Biblical names

Baby name consultant: Baby M-rhymes-with-Mary

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

Meaghan’s expecting her fifth baby, whose gender she’ll find out in early May. Her other kiddos are named:

Caleb James

Magdalyn Elizabeth

Evangeline Grace

Silas George

Gorgeous, right?! This is her dilemma:

“We like our girls to have a longer formal name that has a cutesy nickname. (Maggie and Evie.) For a boy I really like Levi. Middle name would be Thomas or Joseph … The problem is we can’t name a baby girl. We thought about Seraphina, but I don’t like any of the nicknames.  We also thought about Eden but it seems short compared to the other girl names. And hubby thinks it sounds like “eating.” My husband also doesn’t like any girl names that were boy names first, such as, Josephina (which I love.)“

(Oh husbands!)

“We were also thinking about Angelica because we love Mother Angelica from EWTN. But I’m on the fence about it. We love the rose association with Mary and I love the nickname Rosie. I’ve thought Katharine but my husband doesn’t want a Katie. Just today I thought of Seraphina Rose and we could call her Rosie but then I realized it’s a celebrity baby name after I googled it.”

The ideas I came up with I thought might be helpful either in and of themselves, or perhaps sparking other ideas for Meaghan and her husband. I really really like their preference for long girl’s names that can be shortened to cute nicknames, so I kept that in mind. As always, I shoot for three suggestions, and in this case they were more categories rather than only one name each:

(1) Long and Biblical-ish

The first thing that jumped out to me is how all Meaghan’s already-born children’s names are Biblical — Caleb and Silas are obvious; Magdalyn is Mary Magdalene’s “last name” of course, and Evangeline=evangelist, like the writers of the four gospels. I really like that theme, especially with their twist on it for the girls (alternate spelling of a last name; Biblical word transformed into a name), so my first suggestion is to try to stay with that idea. Susanna(h) was my first thought — the “h” in Susannah makes it seem extra long and certainly very Biblical; no-h Susanna has more of a saintly feel while still being Biblical. It’s got great nicknames too — Anna/Annie, Susie, Suki, Zuzu (like Zuzu’s petals in It’s a Wonderful Life!).

My second thought was Julia, but given that they like longer names, I thought Juliana or Julianna might be more their style. Certainly Julie is a natural nickname, but Ana/Anna/Annie could work, or maybe Jude (especially with a D middle name?). I’ve also seen Jilly as a nickname for the Julia names, which is really cute.

Lastly, Rebecca or Rebekah. Magdalyn, Evangeline, and Silas are all New Testament names, so it might be nice to get an OT name in there for Caleb? I recently saw Ruby as a nickname for Rebecca and immediately fell in love with it, even though Rebecca was never one of my favorite names. Ruby is adorable!

(2) Double first name

Meaghan mentioned liking Rosie as a nickname, so my mind immediately went to long Rose- versions, which led to the doubles: Rosemary or Rosemarie or Rosamaria or Rosanna. I like all those! And the Marian connection is awesome.

Then I thought of the Mary- doubles, and since Mary rhymes with their last name, I thought about Maria: Maria Teresa, Maria-Therese, and Annamaria (I just finished a book with a great character named Annamaria and I was struck by how pretty it is. Besides the Anna/Annie nicknames, I could even see using Amy as a nick for this. So sweet!). Maria Teresa actually has a traditional mashup-type nickname that’s Spanish but I know it’s used by other cultures as well: Maite. It’s pronounced MY-tay, and is one of my favorite nicknames. There are really a million ways to pair Marie or Maria with another name and come up with an interesting nickname! I was going to suggest Maria Seraphina with the nickname Maisie, but Maisie’s a traditional Gaelic nickname for Margaret, so it seems too similar to Maggie to me. Marie Angelica is another option, based on their discussions about Angelica — maybe nicknamed Molly? Or Mia? Actually Mia’s a pretty standard nickname for Maria, so that could work for any of these options.

(3) Miscellaneous

I had a couple more ideas and I wasn’t sure how to categorize them — so “Miscellaneous” it is! First I wanted to make another argument for Seraphina/Serafina. I just love that name! And it’s so perfect with Meaghan’s other girls … she said she didn’t like the nicknames, so I just wanted to be sure she’s considered them all: Certainly Sera and Fina (especially with the Serafina spelling), and Fia (I know a little Sophia who goes by Fia, so cute!), or even Sophie/Sofie, or something cute like Sunny! I personally wouldn’t worry about it being Ben and Jen’s celebrity baby’s name, especially if Meaghan’s Seraphina always went by a cute nickname, but if it’s still not feeling right then maybe …

Annabel? I looked the other kids’ names up in my trusty Baby Name Wizard book, which lists boy and girl options for each entry that are similar in style and feel, and Annabel showed up in the lists for both Caleb and Silas. It’s a gorgeous name, spelled that way or Annabelle. I love all the Anna/Annie names anyway, and Belle is also a really sweet name (Bella could work too). Some others that came up as matches with the other kids, or just out of my head, were Emmeline, Karolina, and Caterina (which reminds me that Meaghan likes Katherine — Katie isn’t the only nickname! Kat is quite stylish right now, great for Katherine, or I know a Kateri who goes by Kat, or Cat for Caterina).

I had several other ideas that I ended up crossing off my list for one reason or another, so I thought I’d offer those too, just in case: Christiana (because of it starting as a boy’s name), Anastasia (if Seraphina as a celeb baby was too much for Meaghan, I assumed the main character in the horrible soft porn Fifty Shades of Grey would be too much. So unfortunate), Veronica (I love the nickname Via but thought it was too close to Evie. But maybe Ronnie, Nicky, or Nica?), Clementine (because of starting as a boy’s name), Genevieve (too similar to Evangeline), Penelope (neither Biblical nor saintly … but oh the nicknames! Penny or Nell or Pip/Pippa!). I also thought I should caution — again because Seraphina’s celeb connection bothers Meaghan — that Angelica is the name of the horrible older sister in the Rugrats show. I watched it only once or twice when I was younger, and vividly remember her, and I’ve seen her reference on other name discussion boards when the name Angelica comes up. It’s still a beautiful name, but it’s important to have all the facts!

Those are my ideas! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for the M-rhymes-with-Mary Family, if their baby-on-the-way is a girl?

I love to do name consultations! If you’d like me to give your name dilemma a go, check out my Baby name consultant and About the “Donate” button tabs.

Baby name consultant: Baby D (#6)

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

Mom and Dad D. are expecting their sixth baby at the end of May! Mom writes:

“I am struggling with a good Catholic name for this little one … This current pregnancy & baby I feel are such a gift, given my advanced age. I will be 43 end of June.  I had a miscarriage in 2013 & named the baby Francis Mary- we didn’t know if it was a girl or boy. I prayed to discern God’s will in many holy hours before the blessed sacrament since that miscarriage & through a divine experience, I found out I was to have another baby ( it’s a cool story, but too long to share here). It involves praying the rosary every day for my brother & sister-in-law named Bob & Susan. (They are both doctors) As soon as I started praying the rosary for them everyday, I became pregnant. Absolutely incredible! I still pray for them everyday, I have no idea why I should pray for them, but I just feel I should!!

Can you help me with some girl names?

For a boy, right now I’m thinking Theodore Jeffrey. Theodore I believe means “gift of God” & Jeffrey is my husband’s name.

But just randomly I also like Rocco

My favorite saint is St. Therese. [They’d also previously considered Christianna.]“

As a side note — this is one of the things I just love about talking about names — I inevitably get to hear these amazing stories of prayer and faith, sadness and joy, and always such hope. It’s always such a privilege.

Anyway! Their other children’s names are:

Zachary [Mom’s maiden name]

John Paul

Mary Kathleen Dorothy (Mary Kate)

Charles Gregory

Timothy Michael

All of their names were chosen with a mix of family and faith connections, and they’d love a similar name for their new little one. I came up with a few ideas for them, all of which I loved so much, for different reasons, that I had a hard figuring out how to list them. I always shoot for three suggestions for each gender, which sometimes takes the form of three names, or three categories/ideas … but for this family, there was so much overlap, especially for girls, that I didn’t quite know how to list them! So I’m just throwing all my ideas out there:

Girl

(1) Susanna

The baby’s aunt is Susan, and they previously considered Christianna — Susanna came right to mind. My trusty name-meaning source says Susanna means lily in old Hebrew and rose in modern Hebrew, both of which are flowers associated with Our Lady. Susie’s a sweet nickname, or Anna; other traditional nicks include Sanna, Sukie, and Zuzu (Zuzu’s petals!).

(2) Christianna

Since they loved it before, perhaps they still do? Being that it’s a Jesus name, it makes me think about all the Mom’s holy hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament — a really nice connection.

(3) Gianna

I was so struck by the prayers being offered for the Mom’s brother and sister-in-law, and how she said she doesn’t even know why she’s feeling compelled to pray for them. St. Gianna Beretta Molla is the patron of mothers, physicians, and unborn children. Could it be any more perfect for this situation, with the brother and sil both being doctors?!

(4) Rosary

Isn’t that a crazy suggestion?! But wait! I recently did a consultation for a family who ended up naming their daughter Rosary — check it out: consultation and birth announcement. It’s so specifically meaningful for this baby on the way too, because of all the Rosaries the Mom’s been saying!

(5) Other Marian name (first or middle)

The baby’s due in May, the month of Our Lady; the parents used a Marian name in their Mary Kate’s name, as well as the name of the baby they miscarried; the Mom found out she was pregnant after starting to say the Rosary for her brother and sil — I mean, wow. Mother Mary’s all over this for them! Especially for a little girl, it would be so nice for the sisters to both have a Marian name — a nice thing to share in a male-dominated household! And an old Catholic tradition as well.

They could certainly do a Marian name for a middle — I love the idea of Susanna Mary, Christianna Mary (Jesus and Mary in one name! Pow pow!), and Gianna Mary, or perhaps Rose — there are so many beautiful Marian names! For first names though, I thought of:

  • Elizabeth (somewhat of a stretch, since it’s not *technically* a Marian name, though with Mary’s love for her cousin, it’s pretty darn close. I know a Mary Kate with a sister Elizabeth)
  • Lily (it’s associated with Mary; it’s also a traditional nickname for Elizabeth!)
  • Rose or Rosa (also associated with Mary, beautiful)

(5) Some form of Anne

As I was scribbling down Gianna … Susanna … Christianna on my little post-it when I was first thinking of suggestions for this family, I couldn’t help but notice the Anna that kept jumping in my face! Of course it made me think of St. Anne. Anne is lovely, as is Anna, and then I was thinking about Hannah — Anna is the Greek and Latin version of Hannah — and her story of praying for a baby, and her prayers were answered. It’s a nice parallel to the story of St. Anne praying for a baby, and her prayers were also answered. So any of those seem lovely and appropriate!

Boys

(1) Samuel

I found boys to be much easier to suggest names for! Samuel was an immediate favorite, because of the Hannah and Samuel story. I love it with the other kids’ names, and Sam is a favorite nickname in my family (my husband loves it, as do I).

(2) Luke

Luke was another immediate favorite for me, as he’s a patron of physicians (that connection to the brother and sil again!). Great name.

(3) Joseph

I can’t believe there isn’t a Joseph among the other boys already! I always think of Joseph as a somewhat Marian name for boys, and May 1 is the patron of St. Joseph the Worker — nice connection with the baby’s birth month!

I did consider Robert as a first name, for the Mom’s brother, but I liked it better as a middle. Samuel Robert, Luke Robert, and Joseph Robert all sound very handsome to me. I like Jeffrey with all of them as well, except Joseph – a lot of J’s! But if you love Joseph Jeffrey, I say go for it. Rocco would also be a fun middle!

I do love Theodore also, and if they decide to go with that, it’d be a great choice! The meaning is certainly so appropriate and sonderful! I will just say … Mary Kate’s second middle Dorothy means the same thing! Theodore and Dorothy are basically the same name, just with the elements reversed. It’s not a huge deal – I mean, how many people know what a person’s second middle is? Or that Dorothy and Theodore are related? (Just this crazy lady. :p) But just something to consider. I don’t know what nickname you would use, if any – Theo’s my favorite, and that would be great, but if you went with Teddy, which is also adorable, there’s the Timmy and Teddy thing … but not a deal breaker!

So that’s what I got! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for Baby D?

Little Man Enloe!

sanctanomina Update , , ,

I posted the Enloe Family’s name consultation back in February, for their second baby due the day after Easter, and I’m so delighted to share the good news: their little boy was born this week! Mama Amy writes:

“Well, our SON was born this week after a crazy and fast 3 hour labor.

Although we almost choose the name James Magnus (to be called mostly by his middle name), we ended up going with:

Martin Kane Enloe II

His dad’s name, only with “the second” added on the end (not Jr.). We will call him Kane. As with his big sister Kristy, we found MANY reasons to use this name, with lots of tradition, meaning and some religious/Catholic connections. 🙂

– Grandpa is Martin Craig and goes by Craig, Dad is Martin Kane and goes by Marty, [the baby] is Martin Kane and will go by Kane. So, while all have the same name, they don’t and it eliminates the confusion and keeps individuals. Grandpa goes by his middle name so it’s like emulating him.

– If you are going to do the Jr. thing, traditionally it should be with the first son.

– We liked the sound/look of II/the second better than Jr. But this is also my way of attributing a name to St. John Paul II. Plus he is our second child.

– Cain was the first born son int he Bible, he is our first born son. In addition/related to this…

– …While pregnant with my first I started reading the new testament aloud to her, a chapter daily. I sadly dropped the practice at about 9 months of age. But I happily picked it up again towards the end of my pregnancy with him, after he could hear me in utero. I finished up the new testament, but for the bulk of our daily ‘Bible stories’ he has been listening to Genesis. The Beginning, where Cain comes in.

– I considered Martin __ (something) and going by the middle name with our first born. I don’t really like the name Martin, which is why I wanted to do that. With this one my husband brought up that he still liked taht idea but preferred his name. I have to admit, I have always liked the ring of his full name and am proud that is my husband’s name. It’s great and built for life. So I reconsidered Kane and the last weeks of pregnancy felt/wondered if that was his name.

– It matches Kristy in sounds, feel, and time period (in my mind). Seems like siblings names, but not the same number of letters/syllables to be too matchy matchy. Although, I don’t think we will name our next with a K, especially as it puts 3 K’s in a row – KKK, no. But anyways, all their cousins have 5 letters in their names, I like that she has 6 and he has 4. I also like that it doesn’t have a y ending as our family is heavy with that – Marty, Amy, Kristy, Lucy and Buckshot (the last two are dogs). Sounds right all together. Marty, Amy, Kristy and Kane. It is also a common/normal name, but not one often chosen now, just like Kristy.

– Other things about the name I like – I got a chance to use a more unique spelling (although I do like the Cain spelling too). You can’t really make a nickname out of it, something I prefer. And my first daughter has my middle name, and our first son has dad’s middle name.”

Isn’t that a great name story?! I love all the connections that are so meaningful to them — family, including a namesake for Dad; faith, including all the biblical connections and even JP2. And Martin Kane Enloe II is such a handsome name! Congratulations to Marty, Amy, Kristy, and Kane!!
kane_enloe-04.09.15
Martin Kane

Baby name consultant: Camp Patton’s newest camper

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , , , ,

I’m beyond excited to have the great privilege of offering name suggestions to Grace Patton of the mom/fashion/style/lifestyle/humor blog Camp Patton!

There were a bunch of mama blogs that I read when my older kids were little, and then I took a break from blogs for a while, and then when I dipped my toe back in Grace’s blog was the first new one I started reading and I haven’t stopped. She’s a hilarious writer, and so so cool that I usually feel (1) old, (2) frumpy, and (3) bland when I’m reading her posts and flipping through her photos (which the younguns are calling “grams” I think? At least, that’s what Grace calls them) … but then she refers to herself as a “house mouse” and is blessedly free of the mother-this-way-or-you’re-not-a-good-mom bologna and says she loves shoes and chatting about baby names and that it’s important to her that she and her husband “stay in the saint family of names but I’ll be very honest and admit that I’ve liked a name and then Googled to make sure there is a saint by that name” and I think “soul sisters” and reconsider my aversion to painting my fingernails with the kind of super dark colors she rocks.

Anyway, Grace and her husband Simon have four born babies already, with these amazing names:

Julia Grace

Sebastian Xavier nicknamed Bash

Theodore Augustine nicknamed Theo

Phoebe Annika

Gender-surprise Number Five is due in June, and if you’d asked me before Phoebe was born what Grace and Simon’s style was I’d say Brideshead Revisited without a doubt and start making lists of names like Eleanor and Cora and Charles. Then Miss Phoebe was born and it’s very rare that I’m completely caught off guard by a couple’s name choice, especially if they have more than one other child (two or more gives a really good idea of name style I think, especially when they’re mixed gender), but I was totally blown away by the name they chose, both first and middle. In a good way of course! I loved it the second I read it.

But it really threw a wrench into my name ideas for the Pattons, because I’d been so sure I’d pegged them, and recalibrating my mindset is never an easy task. But recalibrate I did, for an embarrassing number of weeks (I do so enjoy a good name challenge, not joking even a little bit), relying heavily on my trusty Baby Name Wizard book (you remember — for each entry it lists other boys and girls names similar in style/feel/popularity), and came up with what I think are some good ideas. At least, if my children had the names of the Patton children, I’d be pretty happy using any of these for #5. As always, I shoot for three suggestions for each gender:

Girls

(1) Nickname: Lola

It may seem strange to start with a nickname idea, but hear me out: Grace has a style that pervades her whole blog+Instagram, from her fashion sense (for her and her kids) to her music to her interior design to her photographic eye to her funny turns of phrase, and it always strikes me as trendy — but not even close to being so in a bad way — more like, on point, like her finger’s on the pulse. Like how gifts from my similarly cool sibs are often the exact coolest thing that I didn’t even realize was the big new thing or that I looked at from afar and considered too cool for me. Lola strikes me as that kind of name. It feels kind of feisty but sophisticated, and though so far Grace and Simon don’t seem to love nicknameable girls names, they’re really into cool nicknames for their boys (I mean, Bash and Theo? So cool), so Lola kind of bridges what they’ve done already for their boys and girls. And Lola’s a traditional nickname for Dolores, which is Marian, which is always a great Catholic thing to do in naming.

What formal name would I suggest for Lola, you ask? Not Dolores, don’t worry! I have a few ideas, kind of quirky in that they’re not traditionally used as formal names for Lola, but they all strike me as hitting a right note somewhere in the Patton naming scheme. Basically, I tried for names/name combos that had L’s and long O’s so that Lola could be understandable as a nickname. Something like:

  • Violet Louisa (or vice versa)
  • Caroline Lucia (or vice versa)
  • Lourdes (do note that Madonna’s daughter is Lourdes nicked Lola, a surprisingly beautiful choice compared to other [life] choices she’s made)

Or maybe a Mary- double, like … Mary Aloysius. (Kidding!) (Sort of …) Or Mary Olivia, Mary Ophelia, Maria Lauren, even Marie Lorelei (if Lorelei had a better story, it would have been one of my top choices for the nickname Lola for the Pattons … as it is, doubling up with Mary makes nearly every name okay) … they could even do hyphens like the fancy French (probably Marie or Maria would work best?): Marie-Olivia or Marie-Olive, Maria-Ophelia, Maria- or Marie-Lauren, Marie-Lorelei.

If the Pattons like Lola, I know they’ll come up with an amazing formal name for it. Even if they hate Lola, I think Violet, Caroline, Louisa, Lucia, Lourdes, and Mary+[something amazing] are all pretty fab all on their own and fit well with their other kids’ name.

(Just for fun: Lulu also struck me as a fun nickname for them … like fashion designer Lulu Guinness [who was actually born Lucinda, also a possibility] … and I know of a friend-of-a-friend’s recently born baby named Lulu … really cute as a nick for Louisa or Lucia. Also, I love Lucy as a nickname for Louisa, so there’s that too.)

(2) Elisabeth

Elisabeth is long like Sebastian and Theodore, but classic and Biblical like Julia and Phoebe. The Z spelling is fine, and the one I’d likely use if I were to name a daughter this, but I’m loving the S spelling for the Pattons. (I’ve also been reading Elisabeth Leseur’s diary, what a wife she was.) It’s lovely just as it is, but you know I’m a big nicknamer and, again, thinking of Bash and Theo, I love the idea of Tess as a nickname for Elisabeth for them. Of course there are loads of other Eliz/sabeth nicknames that are awesome: Liddy, Libby, Bets(e)y, and Ellie are all favorites of mine.

Another name I almost had as one of my final suggestions for the Pattons is Esme, and I love the idea of making it a nickname for, say, Elisabeth Maria? It totally works!

(3) Felicity or Stella

I had a hard time with girls names for the Pattons, and I found coming up with a third suggestion was so hard I couldn’t decide between Felicity and Stella. I really like them both as sister names to Julia, Sebastian, Theodore, and Phoebe. I even really like Felicity following Phoebe — both starting with an F sound, but having different first initials makes it totally different to me. Felicity’s an amazing saint and it’s one of those names that just has a lot of Catholic cachet. And Stella — you all know how I feel about Stella. So Marian, so classy. I think I’ve been pushing it on nearly everyone who I’ve offered suggestions to. But yet again, I feel like it works here so well. Julia, Sebastian, Theodore, Phoebe, and Stella. Some parents prefer all their kids to have different first initials, which I do understand, and it certainly makes it easier to initial what’s whose (but harder too in a big family to find a whole lotta names that have no first-initial overlap), but like how Phoebe and Felicity both have their own first initial (even while sharing a sound), Sebastian and Stella seem so different to me because of the S- and the St-. That little T makes a difference to me, like S and St are totally different letters. (It’s a little weird here inside my namey head.)

(I also just can’t not leave here some of the names that I thought felt really close to being perfect but ended up deleting them for one reason or another: Penelope, Imogen(e), Genevieve, Iris or Ivy, Lydia, Corinne, and Liv.)

Boys

(1) Maximilian nicknamed Miles

I had a much easier time coming up with three boy names than I did with girl names. Sebastian and Theodore say to me: long, sophisticated, gentlemanly, and the very first name that I thought of was Maximilian. I love Maximilian (as is evidenced by the pseudonym I chose for my boy #5); St. Maximilian Kolbe is one of my very very favorites. I have my boy’s pseudonym nickname listed as Mac, which is an attempt at paralleling his actual nickname in real life, and was previously my favorite nickname for Maximilian, but then I read somewhat recently that someone was considering Maximilian with the nickname Miles and I thought I was going to die of name happiness. I just love an interesting nickname, and Miles is so perfect in my opinion! (If it’s helpful to any of the rest of you, that person considering Miles as a nick for Maximilian was also considering Milo, which I also adore … but not as a brother for Theo.) For the brother of Bash and Theo, I think Miles is awesome. For the brother of Sebastian and Theodore, I think Maximilian is awesome. And not that I’m suggesting middle names (okay I guess I did for Lola) (and for Elisabeth), but I would love a short middle for this long name and right now I’m loving Maximilian James. So handsome.

(2) Francis nicknamed Finn

Yes, I know, me and the nicknames. But the Pattons do nicknames for their boys! Really cool ones! And Francis nicked Finn is one I considered for my own boys, and I felt oh so cool when I thought of it. I’m just not a huge fan of the full Francis for everyday wear or the traditional Frank or Frankie (though my husband kind of loves Frankie, so Pattons, if you prefer Frankie, you’re in good [and normal] company). Francis is, of course, getting lots of Catholic attention because of il Papa, and it strikes me as also fitting right in with that upper-crusty Brideshead feel.

(3) Gregory nicknamed Rory or Gus

This is another one I considered for my boys. I mean, Gregory. As the BNW book puts it, “Popes, saints, and Gregory Peck! Can a name get any more distinguished?” Right? I totally one thousand percent agree. But then the BNW goes on to say, “Except you know he’ll go by Greg, which may conjure up Greg Brady’s bell bottoms instead.” Well we certainly don’t want that (unless such pants are the newest fashion, and if anyone would know, Grace would), and I really really think Rory can work as a nickname for Gregory. I love Rory anyway, and if the Pattons like it but not Gregory, I can also offer Robert nicked Rory. It’s got a formal Brit feel to me right now because of Downton Abbey, which totally works with the other kids’ names, and St. Robert Bellarmine was pretty cool, so that’s covered too. My personal preference would be to pair a name like Robert with a kicky middle, and my first thoughts here were Robert Benedict, Robert Kolbe, or Robert Bosco (Grace mentioned that she once considered Bosco for a first name for a boy).

And Gus? My personal thought is that any name that starts with a G could have the nickname Gus. Oh my, do I love Gus. An S- middle name could help make more sense of it, like Gregory Stephen or Gregory Solanus or Gregory Simon (great way to name after Dad!).

Well! Those are my thoughts on names for Camper #5! What do you all think? Have I hit the target or sailed into the trees beyond? Please leave suggestions — I know I would love to see your thoughts, and i’m sure Grace and Simon would too!

(Apologies if I used the word “cool” too many times in this post.)

Baby name consultant: Baby Girl Wendt

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

Shannon Taylor Wendt, of OrganicMamasShop.com (lots of beautiful things for mamas and Catholic ladies and First Communicants!), and her husband Arnold Zachariah (“Zach”) (I love that!) are expecting their sixth baby and fifth girl within a couple of weeks. Shannon writes:

“Our last name is Wendt, it has a hard sound to it, so the first name has to be flowy, without hard consonants at the end, a pretty name like Jacinta doesn’t sound right to my ear when paired with Wendt, too many hard T sounds … I, of course, want a very Catholic name, but it has to be a little different … I would like our kids to have a cool story when someone asks them where they got their name. A little way to witness. And a cool saint to be connected to! … We also don’t like nicknames.”

Their other children are:

Trinity Rose

Isabelle Grace

Veronica Lily

Gabriel Michael

Seraphina Claire

Gorgeous, right? Shannon further noted that “so far our kids are either blonde (Isabelle and Seraphina) or red heads. And I feel like some names fit a red head better than a blonde, and vice versa. 🙂 ”

Shannon also provided the names that are on their “possibilities” list, but said none of them are really sticking out: Evangeline (Shannon’s favorite, but Zach has never liked it), Arianna or Adriana (Shannon prefers the former, Zach the latter), Anastasia (Zach’s favorite), Katrina, Kateri (but maybe too popular in their circle of friends), Felicity, Marielle, Edel or Quinn  (though Shannon’s worried that “neither of these names sound Catholic. I think Quinn is a fun name, but the popular trend of choosing last names as first names might over shadow this cool Catholic name… And Edel, pronounced like Adelle, will be pronounced wrong all the time and when pronounced correctly might get confused with the singer“).

After thinking about their already-named kids’ names, and the names on their list of ideas, and their last name, and their preference for no nicknames, and Shannon’s so-well-worded hope that “I would like our kids to have a cool story when someone asks them where they got their name. A little way to witness. And a cool saint to be connected to!” I think I came up with some good suggestions/ideas. As always, I shoot for three suggestions:

(1) A meaning name (Charis or Felicity)

Shannon’s other kids’ names are just beautiful, and full of faith-y significance, which really binds them together nicely. Even still, Trinity struck me as an outlier of sorts, and though I really try not to let my personal preferences sneak (much) into my ideas for others, I admit my first thought was to find a name that would be a little closer in style to Trinity, to kind of balance out the sib set. My very favorite suggestion in this vein of thinking is Charis (pronounced CARE-iss). It’s feminine and pretty, like all of the other girls’ names, but it feels like more of a “meaning” name to me, like Trinity. It’s Greek for “grace,” and is contained within the word Eucharist. Merriam-Webster explains the Charis-Eucharist connection thusly: “Middle English eukarist, from Anglo-French eukariste, from Late Latin eucharistia, from Greek, Eucharist, gratitude, from eucharistos grateful, from eu– + charizesthai to show favor, from charis favor, grace, gratitude; akin to Greek chairein to rejoice.” Such great Catholic meaning, and beyond that — such a beautiful meaning for a baby girl! I know they already used Grace as Isabelle’s middle name, but I think Charis and Grace are different enough in sound/appearance (obviously), and one is a first name and one is a middle, that it would be totally fine and not weird.

Additionally, Anastasia’s on their list as Zach’s favorite, and though I don’t know how Shannon and Zach choose the middle names (and I rarely offer suggestions for them, since it’s impossible to know family names, etc.), Charis Anastasia is really popping for me as a gorgeous combo.

The other thought that rose to the surface in the “meaning name” vein was Felicity, which was already on their list. It means “happiness,” and I particularly liked it with the middle name Edel (there I go with middle name suggestions again!). Felicity Edel. Beautiful! Putting Edel in the middle also solves the pronunciation and not-so-obviously-Catholic issues Shannon mentioned in regards to Edel.* And Edel is a short middle, like the other girls’.

Some other names that might also work in this category are Stella, Roma, Gemma, Vesper, and Verity.

(*As a side note, I looked up Ven. Edel Quinn to see if there was anything else offered about her name that could provide inspiration, and I thought these bits were interesting:

— “Edel was accidentally but providently named ‘Edelweiss’ because the Priest who baptized her had bad hearing and thought her father said Edel when he said her name would be Adele.” (source)

— She took the names Josephine Eucharia as her Confirmation names (source) (I wasn’t able to find much on the name Eucharia, but I assume it’s connected to Eucharist, which is a nice connection to Charis, if they want to think of it that way)

— Her middle name was Mary and she belonged to the Legion of Mary (so … Mary) (source)

— “Her mother meant to name her Adele, with an “e” at the end, but the priest associated her name with the diminutive form of the flower Edelweiss, and so the name Edel somehow stuck.” (source) (I liked this specifically because Shannon was worried about the name being misheard as Adele – it’s cool that Adele is still kind of an honor name for her!))

(2) Long and feminine (Christiana or Genevieve)

There are so many really gorgeous long feminine names on their list of considerations, as well as their other daughters, that I headed in that direction for my second idea. Shannon loves Evangeline but Zach doesn’t; he loves Anastasia but Shannon isn’t sure — I wondered what they’d think of Christiana? It’s my very favorite of the Christ- names, and of course the fact that Jesus Himself is the Honoree makes it uber super duper Catholicky Catholic. Christiana also contains “ana,” which is my favorite part of Anastasia. Christiana Quinn? This is definitely a swoon-worthy name to me!

The other name that I thought fit this bill really well is Genevieve. It has similar sounds as Evangeline, with all the V’s and N’s and the soft G, and she’s the patron saint of Paris, which is just so cool. Genevieve Edel?

(3) Giselle

I know this probably seems somewhat out of left field, but Giselle showed up several times in the Baby Name Wizard book as related to names they’ve already used or like: Trinity (via Genesis), Arianna, Adriana, and Quinn (via Xavier). It’s also got the -elle ending like Marielle, and Bl. Gisella of Ungarn is pretty cool, so … maybe?

I also thought these two previous consultations I did might be helpful to the Wendts, as I feel like there’s some overlap in their style and these others: Stark Family and Penny Family.

What do you all think? Do you think I’m in the right ballpark or miles away? Do you have any other suggestions to offer the Wendts? Please also remember to consider OrganicMamasShop.com for gifts for First Communion, Mother’s Day, Confirmation, or what have you — there are some really gorgeous things on there!

The skinny on Lydia

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty ,

I looked up the thing about Lydia being a daughter of St. Joseph — indeed a passage called “The History of Joseph the Carpenter” in one of apocryphal books known as the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy she is listed, along with sister Assia and brothers Judas, Justus, James, and Simon, as the child of St. Joseph from his first marriage (second paragraph).

Regarding this particular book (from New Advent):

“Arabic Gospel of the Infancy

The Arabic is a translation of a lost Syriac original. The work is a compilation and refers expressly to the “Book of Joseph Caiphas, the High-Priest”, the “Gospel of the Infancy”, and the “Perfect Gospel”. Some of its stories are derived from the Thomas Gospel, and others from a recension of the apocryphal Matthew. However there are miracles, said to have occurred in Egypt, not found related in any other Gospel, spurious or genuine, among them the healings of leprosy through the water in which Jesus had been washed, and the cures effected through the garments He had worn. These have become familiar in pious legend. So also has the episode of the robbers Titus and Dumachus, into whose hands the Holy Family fell. Titus bribes Dumachus not to molest them; the Infant foretells that thirty years thence the thieves will be crucified with Him, Titus on His right and Dumachus on His left and that the former will accompany Him into paradise. The apocryphon abounds in allusions to characters in the real Gospels. Lipsius opines that the work as we have it is a Catholic retouching of a Gnostic compilation. It is impossible to ascertain its date, but it was probably composed before the Mohammedan era. It is very popular with the Syrian Nestorians. An originally Arabic “History of Joseph the Carpenter” is published in Tischendorf’s collection of apocrypha. It describes St. Joseph’s death, related by Our Lordto His disciples. It is a tasteless and bombastic effort, and seems to date from about the fourth century.”

Also this (from here on New Advent):

“It will not be without interest to recall here, unreliable though they are, the lengthy stories concerning St. Joseph’s marriage contained in the apocryphal writings. When forty years of age, Joseph married a woman called Melcha or Escha by some, Salome by others; they lived forty-nine years together and had six children, two daughters and four sons, the youngest of whom was James (the Less, “the Lord’s brother”). A year after his wife’s death, as the priests announced through Judea that they wished to find in the tribe of Juda a respectable man to espouse Mary, then twelve to fourteen years of age. Joseph, who was at the time ninety years old, went up to Jerusalem among the candidates; a miracle manifested the choice God had made of Joseph, and two years later the Annunciation took place. These dreams, as St. Jerome styles them, from which many a Christian artist has drawn his inspiration (see, for instance, Raphael’s “Espousals of the Virgin”), are void of authority; they nevertheless acquired in the course of ages some popularity; in them some ecclesiastical writers sought the answer to the well-known difficulty arising from the mention in the Gospel of “the Lord’s brothers”; from them also popular credulity has, contrary to all probability, as well as to the tradition witnessed by old works of art, retained the belief that St. Joseph was an old man at the time of marriage with the Mother of God.”

So they’re “void of authority,” but definitely interesting!

Did you know this about Lydia?

sanctanomina Uncategorized ,

It’s family movie night here tonight and I have a bunch of things to do beforehand, so I haven’t looked into this more, but I’d be interested if any of you have ever heard this before or know more?

“Lydia of Thyatira is mentioned in Acts xvi, and was, in apocryphal writings, identified with a daughter of Joseph of Nazareth.”

~ The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names by EG Withycombe, 201

The new-to-me story of Anastasia and Salome

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty , ,

I posted a quote the other day from The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names by EG Withycombe stating that Anastasia “in medieval legend was attached to the Virgin’s midwife.” Which basically blew my mind. I’m not unaware of the Nativity story, you know? And yet I’d never once even considered the idea that Our Lady had a midwife. On the one hand — wasn’t Jesus’ birth miraculous, “without any violation to her physical, external virginity. As the Fathers of the Church explained, as ‘light passes through glass without harming the glass’, so Jesus was born with Mary’s Virginity ‘in tact’, that is with the preservation of her physical virginity“? So, you know, what would a midwife do? But then, as this possibility presented itself, I thought, surely it does make sense that Our Lady would have a midwife, especially if she and/or St. Joseph was/were unaware of how the birth would proceed. And midwives do more than just catch the baby, don’t they? It makes perfect sense that Our Lady would have women attend her, to help her through labor, to wipe her brow, to soothe St. Joseph. If I’m suggesting a scene that doesn’t fit with Church tradition, please tell me!

It seems the apocryphal Gospel of James is the source of the story of Our Lady’s midwife:

“19. And I [St. Joseph] saw a woman coming down from the hill-country, and she said to me: O man, whither are you going? And I said: I am seeking an Hebrew midwife. And she answered and said unto me: Are you of Israel? And I said to her: Yes. And she said: And who is it that is bringing forth in the cave? And I said: A woman betrothed to me. And she said to me: Is she not your wife? And I said to her: It is Mary that was reared in the temple of the Lord, and I obtained her by lot as my wife. And yet she is not my wife, but has conceived of the Holy Spirit.

“And the midwife said to him: Is this true? And Joseph said to her: Come and see. And the midwife went away with him. And they stood in the place of the cave, and behold a luminous cloud overshadowed the cave. And the midwife said: My soul has been magnified this day, because my eyes have seen strange things— because salvation has been brought forth to Israel. And immediately the cloud disappeared out of the cave, and a great light shone in the cave, so that the eyes could not bear it. And in a little that light gradually decreased, until the infant appeared, and went and took the breast from His motherMary. And the midwife cried out, and said: This is a great day to me, because I have seen this strange sight …“

That midwife has, according to some (here, here), traditionally been called Anastasia. The reading continues:

“And the midwife went forth out of the cave, and Salome met her. And she said to her: Salome, Salome, I have a strange sight to relate to you: a virgin has brought forth— a thing which her nature admits not of. Then said Salome: As the Lord my God lives, unless I thrust in my finger, and search the parts, I will not believe that a virgin has brought forth.

“20. And the midwife went in, and said to Mary: Show yourself; for no small controversy has arisen about you. And Salome put in her finger, and cried out, and said: Woe is me for mine iniquity and mineunbelief, because I have tempted the living God; and, behold, my hand is dropping off as if burned with fire. And she bent her knees before the Lord, saying: O God of my fathers, remember that I am the seed of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; do not make a show of me to the sons of Israel, but restore me to the poor; for You know, O Lord, that in Your name I have performed my services, and that I have received my reward at Your hand. And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood by her, saying to her: Salome, Salome, the Lord has heard you. Put your hand to the infant, and carry it, and you will have safety and joy. And Salome went and carried it, saying: I will worship Him, because a great King has been born to Israel. And, behold, Salome was immediately cured, and she went forth out of the cave justified. And behold a voice saying: Salome, Salome, tell not the strange things you have seen, until the child has come into Jerusalem.“

Straightforward enough, though the Gospel of James has always been a mystery to me — are we to consider it to have some authority or not? Fortunately, I came across a note about that, when I was looking up Sts. Anne and Joachim, as I thought they too had been part of the same writing:

“Tradition nevertheless, grounded on very old testimonies, very early hailed Saints Joachim and Anne as the father and mother of the Mother of God. True, this tradition seems to rest ultimately on the so-called “Gospel of James”, the “Gospel of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary”, and the Pseudo-Matthew, or “Book of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Childhood of the Saviour”; and this origin is likely to rouse well-founded suspicions. It should be borne in mind, however, that the apocryphal character of these writings, that is to say, their rejection from the canon, and their ungenuineness do not imply that no heed whatever should be taken of some of their assertions; side by side, indeed, with unwarranted and legendary facts, they contain some historical data borrowed from reliable traditions or documents; and difficult though it is to distinguish in them the wheat from the tares, it would be unwise and uncritical indiscriminately to reject the whole.“

I could be wrong, but it seems then that there’s nothing wrong with considering the story of Anastasia and Salome. Even if the details aren’t quite true, they might be, and they proclaim the miraculous birth of Jesus.

Moving on from that, there seems to be some confusion as to who had the withered hand upon examining Mary’s virginity — the passage above says it was Salome; the abstract for this article notes that, “In an early fifteenth-century French book of hours (Getty MS 57), St Anastasia, born without hands, kneels in worshipful adoration with Mary and Joseph before the newborn Christ Child. According to apocrypha, Anastasia believed in the miraculous divine birth, and when she held the Christ Child in her arms, God rewarded her faith by sending an angel bringing new, beautiful hands … This article examines the iconography of the Getty Nativity and observes that the Anastasia legend parallels the apocryphal narrative of the midwife Salome. ”

So a little confusion there, furthered by St. Anastasia’s feast day being the same as Christmas; there’s also some speculation that the midwife Salome may be the same who is known as St. Mary Salome (and if so, what a great connection that she was one of the first to see the newborn Savior, and was also there at His Resurrection).

Had any of you known any of this? Do any of you have further insight into or knowledge about this story and these women? Does this story make the names Anastasia and Salome more or less appealing?

Mystery solved

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty, Personal stories ,

Yesterday I told you that my son thinks Zachary and Daniel are “weird” names, and I was determined to discover what names he would classify as normal. My guesses were either super trendy or super crazy-saintly.

I was wrong on both counts: He said he would consider “normal” names to be Jack, Matthew, John, Mark, and Steve — a mix of family members and boys in his class at school. (Notice: no girl names. That’s what happens when there are seven males in a house and only one female, who’s *just* Mom.)

Reading round-up

sanctanomina Reading Round-up , , ,

The U.S. Bishops posted a story this week spotlighting a few of their “newly professed men and women religious to tell us something about themselves that others might find surprising. Their answers below provide some insight to how each discovered their vocational call”: Meet the Profession Class of 2014. I loved what each one had to say, and of course I couldn’t help but notice some their beautiful names:

Elizabeth

Thomas

Stella Mary

Maria Francesca

Ann Kateri

Ryan

Abby Aurea

Some of these were likely new names chosen for religious life (my guesses: Stella Mary, Maria Francesca, Ann Kateri, and maybe the Aurea of Abby Aurea?); others may not have been (maybe not Elizabeth, probably not Thomas, being a priest, and in all likelihood not Ryan, being that I don’t believe there’s a St. Ryan?), but all are names of men and women who have given their whole lives to God (and maybe Fr. Ryan will be the first St. Ryan 🙂 ). Congrats to them!

I came across a couple ethnic-name posts/sites in the last couple days:

International Names: From the Catalan culture — there are some really beautiful names listed here, and I particularly loved that “Catalan names – with their Romance language base and Catholic heritage – are fresh but not unfamiliar.” One that jumped out to me right away: Èlisabet (it reminded me of the Elisabetta I suggested for Baby Girl Stark).

Greek Name Day Calendar — I thought this was quite a find. “According to Greek Orthodox tradition, nearly every day of the year is dedicated to some Christian saint or martyr. When someone in Greece is named after one of these saints, that saint’s celebration day becomes their “name day” and is celebrated much like their actual birthday.” This site lists all the names and all their days! They’re Greek names, of course, which would be amazing for anyone with Greek heritage, but I learned a lot about nicknames and name variants. One of my favorites: Genovefa and its variants Jenevieve, Genevieve, and Genoveva. I know a little Jenevieve, and I thought the J-spelling was used just because her parents wanted a J- name — very cool to find out it’s a common enough spelling in Greece!

Finally, speaking of Greek names, I came across the name Photine on behindthename.com — a name I never would have given two thoughts to; I would have seen it and passed it by — but I had cause to click on it, and guess what? It’s “[d]erived from Greek φως (phos) meaning “light”. This is the name traditionally given to the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well (see John 4:7). She is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Church.” Did you know the Samaritan woman had a name associated with her? I didn’t! I thought that was a very cool little nugget. Another cool connection is, the reason I came across it was because I was looking up “Toula,” the character’s name on My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and I remembered her saying on the movie that it was a nickname for what I thought she said was “Fortoula,” but it turns out it was actually Fotoula, so I looked that up and discovered Fotoula is a diminutive of Fotini, which is the modern Greek form of Photine. Mind blown.

Happy Saturday! Day of the Blessed Virgin Mary!