Two things happened recently that inspired this post: one was that a reader suggested I do a series on “the stories behind the names” — sharing the name stories of the children of any of you that would like to do so, whether you’ve had a consultation/birth announcement or not, which is an idea I love. The other was that another of you messaged me, “So I’ve shared bits and pieces about my daughter’s name with you, so I thought I’d just give you the whole big run down! I know you love name stories.” Perfect timing!

I’ve shared personal stories before, tagged either Name stories, Personal stories, or Real-life naming (little Meriam’s recent post is a perfect example), but I want you all to consider this an official invitation to send me your kiddos’ name stories, if you’d like to! I’ll run them when I have openings — I know I’d love to read them, and I’m sure all of you would as well!

So first up we have that mama who messaged me about her daughter’s name, and then she added in the info for her son’s name, and I’m thrilled to share their stories with you because they’re awesome!

Theresa and I follow each other on Twitter, and she has indeed shared bits and pieces of her daughter’s name with me before, so I loved reading the whole story!

“She’s Ruby Mae Anastasia. I liked the names Ruby and Mae independently of each other but one day (before we were even married!) my husband said, ‘What about the name Ruby Mae?’ I told him I loved it but that she needed two middle names (I have two and so we agreed so would each of our kids). Immediately he threw out Anastasia and we were set.

When we were finally pregnant, I actually wanted a completely different name for our first girl but this one kept coming back to me and eventually I gave in. Then all the weird coincidences started happening.

Ruby is both mine and my mom’s birthstone, so that was a nod to us. Mae is obviously a form of Mary and my mil’s middle name is Marie and my sil’s name is Maria, so a nod to all three of those ladies. Mae also means flower; my mil and I are both named for St. Thérèse the Little Flower, so that became another nod to all three of us. Then Anastasia is my other sil’s confirmation name, and then An- was a nod to my, my mom’s, and my maternal grandmother’s middle name Anne. But there’s more!

Ruby was due on Sept. 15 — feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This is where things get even crazier. I have a huge devotion to OLS, my paternal grandma died on her feast and *her* Mother was named Maria Delorosa and raised my gma and her siblings in Seven Dolors parish. My mom (and all of my dad’s family) are buried at Seven Dolors cemetery. So I *knew* that OLS just had to be her patroness and I consecrated Ruby to her in utero. But there’s more!

My paternal grandma’s name was Irene and her mom heard it on a radio program and fell in love with it. I first heard Ruby on a television show a couple years before I met my husband and fell in love with it. I consider that a special link between my daughter and my Gram.

And then you made me realize the connections between Ruby and the Sacred Heart and the Precious Blood, both of which I’m very devoted to, so I count those in her patronages, as well.

Literally all the women in my family are accounted for in Ruby’s name … and then she’s got some powerful patrons on top of that! It was just so perfect I love when a name just comes together like that and I *love* when they’re so full of meaning.”

Isn’t this amazing? I totally agree with Theresa — I love when when names come together like that, and when they’re so full of meaning.

I asked her if her son had an equally as great story and Theresa said,

“Not nearly as involved but yes! I’ve always wanted to name my first son Peter and hubby was totally on board. Peter is for two of my favorite literary characters — Peter Pan and Peter Pevensee — and then for St. Peter. His middle names are Leon and Gerard after his grandfathers. Leon is my fil’s middle and Gerard is my dad and his dad’s name. My name goes similarly — I’m named for my mom’s favorite saint and then my middles are for my gmas, one of their first names and the other’s middle; so we thought that was a nice connection. My dad’s brother never had any sons (neither did my dad, actually) but if he had, he would’ve named one Peter, so I think this is a nice nod to him, too, as I’m very close with that Uncle. But there’s more! Growing up, we didn’t live near either side of my family, so my bff’s grandparents ‘adopted me’ and I remained semi-close with them until their deaths. My adopted gpa’s middle name was also Leon, so that’s a nice nod to him! Peter likes to tell us he’s also named for Spider Man (Peter Parker) bc that’s his favorite character, sooooo we just go along with it 😂 Obviously, there are also Sts. Leo and Gerard that we invoke for his patronages as well.”

I just sigh with happiness over good name stories. 😊😍❤️ Thanks to Theresa for sharing this great info! And please feel free to share your own! Email me at sanctanomina at gmail dot com and write “Name story” in the subject.