Massive Mother’s Day giveaway!!❤️

May 7, 2019 sanctanomina Sancta Nomina community Giveaway

You guys: It’s the month of Our Lady (to whom this blog/social media is dedicated 💙), and the SSA 2018 baby name stats are coming out Friday, and Mother’s Day is Sunday, and next month is Sancta Nomina’s FIFTH anniversary!! I’m feeling so celebratory and thankful, and I wanted to do something a little bigger than usual for you all this year!

I’m so excited to announce a MASSIVE Mother’s Day giveaway!! I’m thinking of it as a “basket” of items, like what you might be given by all your sisters and best girlfriends for your baby shower or as a new mama gift, or like what you might bid on at a charity ball. I have an AMAZING assortment of items, including from some of my very favorite Catholic artisans, that will all go to ONE very lucky winner!! This Mama Basket contains:

My book of Marian baby names (signed or not, as you like, and I absolutely won’t be offended if you don’t want it signed!)
An Ordinary Consultation by yours truly (no expiration date — can you be used now or saved for later)
A Mother’s Manual (which I use all the time — it’s got all the prayers and novenas a mama could want, seriously)
This gorgeous, limited edition gold Our Lady of the Unborn “You’ve got this, Mama” motivation holy card from Paper Monastery
These so-helpful labor encouragement cards from Annunciation Designs (I had mine with me at my birth last fall!)
This amazing Marian muslin baby swaddling blanket from Annunciation Designs (I use mine alllll the time — as a nursing cover, as a sun shield over the stroller and car seat, as a blanket, as a burp cloth — I love it!)
This soft, chewable Decade Rosary Baby Rosary from Chews Life (my Luke loves his!)
These beautiful St. Therese sacrifice beads from Happy Nest Home Goods (ceramic beads with a vintage rose design!)
This stunning Marian wall calendar by Rose Harrington Art (I live and die by my calendar, and to have hand painted flowers for Our Lady featured each month?? Perfection. Also frame-able when the year is up!)
This Fiat baseball hat from Just Love Prints (for when you haven’t had a shower and want to look cute even with dirty hair! Or any time you want to look cute! This is on my wish list, I love it so much!)
This awesome Fatima Bundle from Be A Heart — it contains 8 Large Fatima Paper Plates, 8 Rosary Paper Cups, 20 Hail Mary Dinner Napkins, and 1 double strand Fatima Garland! (It won’t arrive to the winner in time for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on Monday, since I’ll be picking the winner on Mother’s Day, but hopefully it allows for a celebratory, dirty-dish-less meal for the winner at some point! Our Lady appeared in Fatima on the 13th of May, June, July, August, September, and October, and Sts. Francisco and Jacinta’s feast is February 20, so if you wanted to use them for a Fatima feast day, you have a bunch to choose from!)
A gift certificate for one 16 x 20 ABCs Saints Poster of your choice (all female, all male, or male and female saints) from Studio Senn (I looooove these!! Perfect for a nursery, big kid bedroom, or anywhere in the house, really!)
A gift certificate for $50 to Baby My Love (the winner can use it for something adorable for a little Miss or Mister, or maybe something for Mama!)

Am I allowed to be jealous of the winner?? SO JEALOUS!!

Hop on over to Rafflecopter to enter — it’ll ask for your email address, which is all I need. One entry per person, please! It runs from now until midnight SATURDAY night, and the winner will be emailed on Sunday. SO EXCITED!! ❤ ❤ ❤

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

Follow-up to yesterday’s post: My dad’s picks!

May 4, 2019May 4, 2019 sanctanomina Fun Friday Question

It appears I jumped the gun in yesterday’s post on listing the names my dad would like if he got to choose today, without my mom’s input! He texted me his faves today (not including the ones he’s already chosen with Mom, as he was sure to point out ❤ ), and I was so surprised — pleasantly so! I love being surprised with names!

Yesterday I’d said:

“… these are names I remember him talking about since I was little:

Girl
— Maureen, nicknamed Mo
— Samantha, nicknamed Sam

Boy
— Daniel (not sure about a nickname?)
— Sebastian, nicknamed Seb(by) (Dad often referenced former track and field Olympian [and current British politician] Sebastian Coe when he talked about this name; it was the nicknames Seb and Sebby that he really loved, I’m not convinced the full Sebastian is actually his style)

Dad loves girl names that can have a boyish nickname!“

But THESE are the girl names he texted me tonight!

Sabrina
Gabriella
Rafaella
Genevieve
Antoinette
Anastasia

How frilly! How gorgeous! And nary a nickname (boyish or otherwise) in sight! My favorite is Genevieve, because it’s my mom’s Confirmation name — she wasn’t given a middle name, so her Confirmation has a middle-name feel for her. I love it! If we’d had a bunch of girls, I would definitely have tried to work Genevieve in somewhere. ❤

For the boys, he had Daniel and Sebastian, as I’d expected, but he added:

Raphael
Hamilton

Wow! So much more adventurous than I’d expect! Hamilton is actually a family name for him — a first name of an ancestor — and he’d suggested it to me (with the nickname Hammy) when I was pregnant with Luke, but not only is it not really my taste, I admit I thought he was half joking (especially because of Hammy!). Apparently not! (Not even about Hammy, I’m sure!)

What a fun Saturday night!! 😀

Fun Friday Question: How different are your parents’ taste?

May 3, 2019 sanctanomina Fun Friday Question Biblical names, British names, Irish names, Nicknames

I had so much fun with last week’s question and follow-up! It was so fun to read about your “almost names”!

Here’s another question for you: How different are your parents’ taste in names? If you were able to ask them right now what names they would have on their list if they didn’t have to take into account their spouse’s taste, what names would they be?

My parents did a phenomenal job naming me and my sibs (most of whom prefer to remain anonymous on here), but their lists are pretty different. I asked my mom last night for one or two of her favorite boy and girl names and she said:

Girl
— Róisín (Irish for “little rose”; said ro-SHEEN)
— Máirhín (the Irish “Mary” [Mair-] + “hín,” which is the ending syllable of the diminutive of her dad’s name — see Dáithín below; said mar-HEEN)
— Áine (used as the Irish equivalent of Anne, which is the name of Mom’s mom; said like the name Anya; Mom prefers this as a middle name, but then thought she preferred the sound of Áine Róisín and Áine Máirhín to Róisín Áine and Máirhín Áine )

Boy
— Fionn (“finn”)
— Dáithín (Mom’s dad was from Ireland and had the given name David, but he attended a St. Paddy’s Day event at my school once and introduced himself as Dáithín , which Mom had never heard before — he was apparently called that when he was small. [He also spoke with a brogue during that event, which he’d also never done.] Dáithí is used as the Irish equivalent of David)
— Mícheál (the Irish spelling of Michael, said MEE-haul)

It’s pretty clear what Mom’s taste in names is! 😂☘️

Dad wasn’t able to get back to me before this story went to press 😀 , but these are names I remember him talking about since I was little:

Girl
— Maureen, nicknamed Mo
— Samantha, nicknamed Sam

Boy
— Daniel (not sure about a nickname?)
— Sebastian, nicknamed Seb(by) (Dad often referenced former track and field Olympian [and current British politician] Sebastian Coe when he talked about this name; it was the nicknames Seb and Sebby that he really loved, I’m not convinced the full Sebastian is actually his style)

Dad loves girl names that can have a boyish nickname!

Mom’s Máirhín and Dad’s Maureen are pretty similar from their girl lists (though I don’t think Mom loves Mo and Dad probably wouldn’t go for an Irish spelling). Both my parents have biblical names on their boy list, which is what my brothers have, and if my sisters and I had been boys we would have had biblical names too, so there’s some common ground there. I love seeing that, though their lists look pretty different, there’s some points of possible overlap and compromise!

How about your parents? Happy Friday!

Birth announcement: Peter Joseph!

May 1, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, House Unseen, Powerful patrons, St. Joseph

Be sure to read the previous post — some fun things brewing in this month of Our Lady!

I’ve done a bunch of posts for Dwija from House Unseen, Life Unscripted, including a consultation for baby no. 8, then another consultation for baby no. 8 (so fun!), then a prayer request for that baby, then a name announcement, and a birth announcement. Baby no. 8 had lots of Sancta Nomina love! I’m delighted to now share that Dwija’s had baby no. 9 — a little boy, given the so-handsome (and feastday-appropriate for today’s feast of St. Joseph the Worker!) name … Peter Joseph!

Dwija writes,

“We actually broke one of my naming ‘rules’ because we already have a P name (Paul). But when we saw his ultrasound photo, I had to agree with my husband that he was a Peter 😅. Peter is also a family name and fits well with our other kids. His middle name, Joseph, is not a family name, but my husband has developed a special devotion to St. Joseph recently. Also, he was born on the Feast of the Presentation, we liked the connection to Joseph and Mary presenting Jesus in the temple.”

I love all of this! It’s so fun hearing about someone breaking their name rules upon encountering the perfect name — only a very special name can do that! And of course I love the connection to St. Joseph, both through Dwija’s hubby’s devotion and through the feast day Peter was born on. Well done!

Congratulations to Dwija and her hubs and big sibs Kathryn Marisol (Katie), Elizabeth Anne (Lizzie), Paul Anthony, Cecilia Jean (Ceci), Mary Isabel, Nicholas Robert (with Jesus), John Charles (Charlie), and Helen Margaret, and happy birthday Baby Peter!! (Check out his sweet face on Dwija’s Instagram!)

It’s May! (Baby name consultations are now open!)

May 1, 2019 sanctanomina Housekeeping, Including Mary Mary, St. Anne, St. Joseph

Happy May! Month of Our Lady! Feast of St. Joseph the Worker! (Which was instituted as a counter to the Communists’ “May Day,” as my historian friend shared with me today. Did you know that? I didn’t! How cool!)

Being that this is the month of Our Lady, I have a few goodies for you all! First up: I’m reopening baby name consultations! Details, including cost info, are here.

I’m also dedicating my site and its associated social media to Our Lady. We’ve been under the patroness of good St. Anne for so long, which is so wonderful and isn’t changing, but Mother Mary needs an official shout-out! (I mean, beyond alllll the Marian posts and of course my book of Marian names!) I’m adding wording to this effect under my roses (under my menu, to the right).

Be sure to check in frequently during the month for other fun things I have planned! (I’ll also be posting a birth announcement later this evening!)

Birth announcement: Lucy Adelaide!

April 30, 2019May 1, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement A Blog for My Mom, Catholic baby names, Powerful patrons

I posted a birth announcement for Rosie (from A Blog for My Mom)’s sixth baby two years ago, and I’m excited to share that she’s had baby no. 7 — a little lady given the gorgeous name … Lucy Adelaide!

Rosie wrote in Lucy’s birth story:

“We settled on a name way more quickly than ever before, which makes me feel really justified in refusing to discuss names before the baby had arrived — Lucy had been on our list for ages but we hadn’t used it because it felt too popular… This time we decided we didn’t care anymore! And Adelaide had also been on our short list (princess, patron of parents of large families) and the flow was perfect so we had a Lucy Adelaide!“

I looove both Lucy and Adelaide, I’m so glad Rosie and her hubs just went ahead and chose it! Popularity, pooh! And Lucy Adelaide really does have an exceptionally good flow. Great job, all around! (Although I don’t understand the collection of words “refusing to discuss names before the baby had arrived” … 😂 )

Congratulations to Rosie and her hubby and big sibs John Paul, Cecilia Therese, Elizabeth Anna, Mary Claire, Peter Damian, and Edith Veronica, and happy birthday Baby Lucy!! (Check out her sweet face on Rosie’s Instagram!)

Follow-up to yesterday’s post: Opposite gender name?

April 27, 2019May 3, 2019 sanctanomina Fun Friday Question Honor names, Just for fun

Thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday’s post here on the blog and also on both Facebook and Instagram! It was so fun to read your responses! One thing several of you shared was the name you would have had if you’d been a boy (all my responders were women) — I didn’t think to share that part of my name story, but I wish I had! My parents planned to name me Joshua if I’d been a boy, which is a name both my husband and I quite like, but it doesn’t work with our last name. That would have been a fun way to name a boy after me though! I loved reading that too — that several of you considered names for your children that were names almost given to you. I’m a big fan of creativity in honor naming!

Happy Saturday, day of Our Lady and eve of Divine Mercy Sunday! (Notable fact: St. John Paul the Great died on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.) ❤ ❤ ❤

Fun Friday Question: Who were you almost?

April 26, 2019May 3, 2019 sanctanomina Fun Friday Question Just for fun

Happy Friday everyone! Is this — could this be — possibly — my *fifth* post of this week?? Did I put up a post every day since Monday?? I can’t even believe it myself!

I have more birth announcements coming for you (so! many! babies! 😍😍😍), but I thought I’d take a quick breather and ask a fun question. A while ago Abby from Appellation Mountain asked about your “pre-name” on Facebook — actually, I can’t remember what she called it, it was something like “pre-name” I think, but probably not because I searched several times for that term and similar ones to find the post and link to it and I can’t, so I must have it wrong — anyway, she meant the name you almost had, or the name(s) that your parents considered for you before deciding on the name they gave you. I’ve been meaning to pose the question here ever since!

I’ll start: My parents considered Tiffany for me! (Which I’ve come to sort of love since I discovered it’s medieval form of Theophania [=Epiphany] and was traditionally given to girls born on the Epiphany. How cool!) (I was not born on or near the Epiphany, though.) They settled on Katherine Marie before changing it to Katherine Morna immediately after I was born (my sweet dad acquiesced to my exhausted mom ❤ ). (Happy day! I don’t feel a bit like a Tiffany, but very very much like a Katherine Morna, and especially a Kate.) How about you? Who were you almost?

Birth announcement: Clement Joseph!

April 25, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Camp Patton, Catholic baby names, Honor names, Marian baby names, Marian names, Powerful patrons

Grace from Camp Patton has been a great friend of Sancta Nomina — I’ve had the great privilege of doing two consultations for her (here and here) and posting two birth announcements (here and here), and Grace also graciously (!) gave my book an amazing endorsement, all of which still blows me away since I was fangirling over Grace before she ever knew I existed. I’m so happy to share that she’s had another baby! (You know I would have been all over doing yet another consultation for her if it hadn’t been for my own plunge into reclusion after giving birth.) I’m happy to share that she and her hubby welcomed their fifth boy and named him the incredible … Clement Joseph!

Grace wrote in the birth story she posted to her blog:

“We had pretty much agreed that if we had a boy we’d name him Clement in honor of Simon’s mom (you might remember the [excerpt from the Prayer of St. Clement] she scripted that was handed out at her funeral last December) … but had a tough time coming up with a middle name. Finally toward the end of my pregnancy “Joseph” just sort of clicked although don’t think I didn’t try to throw some wild and crazy middle name contenders Simon’s way. Simon was pulling for Clementine if we had a girl and I wasn’t completely sold despite the fact that I love the name (I just love a lot of girl names). So Clement Joseph he was!“

Clement! I love it! It’s a sophisticated, saintly, handsome virtue name (clement means “merciful”) and Marian (!) (e.g., “O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary” from the Hail Holy Queen — Clement’s in my book!). And such a perfect and creative way to honor Simon’s mom. ❤ All in all, a great pick! (I’m also loving how Grace said, “don’t think I didn’t try to throw some wild and crazy middle name contender’s Simon’s way” — a girl after my own heart!)

Congratulations to Grace and Simon and big sibs Julia, Sebastian (Bash), Theodore (Theo), Phoebe, Bosco, and Abraham (Abe), and happy birthday Baby Clement! Go check out his sweet face on Grace’s Instagram (including the Clement Clips stories!)!

Birth announcement: Helena Faustina James!

April 24, 2019April 24, 2019 sanctanomina Birth announcement Catholic baby names, Divine Mercy, JPII, Powerful patrons

I spotlighted Amy’s beautiful family almost a year ago, and I’m thrilled to share that she’s had her TWELFTH baby — a baby girl! (Bringing the total to six boys and six girls!) She’s been given the gorgeous, meaningful name … Helena Faustina James!

Amy writes,

“[Hubby] and I wanted to keep with the theme of John Paul II [like their previous child]. I liked Karol and Karolina. Ryan did not. Being frequent visitors and going to the JP2 shrine, we decided to learn more about St. Faustina, as she was also a Polish saint and JP2 canonized her and instituted Divine Mercy Sunday. I liked Faustina! Ryan did not. 😂 After researching a bit more we found out her name before becoming a nun was Helena Kowalska. Finally a name we both liked and I felt strongly about Faustina being her middle name. 2 weeks before she was born we lost my dear father in law. We decided to honor him and include his name in Helena’s as she was the only grandchild who never got to meet her beloved “Poppy”. Now he will always be with her. ❤ “

This is such a great name story! I love the connection to St. John Paul II in a way that both Amy and her hubby could agree, and I love that they were able to work in Ryan’s dad’s name. Perfect, all around!

Congratulations to Amy and Ryan and big sibs Ray, Josie, Brady, Sean, Evan, Bennett, Mary, Finnian, Charlotte, Sloane, and John Paul, and happy birthday Baby Helena!! Check out her sweet face over on Amy’s Instagram!