Birth announcement: Astrid Beatrice!

I posted a birth announcement for Natalie’s first baby a few years ago, and I’m thrilled to share that she’s had another beautiful baby girl! This little lady has been given the gorgeous name … Astrid Beatrice!

Natalie writes,

“Astrid Beatrice was born last Friday. The nurses kept saying how perfect and ‘happy’ her heart rate was during labor and that got me back onto Beatrix/Beatrice which I’d previously moved on from. That, in combination with that she was born exactly a year after a pretty decelerating miscarriage, seemed like a good name. Plus Beatrice is a saint!
My husband preferred the “ice” ending over “ix” and I was fine with that. So she is our “beautiful bringer of blessings/happiness” to join older sister Margaret Sophia (our “pearl of wisdom”).
Thanks again for your thoughts and advice!“

Aren’t Margaret Sophia (who goes by Margot 😍) and Astrid Beatrice the most amazing pair of sister names?? What a wonderful job Natalie and her husband have done! It’s particularly fun that, as Natalie told me, Beatrice as the middle name was “an eleventh hour compromise surfaced that pleased both” she and her husband. That’s happened for me as well, and I’ve loved the feeling of relief that comes with *finally* finding the name that works for both parents.

Congratulations to Natalie and her husband and big sister Margot, and happy birthday Baby Astrid!!

My book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon (not affiliate links) — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life! (And check out my buy-the-book-get-a-consultation deal!)

Birth announcement: Thea Noelle!

March 5, 2021 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Christmas names, French names, Nicknames, Powerful patrons

Christa and I emailed a bit about names a couple of years ago, and I was so excited to receive an email from her just recently letting me know what name she and her husband had ended up choosing for her baby! They welcomed a little girl and gave her the gorgeous name … Thea Noelle!

Christa writes,

“We had a little girl on Dec 19, 2018. We decided to name her Thea Noelle. I really loved the name Therese … but was afraid that people would mispronounce her name for her whole life so when I heard a nickname for Therese being “Thea” I loved it! My husband wasn’t fond of this name … but I kept it on my list. We had come to the conclusion before delivery that our baby’s name (if she was a girl) would be Amelie Noelle. I loved the first name Amelie for all the reasons I discussed above in my email. But when the baby was born, she just was not an “Amelie” — it may have been her dark hair, or just something about her … but my husband looked at me and said “She is a Thea”. The final decider was that one of the Saints listed for December 19 was St. Thea of Alexandria. There couldn’t be a more clear sign in my head because I had went into labor on December 18 … but my baby girl had waited to be born just after midnight around 12:30am on December 19th. We loved “Noelle” because it was French and she was born so close to Christmas.
And there you have it… sorry this is such a delayed explanation of the name we chose. But…better late than never!
Thank you for the gift of this naming ministry! I’m so grateful for your assistance in our road to naming our sweet girl. And two years later we feel the name fits her perfectly!“

Isn’t that such a great story?? And HOW COOL that she was born on the feast of St. Thea of Alexandria!! Wow!!

Congratulations to Christa and her husband and big siblings Elodie and Donald (on earth) and Olive, Alouette, Bennett, and Michel in heaven, and happy belated birthday Baby (Big Girl) Thea!!

Birth announcement: Agnes Therese Marie!

December 23, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Powerful patrons

I’ll be off the blog from now until New Year’s, when I’ll post my annual Year In Review post — I hope you all have a very merry and blessed Christmas!!

Monica and I have had many namey conversations over the years, including a consultation I did for her fourth baby and birth announcements I posted for that baby and two more (here and here)! She just emailed me to let me know she’s welcomed another baby, with another amazing name — a little girl named … Agnes Therese Marie!

Monica writes,

“I thought I’d share an update with you. We welcomed another little girl to our crew three weeks ago … Agnes Therese Marie! We didn’t know the gender prior to her arrival and while we were going back and forth on boy names we had been set on Agnes for a girl from the start of the pregnancy. I love her name and feel like it’s a great fit with her siblings.

Cora was confirmed this summer and chose St Therese as her patron. We decided to ask her to be Agnes’s godmother, so it is extra special that Agnes and her share Therese as part of their namesakes.”

What a beautiful name for this baby girl!! And I love those special connections Cora will always share with her baby sister — being both her godmother and sharer in the patronage of such a powerful Saint. Such a blessing for both of them!!

Congratulations to Monica and her husband and big siblings Cora, Levi (with Jesus), Regina, Fulton, Edmund, and Hildegard, and happy birthday Baby Agnes!!

Agnes Therese Marie with her siblings and at her baptism ❤

My book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon (not affiliate links) — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life!

Birth announcement: Philip Charles!

December 23, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Powerful patrons

I did a private consultation for Courtney and her husband a few months ago, and I’m excited to share their baby news with you! They had a little boy and gave him the fantastic name … Philip Charles!

Courtney writes,

“We really loved doing the name consultation with you — it was fun to have another person’s perspective on names and nicknames we had been thinking of. Thanks for all the great suggestions.

We went into the hospital with Elizabeth Helena as our girl name. We had considered Helen but loved your suggestion of Helena for the extra “sparkle” And Philip Charles as our boy name. We felt like Philip is easier to keep as the call name and it fits with the other boys names.

We’re thrilled to introduce: Philip Charles. His name Saints are St. Philip Neri, Pope St. John Paul the Great, and St. Charles of Austria.

All you Holy men and women, pray for us!“

I absolutely love the names Philip and Charles, and all those patron saints!! Three of my favorites!! So wonderful!!

Congratulations to Courtney and her husband and big siblings George, Margaret, Walter, Oscar, and Matilda, and happy birthday Baby Philip!!

Birth announcement: Ann Margaret!

December 10, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Nicknames, Powerful patrons

I did a private consultation for Kate and her husband in the fall, and I was so excited to hear that she’s given birth to her fifth baby — her fourth daughter! They gave her the simply wonderful name … Ann Margaret!

Kate writes,

“I am happy to report that baby girl FINALLY arrived last weekend! (All of our babies have gone until 42 weeks, and it’s always a struggle at the end. My husband suggests the name Perpetua at the end each time 🤣)

Up until she was born we had the name Elise Hildegard picked out, but as soon as she was born she just was not an Elise! Funny how that works since I’ve never felt that way before!

We settled on the name Ann Margaret, after her great grandma, and it just fits her bright eyed little face so well! And I love how it fits with her siblings: Jacob, Grace, Claire, Lucy and Ann! Bonus is that their names are all short enough that they all still fit on our Christmas card 🤣

We’ve been calling her Annie-Peg and it cracks me up but is also an adorable nickname!“

Isn’t Ann Margaret just so sweet and sophisticated at once? Stunning! And I’m totally dying over Annie-Peg!! And, as I told Kate, I just love the name story — to be almost Elise Hildegard (also stunning!) but end up Ann Margaret, based on, as Kate said, her “bright eyed little face” — I love that so much! And I agree, her name goes so well with her siblings’ names!

Congratulations to Kate and her hubby and big brother and sisters Jacob, Grace, Claire, and Lucy, and happy birthday Baby Ann (Annie-Peg)!!

Birth announcement: Judah Abraham!

November 24, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Powerful patrons

Happy Thanksgiving week! I hope to post again tomorrow, but just in case I’m not able to, I want to be sure you know to check back in on Friday to see my Black Friday deals!

I posted a consultation for Monica and her husband last year when they were between babies, and I’m so happy to share that they’ve just welcomed a baby boy and given him the tremendous name … Judah Abraham!

Monica writes,

“I wanted to let you know that we just had our first boy! Judah Abraham was born earlier this week.

Judah had been in the mix, but not as a front-runner until this baby came into existence and we couldn’t settle on one of our other front runners.

We also officially found out about this baby on the feast of the Annunciation, and he was due in Advent, so I wanted a name with a Joyful Mystery/Advent connection. Judah fit the bill and suited our taste — less common but not totally unheard of, strong sound, multiple great faith connections. Although the biblical character of Judah himself is not the strongest patron, we like that the name represents the faithful line of Judah, Jesus himself, and then also Judas Maccabaeus and St. Jude. We have chosen Judas Maccabaeus as his primary patron. Ironically, he was born early and missed Advent altogether, but we liked the name anyway. :-).

We waffled a LOT on his middle name. It wasn’t settled until after his birth. We … considered several other names, mostly either “strong” sounding options like Alexander or Blaise, or other Hebrew names like Daniel or Isaac, because my husband likes the way they flow with Judah.

Abraham wasn’t on our radar for a middle name at all. It had been thrown onto our list as a curveball first name option that we didn’t consider very seriously, but that was the only time it had come up. (My list is over 100 combinations long, so it was never a serious contender.) After Judah was born we were revisiting options, and my husband threw out Abraham. We liked it and it was a fresh, bold option, so we just went for it! Abraham is both of our favorite patriarch, a strong father in faith, and we think it’s a pretty strong combo. It fits both the “strong” and the “biblical/Hebrew” sounding criteria.

Thanks for your consultation! A couple options from it were on my radar. I liked Roman, but couldn’t sell my husband on it. Judah was due near the feast of St. Nicholas, and if he was born then I was pushing for Nikolai as a middle name. 🙂 “

Such a fantastic name story for this little guy!! I really love all the reasoning behind Judah, and I always love hearing about a last minute name decision, like what happened here with Abraham — so fun to come up with a new “fresh, bold option,” as Monica put it!

Congratulations to Monica and her husband and big sisters Magdalene (Maggie) and Genevieve (Genny), and happy birthday Baby Judah!!

Birth announcement: William Daniel!

October 30, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Irish names, Powerful patrons

I posted a consultation for Kelly and her husband over the summer for their fourth baby boy, and I’m so happy to let you all know that their little guy has arrived and been given the “classic, strong, traditional” name … William Daniel!

Kelly writes,

“Sweet baby William Daniel was born this past Tuesday, October 13, the feast of St. Edward the Confessor and the miracle of the sun at Fatima!“

I love how exactly his name fits the “classic, strong, traditional” vibe Kelly and her hubby favor, and while I don’t know if the baby’s going by his middle name (Kelly had asked about the idea of the middle name as the call name), given that they wanted a cute nickname for their youngest boy and they also have an Irish sensibility, Danny Boy is a perfect fit for that, too. I also love Will/Billy/Liam and the full William — this baby has some great options! And what a great feast day to be born on!

Congratulations to Kelly and her hubby and big brothers Patrick, James, and Peter, and happy birthday Baby William!!

William Daniel

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 an affiliate link) — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life!

Birth announcement: Oskar Karl Wolfgang!

October 23, 2020October 23, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Bl. Carlo Acutis, Catholic baby names, German names, Oscar Romero, Powerful patrons

I had the privilege of doing a consultation for the second baby of longtime reader Alyssa and her husband several years ago, and posting a subsequent birth announcement for that baby, and I’m so excited to share that they’ve welcomed their third baby — a little boy given the fantastic name … Oskar Karl Wolfgang!

Alyssa writes,

“I’m happy to introduce Oskar Karl Wolfgang! As you know, with a husband named Klaus, we always go for German names and Oskar joins siblings Konrad Wolfgang, Louisa Marie and Hugo Wolfgang (in heaven). Oskar is a German name that we both liked, and Karl is after my husband’s brother. We were just going to stick with one middle name but our 6 year old, Konrad, was so adamant that the baby also share the middle name Wolfgang (he LOVES his middle name!), so we added it in. We’ve been calling him Oskar or Ozzie, or sometimes Ox because he was our biggest baby so far! His patrons are St. Oscar Romero, Bl. Carlo Acutis (I was in labor the day he was beatified and I prayed to him a lot throughout the process), and St. Wolfgang. You can never have too many patron saints, right?!“

Absolutely 100% right!! I love this name story, and I LOVE their style! In the previous consultation I’d done for them, I’d written that their first son Konrad’s name (Konrad Wolfgang) is “such an amazingly fabulous name! It’s bold, traditional, saintly, and I love how unapologetically German it is, and how they just own it!” — I feel the same way about Oskar Karl Wolfgang! They’ve done a fantastic job! I also love that Alyssa was in labor on the day that Bl. Carlo was beatified — an awesome new Blessed who just happens to have the same name (Italian variant) that Alyssa and her hubby had chosen as Oskar’s middle. Amazing! And how Konrad loves his middle name and wanted Oskar to share it, just like their little one in heaven does! And Ozzie and Ox! So wonderful, all of it!

Congratulations to Alyssa and Klaus and big sibs Konrad and Louisa (and Hugo in heaven), and happy birthday Baby Oskar!!

Birth announcement: Tristan Raphael!

October 20, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Angelic names, Catholic baby names, Marian baby names, Marian names

I posted a consultation for Nicole and her husband Brenden back in August for their tie-breaking fifth baby — a boy! — and Nicole has let me know her little guy has arrived! They gave him the tremendous name … Tristan Raphael!

Nicole writes,

“He’s here, he’s here!

We kept his name Tristan but went with Raphael as his middle because our family has experienced amazing healing by taking the leap of faith we took by relocating last fall.

Tristan Raphael Flynn arrived on 10/12/20 @ 1:22 pm weighing 7 lb 1.6 oz.”

Nicole had commented on the consultation post, sharing that Tristan was a name she loved, and she’d separately told me of some combos she was thinking of with Tristan, so I’m so thrilled that she and her hubby went with it! And I love Raphael as the middle name: Tristan Raphael is such a handsome combination!

Congratulations to Nicole and Brenden and big sibs Faith, Seth, Veronica, and Kieran, and happy birthday Baby Tristan!!

Birth announcement: Magdalen Gianna!

October 8, 2020 sanctanomina Birth announcement Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Powerful patrons

I posted a consultation for Laura and her husband last January, before they were even expecting their hoped-for ninth baby. They found out shortly after that a new little one was on the way, and I’m thrilled to share that the baby has arrived! They welcomed their third daughter and gave her the amazing name … Magdalen Gianna!

Laura writes,

“Baby made her safe arrival this afternoon!

So when no name was clicking I went back to calling her baby girl and decided to see what name felt right calling her.

One name that I felt really good calling her was Maggie. [Hubby] and I were married at St. Mary Magdalen and that’s also where I came into the church and I have so many wonderful memories of attending the early daily Mass there with my husband when we were engaged 20 years ago. The name Magdalen was a bit out of [his] comfort zone but I so wanted something special, meaningful and a heavy hitting Catholic name for this baby girl. [He] was smitten with Maggie, Mags, and even Magda.

St. Gianna … was an unbelievable intercessor for me this past year.”

Not only is Magdalen Gianna an amazing name, but it departs from a lot of the preferences Laura has had when naming her babies: she preferred that everyone have their own initial (now Magdalen joins big brother Mark with her M initial); she wasn’t as much a fan of nicknames as her husband (but she’s loving Maggie for Magdalen); she loved one-syllable names (Magdalen is the opposite!). As I told her, it’s so fun for me when parents completely change course and/or go back to the drawing board — I never would have foreseen her using Magdalen, but I think it’s so perfect! And paired with Gianna! And Maggie/Mags/Magda! I’m so delighted by this beautiful, unexpected name that’s definitely “special, meaningful and a heavy hitting Catholic name”!

Congratulations to Laura and her husband and big siblings Paul, Clare, Mark, Katharine, James, Andrew, Gabriel, and Thomas, and happy birthday Baby Magdalen!!