jack following Jude. I knew a little boy growing up named John who went exclusively by Gus (just because his parents liked it—he didn’t have a Gus middle name or anything), so a John that goes by Gus isn’t crazy to me, especially with his middle name being the origin of Gus. Or really, any John+ name with a nickname for the middle name being the everyday name. John Ignatius could be Iggy or Nate; John Maximilian could be Max or Miles … I love this idea!

Regarding the devotion Amanda and her husband have to St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Elizabeth Anne Seton (ignoring Sts. F.X. and Cecilia for the moment, since they’ve already used their names), Kolbe and Seton could both be really great first name or middle name options as well. I like John Kolbe. And John Maximilian for that matter. Simon Kolbe. Dominic Seton. Or even Bailey, since that was St. Elizabeth’s maiden name.

I looked up the names Amanda and her hubs have used and those they like/are considering in the Baby Name Wizard for some new ideas, as the BNW lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity, and came up with the following ideas:

(1) Owen
You all know I love the name Owen, and the saint Nicholas Owen! So I was excited to see that Owen’s a match for Faith, Jude, and Simon!

(2) Cole or Colin (or Kolbe?)
Like with Owen, Cole and Colin point to St. Nicholas for me, as they can both be considered variants of Nicholas — could be St. Nicholas Owen, or jolly St. Nick, or whoever! Cole’s a match for Jude and Colin for Simon. (Cole also reminds me of Kolbe … I wonder if they would be interested in Kolbe as a first name?)

(3) Gabriel
Gabriel’s a match for Faith, Xavier, and Dominic, and while I was initially hesitant because of the -el of Gabriel running into the el- sound at the beginning of their last name, I’ve said it over and over a few times and I think it’s 1000% fine and no need to fuss about it at all. I love the name Gabriel!

(4) Miles
Miles is actually a match for Bennett, and you all know how I’ve been pushing it on people for a long time! Haha! I discovered that Miles is used as the anglicized form of the Old Irish name Maolmhuire, which means “devotee of the Virgin Mary”—a totally legit Marian name for a boy!

(5) Roman
I never would have thought of Roman for this family, but it showed up in my research as a match for Maximilian and Dominic. I love that it calls to mind (for me anyway) the Pope, the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Church … I posted a birth announcement for a little Roman here, and Cate Blanchett (who also has an Ignatius!) has a Roman.

And those are my ideas for this little guy! What do you all think? What would you suggest for the little brother of Faith, Bennett, Maya, Cate, and Jude?

Baby name consultant: 3rd boy/6th baby needs traditional name with possibly jazzy middle

October 31, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Nicknames

Blair, who blogs at Blair’s Blessings and started a Facebook group last year called Catholic C-Section Moms (be sure to check it out if you need support/encouragement/advice/prayers!), and her husband are expecting their sixth baby — their third boy!

This little guy joins big sibs:

Mary Clare (goes by both)
Elizabeth Ann Marie “Ellie”
Steven Joseph, Jr.
Thomas William
Katherine Maria Grace “Katie/Katie-Grace”

Of course I love each of these names — how can you go wrong with such classic, saintly names?!

Blair writes,

“As you can see, we like rather traditional saint names! We like some biblical names (for example Rebekah or David) but aren’t sure how well they’d fit with the others. I think we’d prefer a more obvious saint name as the first name. I like the children having a unique first initial, but could budge on that.

So far, the boys’ names are family names. Our first son is a junior and the other son is named after both grandfathers. But Peter has always been my husband’s favorite. In fact, it was the name of our first son throughout the pregnancy until a few days before he was born (he even has a bag monogrammed with Peter!).

None of the names seem to really jump out at me right now, so I’d love some more ideas! … maybe they just need a good middle name to liven them up. This will also be my 6th c-section, so the name game helps to distract me and get me excited for the big day when we will meet this sweet babe, God-willing! Thanks for your ideas!“

(Isn’t that a funny story about her oldest boy, Steven, having been Peter during the pregnancy so much so that he has a bag monogrammed with “Peter” on it?!)

The names on their list include:

Top two contenders:
Peter (“my husband’s favorite, but we have a hard time with middle names that fit“)
John Paul (“we met Pope St. John Paul II for a newlywed blessing in 2002, but it’s definitely popular among our Catholic homeschool circles“)

Others we like, and possible middle names:
Michael
Matthew
Patrick
Edward
David
Jacob

(Sooo jealous of their newlywed blessing from JP2!! 😍😍😍)

Names on their no-go list for various reasons:

Andrew
Caleb
Joshua
Francis

And for inspiration, the girl names they considered include

Jane
Theresa/Therese “Tess”
Rose/Rosemarie/Rosalie
Caroline
Anna

Alrighty, first of all I wanted to address the concern that David might not go so well with the other kids’ names. When I was doing my research for Blair (you all know that I usually start a consultation by looking up the names that the parents have used and like/are considering in the Baby Name Wizard as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity), I wasn’t at all surprised to see that David was listed a style match for both Steven and Thomas! I know a couple of Stephen+David brothers and Thomas+David brothers, and with St. David being a fairly popular saint (patron of Wales, in addition to the biblical David), yeah — I’d definitely keep David on the list if I were Blair!

I also loved Blair’s thought that maybe they “just need a good middle name to liven up” some of their ideas, so I wanted to spend some time on that. The first idea I had was Peter Xavier — it’s a combo I came across when working on my Sibling Project — one of the readers offered that they know a Kateri who has a brother named PeterXavier (double first name, all one word, no hyphen), and I immediately loved it! I think Xavier is so cool in the first or middle spots — no cooler initial than X! — and putting it in the middle I think really makes the first name sparkle. They could also do something like Peter Giorgio, for Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati — I don’t know if they have any Italian heritage, but I don’t think Italian heritage is necessary to use Giorgio in the middle as an honor name for a specific person who went by Giorgio. I also know a little Peter Karol, after JP2 of course — it basically translates into “Pope John Paul,” right? Peter=pope, Karol=John Paul! Or Peter Charles, for JP2 as well? It could be a first name+middle name, or they could do a double first name like Mary Clare.

As for Blair’s idea of “John Paul (or another double John name),” I’ve become more and more convinced that double John names are some of the very best—they remind me quite a bit of the Mary doubles, where Mary can stay part of the everyday name (like their Mary Clare) or it can just be on forms and the girl can go by her middle name, and either way it adds a little Marian dazzle which is awesome. I find it a bit harder to bling out a boy’s name without it heading toward the feminine side, but John+ names are always good for that. This post has a whole lot of John+ ideas!

If they love the idea of naming after JP2 but are wary of using John Paul itself because of all the little John Pauls they know, there are other ways Blair and her hubs might like to nod to him. I suggested Peter Karol or Peter Charles above, and I quite like Charles as a first name for this family as well. I know it’s not as obvious as John Paul, but that can also be its strength as well, as it might be less used among the families they know. Another idea, which I just loved when I first read it, is to use his childhood nickname of Lolek as a nickname for Luke—a reader suggested it here and I thought it was brilliant! I love Luke as a brother to Steven and Thomas—nice and biblical, and I basically consider Luke to be a Marian name because his gospel’s the most Marian; it’s also a style match for Jacob, Tess, and Clare. Or Lolek as a middle name? Peter Lolek? Anyone who knows anything about JP2 would get the reference right away I think, and though I’ve seen Lolek used here and there, as far as I can tell it’s pretty rare.

Another idea I had was to do with Michael on their list — I’ve long liked the idea of something like Michael Alexander or Michael Xavier with the nickname Max — not only can an interesting middle name “liven up” a more comfortable first name, so can an interesting or unexpected nickname! Michael is definitely “comfortable” — handsome, traditional, established, masculine, saintly — but a Michael nicknamed Max gives it a twist! Or, this book, as well as a bunch of other places online, argue that one origin of Miles may be as a contraction of Michael. So Miles on its own could be a Michael name or, as I would love for Blair, a nickname for Michael (and you all know one of the other origins of Miles, which I die over and push on people all the time — an anglicization of the Irish Maolmhuire=”servant of the Virgin Mary” … so Michael nicked Miles could be a St. Michael+Marian name all in one!). Or an idea that I’ve recently loved is something like Michael Oliver nicknamed Milo (or really, Milo could be a nickname for Michael even without an O middle name). So many fun options!

But of course, offering interesting nickname ideas isn’t what Blair asked for and I suspect it might not be her style, so I’d love to hear all your ideas for spicy middle names!

As for first-name ideas for this little boy, I thought these might also fit Blair and her Mister’s style:

(1) Robert
Robert jumped out at me right away as a name that just *felt* right for this family. It’s also a match for Mary (standing in for Mary Clare, since Mary Clare doesn’t have its own entry in the BNW), Thomas, Elizabeth, Jane, Theresa, David, and Peter—a great fit! My husband used to tease me mercilessly that his naming style is “Bob,” and so for a long time I totally disregarded Robert, but more recently I’ve been digging it. I think Robert on Downton Abbey helped, and of course St. Robert Bellarmine is awesome, and I’ve been loving recently the unusual nickname ideas of Rory and Bo, but I’m not currently hating Robby either.

(2) Gregory
Gregory is really tied with Robert for me, as a suggestion for Blair. I love love love the name Gregory! It seems from conversations I’ve had that Greg really interferes with a lot of couples taking the plunge with Gregory, but alternatives include Grey, Rory (just like Robert), and even Gus with the right middle (like Gregory August or Gregory Samuel). St. Gregory the Great is an awesome patron, and I love what the BNW says about the name: “Popes, saints, and Gregory Peck! Can a name get any more distinguished?”

(3) George
Suggesting Peter Giorgio above made me think of George, as well as Pope Francis’ pre-papal name being Jorge=George. It’s a match for Mary, Rose, and Edward, and is just as sophisticated as the rest of Blair’s kiddos’ names.

(4) Henry
Finally, Henry, which I think is one of the sweetest names for a boy. It has impeccable saintly credentials—check out its spotlight here. It’s a match for the equally gentlemanly Charles, George, and Edward, as well as Caroline, and its traditional nickname Harry is a match for Tess.

And those are all my ideas for Blair’s little boy! What do you all think? What would you suggest for Mary Clare, Ellie, Steven, Thomas, and Katie’s little brother?

Baby name consultant: Tori Spelling’s No. 5

October 27, 2016October 27, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Irish names, Tori Spelling

I know, you’re all thinking, “I thought she was on a consultation hiatus!” and I am — still plugging away — but when my sister-in-law texted me the other day that actress Tori Spelling is expecting her fifth baby, I perked right up like a prairie dog (does that image make sense to you? You know how prairie dogs sort of stand up, like they’re on alert? That’s what I always picture myself doing when I hear that someone’s expecting a baby! 😂😂😂) because I looooooove Tori Spelling’s name taste AND I’ve had ideas for her for ages! So it’s taking me like five minutes to put together this post. (I’m hoping to get back on the new-consultation train soon!)

Her older kiddos are:

Liam Aaron
Stella Doreen
Hattie Margaret
Finn Davey

I love the Irish feel of her boys’ names; I love the old-fashioned chic of the girls’ names — Stella’s currently at a peak of popularity, but the last time it was similarly popular was the early 1900s, which is when Hattie was most popular (and they were at similar rankings back then); I love that they all incorporate family names (Aaron is Tori’s dad, Doreen is her mother-in-law, Davey is Tori’s own middle name and a family surname if I remember correctly, and I don’t remember what connection Margaret has); I love how they all go really well with big brother Jack (from her husband’s first marriage). Seriously, she’s done a great job.

My SIL encouraged me to post about it, and then I read Tori Spelling Has Been Great at Baby Names but Now She’s Stumped (baby’s gender is as yet unknown), so here we are!

That article suggested Owen for them, which I think is a fantastic suggestion — I think it’s a great name for Jack, Liam, and Finn’s brother, both style-wise and popularity-wise. I’m not as much a fan of their suggestion of Charlotte — gorgeous name, but it doesn’t feel quite right to me for them. I really wanted to suggest both Greta and Daisy — Greta because it has the same old Hollywood feel I get from the combo “Stella Doreen” especially (like Greta Garbo), and Daisy because it’s sweet and nicknamey like Hattie — but since they’re both variants of Margaret (Hattie’s middle name) I thought they weren’t the best suggestions (though if she chose either one I’d be delighted!). Instead, this is what I think would be great if they had a baby girl:

(1) Mabel

Mabel was one of the top names of the first decade of the 1900s and currently has a similar popularity arc as Stella and Hattie. Such a sweet name!

(2) Georgia

Like Mabel, Georgia also has a similarity popularity path to Stella and Hattie, both in the early 1900s and currently. It’s sweet for a little girl and sophisticated for a woman.

(3) Ruby

Ditto all of my comments on Mabel and Georgia for Ruby! It’s got the right profile all around for this family.

(4) Greer

Greer is the only name that’s off, popularity wise, from the others — it’s actually never been in the top 1000 — but 1940s actress Greer Garson inspired me.

I’m sure Tori doesn’t need middle name ideas, since I’m sure she has more in her family tree that would be great, but I was particularly loving the idea of Eleanor as a middle, for what it’s worth.

For boys, I was as much inspired by their Irishy theme (perfect with last name McDermott) as I was with their four-letter theme (which Owen fits in with perfectly):

(1) Milo

Jack, Liam, Finn, and Milo seem like an awesome set to me! (Or Miles, if they don’t mind losing the four-letter thing).

(2) Bram

Ages ago — like ten years ago — on BabyCenter there was a name poll for a family who had three boys already: Jack, Finn, and Bram. Ohhh my, I loved that set — so much so that I remember it all these years later! So I’m suggesting Bram. Love it.

(3) Declan

I think Declan most closely matches the popularity arc of Jack, Liam, and Finn as a set. It’s a great name!

(4) Connor

Connor is most like Jack in its popularity — pretty steady at about the middle of the top 100 — and it’s amazing with McDermott.

If I had to choose a middle name, I’d probably consider either Dean (unless it’s Jack’s middle name) or Patrick.

I’d love to hear your ideas for the Spelling-McDermott family!

Baby name consultant: Mom likes “weird,” meaningful names for no. 6

October 24, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Mary, Spanish names

Maria and her husband are expecting their sixth baby — a little girl! Little Miss joins big sibs:

Rose Gianna (“she’s named after my husbands grandmother, but St. Rose of Lima was the first saint of the America’s [thus first child] and I wanted her to be a strong woman and selfless, like St. Gianna. Her confirmation saint is St. Joan of Arc, again with a strong female Saint“)

Sofia Magdalena (“Sofia is wisdom and Magdalene was the Apostle to the Apostles and the penitent woman. I wanted her to be full of wisdom and be a voice to the world, and again she hast chosen St. Teresa of Calcutta for her confirmation Saint in a couple of years“)

Gemma Anastasia (“pronounced Hemma and the Spanish version of Anastasia, I’m Hispanic and the “G” is a “H” sound; St. Gemma Galgani was a beautiful girl and for my third daughter I wanted her name to be queenly and beautiful“)

Sebastian David (“he is the beautiful Roman soldier and boy king. He likes to be referred to as the King 🙂 “)

Thaddeus Jacob (“my grandmother has a devotion to St. Jude Thaddeus and literally translated Thaddeus is “to God” and then he is the beloved son, the second born“)

I love every single one of these combinations!! Such a great bunch of names, and so meaningful, each one!

Maria shared that she’s had trouble conceiving because of some health issues, but with this baby has this wonderful story:

“2 weeks before my positive pregnancy test, I sat in Adoration crying and asking God to please let me get better soon so I could have a baby. I read through 1 Samuel and the Canticle of Hannah and I made a silly promise that whenever He deemed it time for me to have another baby, the middle name would be Samuel or Hannah. Lo and behold 2 weeks later two lines show up. I feel like I’ve been given a miracle and when I announced it on FB I did so with this verse:

1 Samuel 1:15-20

15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman sorely troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD.
16 Do not regard your maidservant as a base woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”
17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have made to him.”
18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer sad.
19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ra’mah. And Elka’nah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her;
20 and in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the LORD.”“

So beautiful, right? I just love stories like this! And I don’t think it’s a silly promise at all — I think it’s lovely to thank God in such a beautiful way.

The two names that Maria and her hubs have talked about are:

Lorelei Hannah
Ruth Hannah

And if the baby had been a boy, they were considering Beckett Samuel.

Additionally,

“I like to have my children’s names to mean something or instill in them virtues through their patron saints … I have very romantic notions about names and I love to have stories behind them … I like weird names, last names (for boys mostly) Old Testament names or names with special meaning to the situation.”

“Weird names” are right up my alley, so you know I totally rubbed my hands together delightedly and my mind started clicking!

I did find Hannah somewhat challenging to work with in terms of pairing it with a first name in a pleasing combo, but I think I came up with some good ideas.

Lorelei and Ruth are both great ideas for a baby girl! I was pretty surprised by Lorelei, just because it doesn’t have a saintly connection and all Maria’s other kiddos’ first names do, but of course the first name doesn’t have to be a saint’s name. I really like the flow and sound of Lorelei Hannah. Ruth is so sweet, and Ruthie is one of my favorite nicknames, lovely! I did wonder if Rose and Ruth are too similar, being that they both start with R and have four letters? And their middle names both contain Anna? But with Rose at the beginning of a large family and Ruth at the end, it probably doesn’t matter much at all.

You all know that I almost always start a consultation by looking up the names the parents have used and those they like/are considering in the Baby Name Wizard as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. Using that research and my own mental files, taking into account that Maria likes “weird” names 😀 , these are my ideas for this family:

(1) Araceli
As soon as Maria said she’s Hispanic I started thinking of the Spanish names I know that might suit, especially those that don’t end in -a (as I don’t think ends-in-a names have a great flow with Hannah), and Araceli is one of my favorites. It comes from the Latin for “altar” and “heaven” and refers to Our Lady as the Altar of Heaven. So beautiful, right? Marian names are my favorite! .

(2) Damaris
Damaris is actually a style match for Thaddeus, and it’s also on the list of Latina names in the BNW, so it seemed a spot-on suggestion. It’s the name of a woman in the New Testament who was converted by Paul, and Lindsay at the blog My Child I Love You and her family use it to mean “of/belonging to Mary,” which I just love. There’s a Food Network chef named Damaris Phillips who pronounces it da-MARE-is, but I know DAM-a-ris is also acceptable.

(3) Caeli
Caeli can be said CHAY-lee (which is how it’s said in Church Latin) or KAY-lee, and means “heaven” (same as in the “celi” part of Araceli); it’s most recognizable I think as part of the Marian title Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven).

(4) Penelope
Penelope is a style match for Lorelei, and I love how it sounds with Hannah. For a long time there wasn’t any faith connection, but in September 2015 Pope Francis made Ersilia Penelope Frey a Venerable!

(5) Ruby, Scarlett
I’m listing these two together because their faith connection is similar — I discussed Ruby here and both Ruby and Scarlett here and here. I love how Ruby Hannah and Scarlett Hannah sound, and Scarlett was also a style math for Beckett.

(6) Verity
Verity means “truth” and is an awesome name for a little Catholic girl. It also flows really well with Hannah.

(7) Felicity
I almost didn’t include Felicity because I didn’t think it was weird/unusual enough, but I ultimately decided to because of how well it goes with Hannah in my opinion. It means “happiness,” which is an awesome meaning for a little one, and it goes especially well with Maria’s conception story. St. Felicity is great too.

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for Rose, Sofia, Gemma, Sebastian, and Thaddeus’ little sister?

Baby name consultant: Mary, music, and ends-in-a

October 17, 2016October 17, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Mary, Musical names, Nicknames, Spanish names

Mary Dove and her husband Gerry are expecting their seventh baby, a little girl! This little lady joins big sibs:

Maria Paloma (“which is Mary Dove in Spanish, she goes by Paloma“)
Isabella Maria (“goes by Bella, Bellita, Izzy“)
Juliana Marie (“Jules, Juice Cup, Julie Dear“)
Nicholas Matthias (“Nick, Nicko, even Nicodemus which I almost wish we named him because I have come to love it, he was named after Gerry’s Confirmation name, since he didn’t want a Jr.”)
Dominic Karl (“Dom, Domo and Domodemus; Karl is after my dad, Dom was almost Donovan but Dominic felt right“)
Augustine Raphael (“Gus, Gusto, Auggie; Raphael after Gerry’s dad“)

Just an amazing bunch of names! (And those nicknames! “Juice Cup”! 😀 ) I love them all, but I especially love that Maria Paloma has her mom’s exact name, just translated into Spanish — particularly interesting in light of our conversation about girls named after their moms the other day. (Also, the fact that Gerry “didn’ want a Jr.” makes it sound like Mary Dove would have been okay with that — further evidence for the idea that many of the boy Juniors are Mom’s idea!)

Mary Dove shared lots of fun namey info:

“I’ll start with me, since my own name needs some explaining. My name is Mary Donovan Z. My mom nicknamed me Mary Dove (like Mary Beth or Mary Jo) and it stuck. My family and close friends call me Mary Dove or Dove. I am part Irish/Scottish and German. My husband’s name is Gerry (Gerald) Micheal, he is European Spanish/Mexican and English/German. I like to have names that reflect family heritage and also the person’s appearance

A couple of things we do with our kid’s names, the girls have a Marian name in their names and the first name ends in the letter a because it flows with our last name (but having a name ending in A is not an absolute). 2 of our kids have blue eyes and freckles and burn in the sun (yup, that’s the Irish) and the other 4 have various light skin tones but tan and have green/grey/hazel eyes. 3 are slender and 3 are stocky (aren’t genes cool!!)

The boys have middle names that are family names. We also use nicknames a lot.”

I just died over Mary Donovan –> Mary Dove or just Dove. So great!

Regarding names for their Little Miss,

“[W]e will probably use Monica, as that is a family name and though not Marian, I think I might count it as Marian-ish. Gerry is partial to Felicity. I kinda like Pia (because I love Padre Pio). I prefer actual saint names but have considered the names Hope and Grace, too … [also] perhaps a variation on Bridget [after Mary Dove’s sister] … we are a bit of a musical family and was wondering about musical type names. My sisters and I had an a cappella singing group as teens and I play (though not really much now) the harp, Scottish bagpipes, and piano. My girls all play piano and each a string instrument (cello, violin and viola) my husband is learning guitar and Ukulele! (How cute is that? If you have older kids, the Ukulele is the cutest little instrument and quite easy to learn!) I like the name Cecelia but that seems to be the quintessential Catholic music name and plus I have a friend whose daughter is named Cecelia. Are there any other musical names out there??“

And a name that Mary Dove really likes but can’t use as it’s the name of her niece:

Anneliese

Alrighty, I’m going to jump right in with a few quick thoughts about the names Mary Dove and her hubs are currently considering: I love Monica, and I’m interested in her Marian-ish idea — I assume she means because it’s the name of a holy mother? I admit I’ve never heard that argument given before for the name Monica! But if her name calls Our Lady to mind for them, who am I to say it’s not Marian-ish!

I love the name Felicity, and I wondered what they’d both think of Felicita? It’s a legit variation (Italian) and retains their ends-in-a pattern. And speaking of Felicity/Felicita, of course I always think of Perpetua too, and I’ve heard of several little girls recently named Perpetua who go by the nickname Pia, which is a name Mary Dove said she likes — maybe they’d like to consider that as a way to use Pia, and it could also be a nod to St. Pio? Also, Our Lady is described as “pia” in the Salve Regina, so it can be a Marian name too. Maybe Monica Pia? And then they get a Marian name, their St. Pio name, and Monica all in one? (Though Mary Dove’s clever Juliana heard “onomatopoeia” when she heard Monica Pia — deal breaker? Or kinda cool?)

Before I get to my other ideas, I have to say I’m a bit stumped about the music question! I looked up patron saints of music, as there are usually several saints for each category/condition/etc., but there was only one listed besides Cecilia — St. Arnulf of Soissons, which didn’t strike me as terribly inspiring (though he himself is pretty awesome). I did see that a Frisian (from Wikipedia: “The Frisian languages are a closely related group of Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. The Frisian languages are the closest living language group to English languages“) variant is Anne, used for both girls and boys and said AH-nah, so I thought maybe Ana or Anna would work as a nod to St. Arnulf? Or are they too close to Anneliese?

I looked up patron saints of singers and had a little more success: St. Andrew the Apostle, King David, and St. Gregory the Great (Gregorian Chant is named after him) are all patrons of singers. Of those, Andrea would fit in well with the other girls’ names (and it’s a style match for Monica!), and I’ve seen Andra and Andrina as well. Greer is used as a feminine form of Gregory — it’s from a Scottish surname derived from Gregory, which is a nice nod to Mary Dove’s Scottish heritage. I don’t think it would work as a first name for this family, but maybe as a middle?

I had the most luck with “saints who were singers” — there are a lot of them (the full list here); these were three of my favorite ideas for them:
— Bl. Anne Pelras (that “Anne” again!)
— Bl. Chiara Badano (looooove Chiara for this family! It’s Italian instead of Spanish, but ends in -a and is so lovely, like the other girls)
— Bl. Marie-Gabrielle Trezel (Gabriela would be a perfect fit!)

And then I had the idea of Aria — as it refers to “song” or “melody” in Italian, and ends in -a, and is beautiful — and looked to see if there was a holy Aria, and there is! St. Aria of Rome! (The Game of Thrones character Arya Stark, said the same is Aria, is good to be aware of though, as some might think the name was inspired by her.)

Okay! I did a full round of research for girl names, where “research” means, as you all know, looking up all the names they’ve used and those they like/are considering in the Baby Name Wizard, which is an awesome resource as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. I also went through my own mental files, and here’s what I came up with:

(1) Jacinta
Bl. Hyacinth-Marie Cormier is one of the blesseds who was a singer, and Jacinta — which I’d already had on my list for them! — is a feminine variant of Hyacinth (and actually Hyacinth can be used as a female name as well — see the Pioneer Woman’s best friend Hyacinth). I’d say it jah-SIN-tah, the English way, and I assume Mary Dove’s Juliana is said with an English J? But they could also do hah-SEEN-tah, it’s gorgeous either way. And it’s also Marian-ish, since Bl. Jacinta Marto was one of the Fatima children.

(2) Lilia, Liliana, Lilli
Lilies are associated with Our Lady, and so the Lily names are Marian. Lilia’s one of my very favorite variants, and Liliana’s another (and is actually a style match for Juliana — but maybe two names ending in -ana is too much?). Lili and Lilli are German variants that are specifically diminutives of Elisabeth (as Lily is a traditional nickname for Elizabeth), which is cool, but like with Juliana/Liliana, are any of the Elizabeth variants too much with sister Isabella? I think no, since one could choose a Lily name just because of the flower or Our Lady without any intention of connecting to Elizabeth. (Lillian is also a style match for Isabella, and Lily for Bella).

(3) Magdalena
I love this variant of Mary Magdalene’s name — it ends in -a like the other girls’ names, and has the beautiful nickname options Maggie (which has an Irish feel), Maddy, and Lena.

(4) Victoria, Veronica (or Cora?)
Victoria is a style match for several of their names — Juliana, Nicholas, and Sebastian — and I’ve recently been loving it as a nod to Our Lady of Victory. I’ve also seen the nickname idea Cora for it recently, which not only makes Victoria feel a bit fresher, but can also be a nod to either the Immaculate Heart of Mary or the Sacred Heart of Jesus (“cor” in Latin means “heart”). It made me think of Veronica, which is another gorgeous V name and a great saintly connection. I actually think Cora could also work as a nickname for Veronica, as well as Vee and Via (but not the Nic- names, of course, because of Nicholas. The traditional Ronnie feels a little dated to me, but if they like it that’s another nickname option). I’m also loving just Cora, as a given name!

(5) Natalia
Natalia also did quite well for them in my research, being similar in style to Juliana, Nicholas, Dominic, and Sebastian. I love the name Natalia, and I think Nat, Natty, Talia, Tally, Nia, and Lia are all sweet.

(6) Britta, Breda/Brida
My last girl idea for this baby girl is Britta, 100% inspired by Mary Dove’s sister Bridget, as Britta is a variant of it (and it ends in -a!). I love Britta, and another awesome tidbit is that it’s a style match for Pia! I’ve also seen Breda and Brida as variants/anglicizations of the Irish Bríd, which I believe is said “breed” and is an Irish contracted form of Brighid, which is of course a variant of Bridget.

And those are all my thoughts/ideas for this baby girl! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for this beautiful family?