Birth announcement: Henry Edward!

A private consultation mama has let me know her baby boy has arrived — Henry Edward! She writes,

“I wanted to share with you that Henry Edward was born on October 8th. He is such a blessing and I think Henry fits him perfectly. I’ve attached a picture of Henry with his proud big brother, John and big sister, Lucy.”

I love love love Henry, and it’s so perfect as a brother to John and Lucy — what a great sib set! So well named! Congratulations to the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Henry!!

(I just love the joy and pride Lucy and John exude in these pics!)

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Henry Edward and big sibs

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Baptism day!

Birth announcement: Caroline Mary!

November 6, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Birth announcement, Catholic baby names, JPII, Mary, Powerful patrons

A mama who emailed me not too long ago with some last-minute name questions for her first baby just let me know her baby has arrived — the beautifully named Caroline Mary! Shannon writes,

“We had our precious baby girl on September 8th (4 days early, so our correspondence was right on time!) and named her Caroline Mary. We loved your Caroline suggestion!! Such a unique and special way to honor Saint Pope John Paul II. She was born on Our Lady’s birthday, so Mary was the perfect middle name.”

Shannon and her husband really wanted to honor St. John Paul II, and I just love that Caroline hit the right note for them! I love love it paired with Mary, and so amazing that she was born on Our Lady’s birthday! What a blessed baby!

Congratulations to Shannon and her husband, and happy birthday Baby Caroline!!
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Caroline Mary

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Caroline with her Mama!

Birth announcement: Ronan James Eugene!

November 3, 2015November 3, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Birth announcement, Catholic baby names, Irish names, Powerful patrons

Yes! It’s a two-birth-announcement day!!

I posted the consultation for Theresa and her husband back in May, and it was particularly fun because, as she’d said, “Boy names are so much harder! … I don’t really know what boy names [my husband] likes. I don’t know if he knows … He doesn’t like names that are super specific to any ethnicity (Seamus, Carlos, Giovanni) or most Old Testament names (Noah, Elijah, Isaac) or names that are gender neutral or feminine sounding. If you can find a boy name we both like, I will be amazed!”

Though I wasn’t able to come up with a name her husband would go for, Theresa herself discovered the elusive name, and just emailed me to let me know their son arrived last week — Ronan James Eugene! She writes,

“If you remember, we were having a particularly hard time with boy names, so of course, in early June, we found out we were having a boy. We had a difficult time deciding. We eventually landed on Ronan James. I saw Ronan somewhere on a list of names for people who like Patrick (got that idea from you), and I liked it. Once I found out that there have been several St. Ronans — I was sold. My husband took a little more convincing and time but eventually agreed. James was because we both like it, and I feel like it goes with everything, but mostly because my husband’s Great Uncle Jimmy died this year and we thought it would be a nice tribute. So we were all set … then in September, my father passed away after a very long battle with MS. His name was Patrick Eugene. Since I already had a Patch (Roy Patrick III) for my husband and father-in-law, we decided to add Eugene to Ronan’s name for my dad. Ronan James Eugene was born on October 30. Thank you for all your help, and I love reading your blog.”

What a perfect name! I particularly like that one of Theresa’s favorites had been Finnian, and Ronan seems really similar to me, and one of her husband’s favorites had been James, so putting the two together, and then adding in Theresa’s dad’s name, just ties everything up in a handsome little package.

Congratulations to Theresa and her husband and the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Ronan!!

Ronan James Eugene

Birth announcement: Seraphina Faithe!

October 20, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Baby name consultant, Birth announcement, Catholic baby names

Meaghan’s consultation posted back in April, and she just emailed me to let me know the baby has arrived! She writes,

“We still didn’t know if we were having a boy or girl yet but we needed help with girl names. We ended up having a girl. Although at our gender reveal ultrasound at 18 weeks we found that I had a large subchorionic hematoma that could threaten our pregnancy. Naming the baby was not easy after that. It took a lot of faith to get us through to 40 weeks and by God’s grace we did. She was born on her due date Oct 6. Which is Saint Faith’s feast day. So after much deliberation in the delivery room we decided to name her Seraphina Faithe. I wasn’t so sure about it at first but now that I look at her I’m sold. It fits her perfectly. We call her Phina, Phiny, and Faithey for nicknames. Thank you so much for your input and help in picking a name for our gorgeous girl!“

What a wonderful end to the story! And how meaningful, the connection of faith and St. Faith to this baby girl’s birth.

I’m so so so happy Meaghan and her husband decided to go with Seraphina, which had been on their original list — what a gorgeous name!!! I particularly love it with her big sibs’ names, what a beautiful sib set. Congratulations to the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Seraphina!!

Birth announcement: Juliet Rose!

October 9, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Baby name consultant, Birth announcement, Powerful patrons

Krystin’s consultation posted at the end of August for their little green bean (=gender unknown), and she emailed me today to let us know the baby has arrived! She writes,

“Hi Kate! I wanted to update you on the birth of our little GIRL (we didn’t know the gender beforehand!) She was born on 9/13/15 and we named her Juliet Rose, one of your suggestions 🙂 My husband and I both fell in love with the name and we feel like it fits our baby girl perfectly! Thanks again for your insights and suggestions!“

Juliet Rose! Can you hear me sighing with happiness through the computer?? Juliet is one of my very favorite names in the whole world, and paired with Rose? I mean, come on. Goooorgeous with a capital G.

Congratulations to Mom and Dad and big sibs Luke, Bennett, and Tessa, and happy birthday Baby Juliet!!

Juliet Rose

Birth announcement: Emily’s boy!

October 9, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Baby name consultant, Birth announcement, Catholic baby names, Powerful patrons

Hooray!!! Emily posted her birth announcement!!!!!!!! Her little guy has been given a very handsome name: George Stephen!

Grace (capital G) was the first to suggest George, followed by grace (small g) and eclare — good thinking ladies!! This blog would not be what it is without all of you!

Be sure to hop over there and see his beautiful face. Congratulations to Mom and Dad and big brother Simon, and happy birthday Baby George!!

Birth announcement: Tessa Araceli!

October 6, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Baby name consultant, Birth announcement, Catholic baby names

Last month I posted the consultation for a little green bean (=gender unknown) with big sibs Clara and Hugh. The mama, Amy, emailed me to let me know the baby has arrived — a Little Miss named … Tessa Araceli!

Amy writes,

“I wanted to tell you that she arrived on Friday! I put a birth announcement on my blog along with what we ended up deciding for her name! I thought you might like to know and share with your readers! … Thanks again! Your suggestions fueled lots of discussion! And I broke some of my own rules… Oops! Thanks for the prayers“

So be sure to hop on over to Amy’s blog to see the pictures of the beautiful new babe and the explanation of her gorgeous gorgeous name! Congratulations to the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Tessa!!

Birth announcement: Maristella Katherine!

September 24, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Baby name consultant, Birth announcement, Catholic baby names, Mary, Powerful patrons

Today’s birth announcement comes to you courtesy of a mama who emailed me a few short days before her due date hoping for thoughts/fresh suggestions, and I have to tell you that I LOVE last minute emails! It’s so exciting and such a privilege to be invited into the whirlwind of the newborn time.

So this mama was expecting her fifth baby, a girl, and her other kiddos are named:

Jillian Rose
August Robert
Theodore (Teddy) Joseph
Noelle Teresa

And just a few short days after I got back to her, her little one was born and given the amazingly beautiful, meaningful name of Maristella Katherine! There are so many things about her name that I love! I mean, the first is the obvious: it’s SO Marian, with Maristella being a version of the Marian title Stella Maris. And I love that it has two L’s in it, like her sisters, but none of the sisters’ names are matchy. Nice job!

Congratulations to the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Maristella!!

Maristella Katherine

Birth announcement: Roman John!

September 15, 2015 sanctanomina Birth announcement Birth announcement, Catholic baby names, The Rhodes Log

I think I started reading The Rhodes Log blog when the mama, Kate, posted her and her husband Jacob’s love story ages ago, and in a very short+intense time I read through all the rest of her posts, and have continued to check in — I have such a love for observing others living simple, natural lifestyles (probably because I’m really bad at it myself), and building things themselves, and the lifestyles of such as the Mennonites, and I get all of that on Kate’s blog.

They’re also really great namers, having named their first two:

Jacob Ramsay (who goes by Jake, which nicely distinguishes between him and his papa Jacob)
Lucy June (who goes by Lucy June, which is just the sweetest)

So of course I was so excited when they announced they were expecting Baby Number Three! And thanks to the wonder of the internet, I can share with you all that the baby has arrived — a boy! — and he’s called … Roman John!

Roman John! I love it! Roman is one of those names I’ve had on my list for a long time, even though I just really don’t think it sounds great with our last name. And I know how some people think about alliteration and the somewhat-rhymey but I just have to say that I think Roman Rhodes is one of those hunky-and-handsome combos — like old Hollywood, like Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo. Or Robert Redford! And also like “roamin’ roads,” which totally fits the vibe I get from them. I love names with all sorts of layers! Nice job, Mom and Dad!

Congratulations to the whole Rhodes family, and happy birthday Baby Roman!! (Blog announcement +pictures, Instagram photo announcement)