Christmas names

Birth announcement: Ivylisse Victoria!

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Happy Christmas Eve!! It’s almost bedtime here at my house, and I have several little boys — and big boys! — who are beyond excited about it! They can’t wait to go to bed! 😂❤️💚

And I’m excited to share this birth announcement with you!! The other day I posted a consultation I’d done for Sheri and her husband’s fourth baby and second daughter — a consultation that Sheri had said I could post even though she and her hubby had already worked through it and chosen a name for their baby. As I’d shared, Sheri had said, “There’s no way you can put that much effort into all this and not get a juicy post out of it!”

I was so excited when I’d received the email from Sheri that let me know an idea I’d offered had inspired their final choice! I’d suggested Ivelisse, and they’d tweaked it a little to Ivylisse and added the V middle name Victoria for an absolutely stunning combo! As Sheri wrote,

“What a cadence, reminiscent of older times like her siblings, without being an old lady name, or too modern to feel real. And my husband feels like he had a big say in it because he liked the middle name ‘Victoria’ for a while (after OL of Victory, of course). Ivylisse balances it out sweetly, while still getting in the fun ‘IV’ in both nicknames and initials!

Oh fun thing, apparently Our Lady of Victory’s feast day is the same day/renamed as Our Lady of the Rosary, which is October 7th, which I only remember because it’s my youngest brothers birthday… and we asked him to be her Godfather (Mike and I are HIS godparents, being 19 year his seniors). Super happy coincidence I didn’t look up till we made our decision!

Thank you again! We love her name and it suits her so well!“

Isn’t that so fantastic?!! Ivylisse Victoria is absolutely lovely!! A perfect name for a Christmastime baby!!

Congratulations to Sheri and her husband and big siblings Finnian, Roanan, and Zeda, and happy birthday Baby Ivylisse!!

Ivylisse Victoria

Read all about how to get your own baby name consultation here.

For help with Marian names, 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). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!

Baby name consultation: “something balanced and rare; not a made-up name, but something not used in ages” for baby girl

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Happy four-days-before Christmas, everyone! Are you all familiar with the O Antiphons? As the U.S. Bishops explain,

“The Roman Church has been singing the ‘O’ Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative ‘Come!’ embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah.”

Today’s antiphon is O Radiant Dawn:

O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the
shadow of death.

Beautiful! You can find the rest of them here, and an article I wrote for Nameberry about baby names inspired by the O Antiphons here.

Speaking of names for a Christmastime babe … today, I have such a fun consultation for you! This baby has actually already been born and named, but the mama and I really wanted you all to have access to the consultation, in case it’s helpful to you. As the mama said, “There’s no way you can put that much effort into all this and not get a juicy post out of it!” 😂 I will post the birth announcement in the next couple of days, so check back before Christmas!

Sheri and her husband were looking for help naming their fourth baby, second daughter. Baby Girl joins big siblings:

Finnian Anthony

Roanan Michael

Zeda Zelié (pronounced ZEEdah ZAYlee)

So cool, right? What a great bunch of names!!

Sheri wrote,

“We’ve never had a problem figuring out names for our kids because they just kinda ‘came’ to us, and felt right right away. Perhaps the oddest one is Zeda, but that’s my grandmother’s name, obviously quite unique and Great Grandma Zeda is just the best. She’ll even watch my kids for me at her apartment at the drop of a hat, and she’s 80. However, we kinda want to avoid names similar to, well, pretty much anyone we know (in my defense, Finnian was NOT as popular as it is now 10 years ago. I didn’t know any Roanans either!).”

(Isn’t that funny how that happens? I was just thinking the other day about two baby girls I encountered with names that, at the time, I thought were so old fashioned — Lillian [25 years ago, when I was in college] and Evelyn [when my 19yo was in preschool] — that are now mainstream and even popular!)

Sheri continues,

“That said, we HAVE kinda settled in on the first name of IVY. Why? Well, it was the first name that we thought ‘Oh that’s not bad, I don’t know any Ivys,’ and I had an acquaintance suggest it to me because she’s our 4th kid. Get it? Roman Numeral IV is 4, so… IVY! I’m hoping it’s not too obvious a pun to be cringy for starters, but for… seconders? It still just doesn’t seem complete! So we’ve been bandying about various middle names and nothing seems to just ‘click’ like the rest of our kids’ names. We’ve run out of saints that we’re really close to, and others just don’t seem to ring right (like Catherine, or Elizabeth… Even Mary/Marie or Josephine just seem to fall flat). And I don’t want to leave it up to fate and give her the name of the saint whose feast day she’s born on, because I like to celebrate feast days separately from birthdays with the rest of the kids, and that doesn’t seem fair. That also kinda leaves out all the fun names you could use to hint toward her December birthday (Holly, Noelle, Emannuella), because with Ivy it seems little TOO on the nose. And what feast day/saint would we commemorate then?

So I also considered double-barreling either her first or middle name. Ivy Grace? Oh right, we aren’t big on virtue names (and I have a whole family of friends who are Mary-something, so that’s out too), and I kinda liked Ivy Rose, but Rose locally is becoming a pretty popular, and then she also just sounds like a variety of flower. And then a two-part middle name seems to get cumbersome with 3-letter Ivy. Ivy Catherine-Marie? Goodness.

And here we are. My husband has had a few ideas, but again, nothing has been an ‘oh! YES’ feel of a name. I kinda thought of doing just I.V. as initials, but I’m not overly familiar with I or V names (Isla Victoria? Iris Veronica? Ehhh). I just have a feeling that her name overall is going to be something balanced and rare; not a made-up name, but something not used in ages … and I haven’t found it yet. I like references to botanicals or the moon… but everything I’ve found just seems too… looney! We know we don’t want a common name — if one of us suggests a name, more than half the time we say ‘Oh I know someone with that name’ even if they aren’t familiar acquaintances, so obviously we’ve been pretty frustrated and stuck on ideas.”

Two final details that I used to help with ideas:

  • Sheri and her hubby were “grade school (8th grade to be specific) sweethearts” who grew up “at St Mary of the Assumption in Lancaster Ohio, which was just designated a minor basilica!”
  • The older kids are calling the baby Jellybean (so cute!)

Isn’t this so fun?? Sheri even hilariously said, “I think you’re earning your 50 bucks this time around, sister!” But you all know I love a good challenge!!

First off, Zeda Zelié made me think of a particular idea: would it be fun for sisters to share a pattern of same initials for the first and middle names? Going with the Ivy idea for a minute, I like the idea of something like:

  • Ivy Immaculata
  • Ivy Inez/Ines/Inessa (variants of Agnes)
  • Ivy Isabel/Isabelle/Isabella
  • Ivy Ignacia/Ignazia

All of these match the feel of Zeda’s middle name Zelié, which I think of as particularly Catholicky Catholic. Immaculata for Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception of course (Immaculée is another variant Sheri and her hubs might like, and is French like Zelié); Inez/Inés/Inessa for St. Agnes; Isabel (or Isabelle, Isabella) for any of the Sts. Elizabeth; Ignacia/Ignazia is for St. Ignatius (of Loyola or of Antioch).

So let’s spring off of that to talk about Ivy for a minute. I love Ivy! I love that it is, indeed, perfect for a fourth baby, but not in a weird on-the-nose kind of way (NOT “cringy” in my opinion). Sheri’s I.V. idea is a good one, too — in fact, I remember hearing about an Isabella Verity (I think that was the combo) who went by Ivy and I remember thinking that was amazing! I really like Sheri’s Isla Victoria and Iris Veronica ideas, too, so maybe my taste is just off enough from hers that my ideas won’t land? But I had a lot of fun trying to come up with I.V. ideas just in case I hit on something she hadn’t thought of that hit just right. These are my favorite ideas for I names:

  • Imogen: this is my favorite idea for this baby. When I was looking for ideas, I wanted to consider Finnian’s and Roanan’s obvious Irish-ness while also respecting the fact that Zeda isn’t Irish. Imogen is originally a misspelling of Innogen, which is thought to derive from the Gaelic word for “maiden,” which makes me think of Our Lady. Even though it has Gaelic roots, it feels mostly British, I would say, which I think makes it equally plausible as a sister to Finnian and Roanan as well as to Zeda (which itself makes me think “British” because of Catherine Zeta-Jones).
  • Isolde: The literary Isolde was an Irish princess, so this, too, feels like a good sister for Irish-named brothers, while not being too Irish (especially since the original Tristan and Isolde was first recorded in French).
  • Irene: I’ve been seeing Irene a bit here and there, and I like that it has the long I sound in the beginning, which makes extra sense of the nickname Ivy if they were to do Irene V___. It also has the awesome meaning of “peace.”
  • Inez/Inez/Inessa: I mentioned this above as a possible I middle name for Ivy, but I also like any of them as a first name. I like that Inez has a Z like big sister; Inés is the Spanish form and is properly written with the accent, which might make this one better for the middle (and another nice connection to Zeda’s middle name Zelié); Inessa is so pretty and unexpected (a family I’ve posted about a few times on the blog has an Inessa, which the mom also pointed out is the name of a kind of butterfly! How pretty! That family also has a matching-initials theme — I’m sure you’d love to read through all their posts! Their Inessa’s full name is Inessa Irene. Gorgeous!).

Those could work as middles for Ivy, too, if they like the I.I. idea. I particularly like Ivy Imogen (Ivy could be the faith name here, as Ivy is in my book of Marian names because “Kenilworth ivy (Cymbalaria muralis) has also been known as Tears of Mary”).

My favorite V names include:

  • Vesper: I really love this one because it means “evening,” which can nod to Sheri’s love of the moon, and it also has pretty cool faith significance, in that “Vespers” is a familiar Catholic term (it refers to Evening Prayer because of “vesper” meaning “evening”).
  • Verity: Verity means “truth,” which also makes this one a great Catholic name! But is it too much of a “virtue name,” like Sheri said you doesn’t care for?
  • Violet: A beautiful botanical name that I included in my book of Marian names because the “violet flower (Viola odorata) has been called Our Lady’s Modesty, and has also been considered to represent her humility.” They could also consider the French Violette, which they might like if it helps with pronunciation of the whole first+middle combo, since they could stress the -ette, and connects to the Frenchness of Zeda’s middle name.
  • Vivian/Vivienne: This name means “alive” and like with Violet, they could do the trimmer Vivian or the frillier French Vivienne (which can also change the stressed syllable to help with the flow of the first+middle combo, and connect with Zeda’s middle name).
  • Vianney: For St. John Vianney; I’ve posted about a couple little girls with this name: this family has a Vianney Jean-Marie and this one has a Vianney Violett.

Given all that, some I.V. combos that I think are beautiful are:

  • Imogen Violette
  • Irene Vianney
  • Inessa Verity

Another idea is to use a middle name that doesn’t start with a V but has a prominent V sound in it, that could still make sense of Ivy as a nickname for an I first name with one of these middle names. Names like:

  • Maeve: As mentioned a couple times already, I liked the idea of working in an Irish (ish) element in order to loop in Finnian and Roanan’s Irishness. Maeve is a familiar Irish name, so you don’t need to worry about mispronunciations, and I included it in my book of Marian names because:

“I’ve seen people bestow it on their daughters in honor of Our Lady, mistakenly considering it to be a variant of Mary, but I do believe it can be considered Marian in a different way: the Baby Names of Ireland website … presents one of the meanings of Maeve as “cause of great joy,” which is similar to Our Lady’s title “Cause of Our Joy” (Causa Nostrae Laetitiae). Additionally, it would not be out of bounds for parents to combine the names Mary and Eve into Maeve.”

Its prominent V sound could work nicely with an I name to lead to the nickname Ivy!
  • Eve, Eva, Ava: Speaking of Eve, why not Eve? Or Eva or Ava (which is a variant of Eve). Our Lady’s title New Eve is a nice connection for this!
  • Naomh or Niamh: Niamh is the Irish name that’s more familiar of these two — it means “bright,” which is a great meaning; it’s often anglicized to Neve. Naomh is a newer name and means “holy,” which is also a great meaning! I think this could be anglicized as Neve, too, or Nave. I spotlighted them both here.
  • Aveline, Evelyn: Of the two, I prefer Aveline for this family, as it’s more unusual, but Evelyn, which is a variant of Aveline, is also a possibility.
  • Genevieve (I think you could even use Ivy as a nickname for Genevieve!), Evangeline: These might feel a little too familiar for Sheri, but I like them both because of their Vs, and their length could be perfect for a really short name like Inez. Inez Evangeline nn Ivy sounds pretty amazing to me!
  • Xavier: I know this might seem like a really odd addition, but there is precedent for a girl to have this name: Mother Cabrini, who is St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. Certainly she took inspiration from St. Francis Xavier — Sheri can do the same for her daughter. I don’t know what Sheri’s preferred pronunciation is — ex-ZAY-vyer and ZAY-vyer pronunciation are equally legitimate — though I had the ex- pronunciation in my head when I put together the combos below. I also like that Xavier as a middle name would mean Zeda has the cool Z initial and new baby girl would have the cool X.
  • Imogen Eve
  • Imogen Eva
  • Imogen Niamh
  • Imogen Naomh
  • Imogen Xavier
  • Inez Evangeline
  • Inessa Maeve
  • Isolde Evangeline
  • Irene Xavier

So much fun to make such beautiful combos!

I also wanted to discuss Sheri’s idea of adding to Ivy to make a double first name, since she said Ivy doesn’t feel complete, but shes doesn’t care for virtue names, and Ivy plus any flower name feels too floral. Also, I agree with her that a double middle name feels like a lot with the tiny Ivy (though I love a long single middle name with it because it’s so tiny!). So I came up with a list of names that I thought could work! My very first idea was Ivy-Jane, which I was really gung-ho about, until I remembered that Sheri has a niece with a similar construction! Gah! I like these others (I’m using a hyphen because I think it makes it more obvious that it’s a double-barreled name and not a first+middle, but of course they don’t need to use a hyphen if they don’t want! But, if Sheri and her hubby like the I.I. initials idea that I suggested above, using the hyphen will allow I to be the initial for the entire first name combo):

  • Ivy-Kate or Ivy-Cate: I’m not biased because Kate is my own name! Except, maybe I am! I have often thought how much I like Kate as the second part of a double name and considered doing something like that with any daughters I might have as a way of nodding to me without using my full name Katherine. Ivy-Kate or Ivy-Cate (the C spelling feels fresher, maybe?) can nod to any of the Sts. Katherine/Catherine and don’t make a possibly weird “phrase” when coupled with Ivy.
  • Ivy-Cara, Ivy-Chara: Cara means “beloved” in Italian and Chara means “happiness, joy” in Greek and “friend” in Irish.
  • Ivy-Laine or Ivy-Lane: This could be venturing too close to cutesy? I like the image it brings to mind, though.
  • Ivy-Reina, Ivy-Reine: Reina and Reine mean “queen” (Spanish and French respectively), and are said RAY-na and REN. These could nod to Our Lady, Queen (Regina). (Is it weird to think you could also have fun with these combos being “green Queen”?)

Okay, on to new ideas! Since Sheri and her husband have mostly decided on Ivy as a first name (which I wholeheartedly support, either on its own or with any of the alternative ideas I suggested above), these might not be helpful at all, which is totally fine! I really just wanted to be sure they had lots of ideas associated with their taste and the things that are meaningful to them, as well as names that might feel perfect as the sister to their older kids. I was looking for names that fit Sheri’s “balanced and rare,” not made up but “something not used in ages” criteria that might also have something to do with botanicals or the moon. I used the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link) as usual, as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity, and went with my gut as well. These don’t check off all the boxes, but they’re pretty close I think! I also only have five names instead of the promised seven, because I included so many ideas above:

(1) Avila

If the sound of Ivy is what draws Sheri and her hubs to it, I thought other names with a similar sound might appeal. Avila came to mind right away — it’s the kind of name I’d generally put in the same category as Zelie, in terms of “very Catholic” and “somewhat unusual.” St. Teresa of Avila is a Doctor of the Church, which is so cool for a little girl! (This could also work as a V-prominent middle name with an I first name.)

(2) Ivelisse

Another name that could hit the Ivy note in an even more perfect way for this family is the name Ivelisse. I know a woman named Yvelise, which I always thought was gorgeous — I looked it up to see if there’s an I variant, and there is! Though Behind the Name has this name ultimately deriving from Ivo, which is the name of some male Saints (Ivo/Ives/Yves), and is thus related to Yvette and Yvonne, I also saw that the -elisse ending could be considered an elaboration of Yves using Elise — a French short form of Elizabeth. So they could think of Ivelisse (or Ivelise) as including St. Elizabeth (which Sheri listed as a possible saintly connection, but one that didn’t “seem to ring right”), and could use Ivy as the nickname!

(3) Maisie

Maisie is a diminutive of Mairead, which is the Irish form of Margaret, and has traditional usage as a given name in its own right. I like that it has the Irish feel of Finnian and Roanan while sharing the Z sound of Zeda. Margaret means “pearl,” so this name can nod to Our Lady because she’s referred to as “Pearl of Virgins” in the Litany of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows.

(4) Ailís, Ailish; Eilís, Eilish; Eilidh

These names are also inspired by the Irishness of Finnian and Roanan, but also by the long I in Ivy. Each of these can have the long I as the first syllable: Ailís, anglicized as Ailish, is from Alice; Eilis, anglicized Eilish, is from Elizabeth. (I say “can have the long I” because I’ve also seen the long A sound as the first syllable. If any of you like these ideas, you might want to do your own research to be sure of the consensus re: pronunciation and be sure you’re comfortable with others’ opinions about this.) Going off Irish for a sec to Scottish, Eilidh is a diminutive of Eilionoir and “also taken to be a Gaelic form of Helen” and can be anglicized Eily, which is so similar to Ivy (but also to Isla, which Sheri already said she didn’t love. So maybe this idea isn’t a great one!).

(5) Selene or Selena

Finally, Sheri’s love of the moon made me think of Selene, which means “moon” in Greek; Selena is a variant. I really like how Ivy Selene and Ivy Selena sound as first+middle combos! And, for that matter, the Helen(a) names (including Eilidh above) are said to mean “torch” or “corposant” (St. Elmo’s fire), but Behind the Name says they’re also “possibly related to” the Greek selene (“moon”).

Finally, I had a few middle name ideas that weren’t connected to anything discussed above, but are related to those two miscellaneous details Sheri included that I mentioned in the intro:

  • Ivy Assumpta: I love how this flows! It’s inspired by how Sheri and her hubby grew up at St. Mary of the Assumption (and bonus Behind the Name considers Assumpta to have Irish usage!) (It’s very possible Sheri is sick to death of my Irish connections at this point!)
  • Ivy Julienne or Ivy Juliet/Juliette: These are entirely inspired by their “Jellybean” nickname for the baby! The similar Jilly is a not-untraditional nickname for the Julia names, so I thought it might be a sweet (sweet! Like candy! Like jellybeans!) nod to the baby’s in-utero nickname to include something similar in her middle name. I like Julienne and Juliet or Juliette the best of them as middles for Ivy.

And those are all my ideas! What do you all think? Feel free to offer any ideas that you think might be helpful to any readers who share a similar taste in names! Or any guesses about what you think Sheri and her hubby ended up naming the baby! Stay tuned for the birth announcement!

Read all about how to get your own baby name consultation here.

For help with Marian names, 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). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!

Baby name consultation: One-syllable Advent/Christmas name for baby girl needed!

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Happy Monday everyone! There are some beautiful feasts today according to my go-to feast day source, CatholicSaints.info: it’s the memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, as well as the feasts of Our Lady of Tears, Our Lady of the Guard, and Our Lady of Valleverde (among many others. Every day’s a day to remember holy people!). Some cool things for you to research if you’re in a researching mood! Today’s consultation by Theresa Zoe Williams is for a mama that I’ve “known” for years via the internet, and she’s also a real-life friend-of-a-friend — I’m so excited to post this consultation for her seventh baby! Enjoy!

Mama Lina writes in asking for help with a middle name.

“I am pregnant with my seventh and due mid December. We have five boys and a girl already and just found out we’re due with another girl. Our daughter is 10 so it’s pretty exciting! Her name will be Evangelina after two of my husband’s great grandmothers and we’ll call her Lina bc I love my name lol. I am named for my own great great grandmother.”

This is fantastic news! And Evangelina is such a swoony name! All of the children have two middle names, the second one being Lina’s maiden name. Evangelina is joining big siblings:

John Diego nn Johnny
Joseph Sebastián nn Joey
Rita Maureen
Michael Augustín nn Mikey
Patrick Thomas nn Paddy
Charles Loyola nn Charley

Aren’t those such great names! Mama Lina writes,

“Originally her name was going to be Evangelina Claire — we’ve had this name as our girl name for the last three kids lol. However now that we have her due during advent I really feel drawn to have an advent/Christmas themed middle name.”

Ooooh, I love a good themed name!

She continues,

“The issue is that Evangelina is many syllables lol, as well as the fact that all my kids have a second middle name of [her maiden name]. So anything longer than one syllable just feels and sounds really bulky and like we’re trying to be British royalty. So we’re on a hunt for one syllable, girl name that is Advent/Christmas themed. Phew . All we can come up with is Rose and Joy (most likely to be born during Gaudete Week). I do like Rose a lot esp bc St Rose of Lima was a contemporary and friend of St Martin de Porres, a family patron, but just would love more options to consider!”

I love a good challenge!

About names they like but don’t feel like the one.

Claire– I love the sound of Evangelina Claire! I can see why it was their go-to for so long. It fits in nicely with their other kids’ names and has a classy, put-together feel.

Rose– Hot in the middle spot, it’s a great name. I love the connection to Advent and Gaudete Sunday. Evangelina Rose is nice if maybe a little bland.

Joy– Evangelina Joy is a joy! I love this connection to Advent, too. This actually gave me some ideas. I can understand why this one doesn’t feel quite right, though. It’s a little less formal and feels maybe too casual, next to their other kids especially.

On to new ideas! I had a BLAST researching themes of Christmas and Advent and names to go along with them. I loved the added challenge of a one syllable name. Here’s what I came up with:

1) Pax/Paz

Another theme of Advent is peace, which these names mean. I wasn’t sure if they’d like the Latin Pax (which leans a little more masculine) or the Spanish Paz (which sounds a little softer and more feminine) better, so I’m including them both. Evangelina Pax or Evangelina Paz sounds beautiful and unexpected. I like these names with their other kids, too, who have middle names like Diego, Augustín and Sebastián. Pax or Paz fit right in!

2) Lux/Luz

Pax made me think of Lux and I again didn’t know if they’d prefer the Latin (which is fairly gender neutral) or the Spanish Luz (which is definitely feminine) better. These names mean “light” which may not seem like a very Adventy or Christmasy meaning but St. Lucy’s feast day is during Advent and her name means light also. Additionally, there is the light of the Star of Bethlehem which led the shepherds and the magi to the baby Jesus. I thought that was a cool connection! Evangelina Lux or Evangelina Luz sound beautiful — all those lilting Ls!

3) Mae

This one syllable form of Mary is hot in the middle spot right now and goes with just about any name. Evangelina Mae is so cute! Lina Mae!! Mary is a central figure in both the Advent and Christmas seasons, so it’s only fitting to honor her. The only downside I saw was that their other daughter Rita’s middle name is Maureen, itself a form of Mary. Both sisters would have forms of Mary for their middle names–– either they’ll love that or they’ll hate it (both of my girls have forms of Mary in the middle, so I’m on team go for it!).

4) Kris/Chris

Speaking of central figures of Advent and Christmas, you don’t get anymore central than Jesus the Christ Child Himself! These one syllable short forms of Christine or Kristina are laidback and familiar but unexpected. Evangelina Chris is really spunky and fun! This name is a little different than the direction they’ve gone with their other kids, but not in a bad or mismatched way. Plus, their boys have more formal, straightforward names while Evangelina is more embellished. With Evangelina Kris, they’d just be swapping the places.

5) Dawn

The O Antiphon on Dec. 21st is “Dawn of the East” in reference to Jesus and the more I thought about it, the more I liked Dawn. It symbolizes a new day, a new beginning and isn’t that what a baby is? Isn’t that what Advent and Christmas are really all about, a new beginning for Creation? I thought this was such a hopeful name. Evangelina Dawn is beautiful and unexpected and powerful. This name was a sleeper hit for me, it grew on me over time; perhaps it will do the same for them.

6) Rey

I know this is traditionally a male Spanish name but with the female Star Wars character taking this name, too, I think it’s leaning gender neutral these days. I thought of this name because Jesus is the King Who came to bring us back into His kingdom. Much like Evangelina Mae, Evangelina Rey is so cute! This would also keep in style with the other kids. I also like the tie in of sisters with middle names honoring Mary and Jesus.

7) Beth

This last one was really hard to settle on as I had a couple I was going between. I decided on this one because of its multiple layers. At first, this is a short form of Elizabeth and St. Elizabeth was the first to receive Mary and Jesus and rejoice. But it is also short for Bethlehem, the sacred place where Jesus was born. For an Advent baby, I thought this was the ultimate name! Elizabeth means “my God is an oath” and Bethlehem means “house of bread” giving the name Eucharistic ties, as well. Who knew such a short name could pack such a huge punch! Evangelina Beth is homey and classic and Lina Beth is so much fun!

Since I wrestled with the last name so much, I’m including one bonus name: Eve. Mary is considered the New Eve and I just love the alliteration of Evangelina Eve.

These are my thoughts. What do you think?

I’m not currently doing consultations, but Theresa Zoe Williams is available to help you! Email her at TheresaZoeWrites@gmail.com to set up your own consultation! (Payment methods remain the same.)

For help with Marian names, 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). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!

Birth announcement: Thea Noelle!

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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!!

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!)

Spotlight on: Wenceslaus

sanctanomina Spotlight , , ,

My saintly friend for 2021 according to Jen Fulwiler’s The Saint’s Name Generator is … St. Wenceslaus.

Do you choose a yearly Saint? I admit, most of the initial thrill for me has always been the possibility of discovering a new, cool name to add to my list of Catholicky Catholic names! Haha!

St. Wenceslaus’ name is not one I usually see on little ones and doesn’t have the elements that tend to be attractive to today’s American parents. But his feast day is my wedding anniversary, and I really have come to love most names once I learn more about them, so here we go: let’s start by finding out more about the name Wenceslaus!

Behind the Name’s entry piqued my interest right away:

“Medieval Latinized form of Veceslav (see VÁCLAV). The spelling may have been influenced by the Czech word věnec meaning ‘wreath, crown’.”

I love finding things out like “the spelling may have been influenced by the Czech word meaning ‘wreath, crown'” — to make a brief connection to Theresa’s guest post yesterday on “sorrowful” names, this reminds me of the name Tristan and how it’s the “Old French form of the Pictish name Drustan, a diminutive of DRUST. The spelling was altered by association with Latin tristis ‘sad'” (which is why it’s in my book of Marian names as a nod to Our Lady of Sorrows). In the case of Wenceslaus, I like that “wreath, crown” has a connection to Václav’s (Veceslav’s) meaning:

“Contracted form of the older name Veceslav, from the Slavic elements veche ‘more’ and slava ‘glory’.”

So Wenceslaus could be thought of as meaning “crown of glory,” which is lovely, and fits in well with who St. Wenceslaus was: royal (“Good King Wenceslaus”) and martyr (“killed for political reasons [by his brother no less], but normally listed as a martyr since the politics arose from his faith”).

A very cool bit is that his grandfather is said to have been converted by Sts. Cyril and Methodius! St. Wenceslaus is the patron saint of the Czech Republic and his feast day is a national holiday, so his name would be a really great nod to one’s Czech heritage. He also had a wonderful grandmother, St. Ludmila, whose name I spotlighted nearly five years ago — using her name (or a variant) could also be a nice way to nod to St. Wenceslaus for a girl, as he is said to have been very influenced by his grandmother and her faith. He is also the subject of the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas,” making his name a Christmas name as well.

Some of its variants are intriguing, like the Czech Václav and its diminutive Vašek, the German Wenzel, the Hungarian Vencel, and the Russian Slava (if you want to consider these, be sure to look up their pronunciations!). If you went with the full Wenceslaus, it might be easiest in the middle spot (how handsome is a combo like John Wenceslaus?!); as a first name, nicknames might include Wence (reminds me of Wes — actually, Wes itself would work! That’s a really easy and familiar option!) and Wencel (reminds me of Wendell).

What do you think of Wenceslaus? Have you ever considered it (or a variant), or would you? Do you know anyone with the name Wenceslaus (or a variant)? Does he like his name? Does he go by a nickname?

Have a great Friday, and a great weekend!

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!

The naming of Jesus, SN in Croatia, and Irish naming trends

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Happy Wednesday! Less than ten days until Christmas, as my boys keep on (and keep on) reminding me!

When I was going through the posts and articles about Advent and Christmas names that I posted the other day, I realized that one I did about the naming of Jesus for CatholicMom a couple of years ago didn’t survive their site redesign, so I’m posting it below.

I also have the fun news that the article I wrote for CatholicMom in October — “Praying the Rosary with Children” — was reprinted (with permission) on a Croatian web site. How cool! Check it out!

Finally, Sara at the DMNES shared this article with me, it’s such a fun read!: Name that Child! at The Irish Times (Dec. 28, 1999).

Glory to the Newborn King

by Kate Towne for CatholicMom.com (December, 2017)

Our newly beatified Bl. Solanus Casey was known to have a great love for The Mystical City of God (affiliate link), a history of the life of Our Lady said to have been revealed by her to Ven. Mary of Agreda in the seventeenth century. Because of my mom’s great love for Bl. Solanus, she decided to read the book that was so dear to him, and she fell in love with it as well, and has talked about it ever since — well over thirty years. In fact, her tattered copy of it is a fixture in my memories of my childhood home.

(It’s important to note that the contents of The Mystical City of God consist of private revelation, and are therefore not required to be believed by the faithful. (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 67) . )

I was looking through the book recently for the first time, and discovered a section regarding the naming of Jesus. Thanks to the St. Andrew Novena, I’d already been meditating frequently this Advent on “the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold,” and because my own experiences with giving birth have included the naming of the baby as soon as he’s born, I’d forgotten (or perhaps hadn’t fully realized) that Jesus wouldn’t have been named until His circumcision eight days later. But also, I’d never thought about His actual naming, beyond simply the acknowledgment that He would be known as Jesus per God’s instruction, and I loved reading this bit:

“Then most holy Mary and Joseph took counsel concerning the name to be given to the divine Infant in the Circumcision [in which they both shared that the name Jesus had been revealed to them both, separately] … While the great Mistress of Heaven and St. Joseph thus conversed with each other, innumerable angels descended in human forms from on high, clothed in shining white garments, on which were woven red embroideries of wonderful beauty … The holy angels divided into two choirs in the cave, keeping their gaze fixed upon the King and Lord in the arms of His virginal Mother. The chiefs of these heavenly cohorts were the two princes, St. Michael and St. Gabriel, shining in greater splendor than the rest and bearing in their hands, as a special distinction, the most holy name JESUS, written in larger letters on something like cards of incomparable beauty and splendor.

The two princes presented themselves apart from the rest before their Queen and said: “Lady, this is the name of thy Son (Matt. 1:21), which was written in the mind of God from all eternity and which the Blessed Trinity has given to thy Only-begotten Son and Our Lord as the signal of salvation for the whole human race …” (pp. 243–244)

I’ve written before about the power of names, and specifically the power of the Name of Jesus, at which mention every “every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:9-10), and in which “whatever you do, in word or in deed” should be done, “giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17), so I don’t have a hard time at all believing that the revelation of His Name would be accompanied by such heavenly fanfare and celebration!

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!

Advent/Christmas names, St. Joseph, St. Andrew, et al.

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty , , ,

Happy Friday everyone!

I had a few things I wanted to share with you:

Did you all see the wonderful news that Pope Francis named this coming year (Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 8, 2021) the Year of St. Joseph?! Be sure to read about the special indulgences (included in that link), and you might also like my recent post on names to honor St. Joseph. I saw a lot of babies with thematic names during the Jubilee Year of Mercy [Dec. 8, 2015-Nov. 20, 2016] — I wonder if we’ll see a lot of babies named for our good St. Joseph this year? I would love that!

I wanted to be sure to post all the resources I have for Advent and Christmas baby names:

I was also reading up on St. Andrew the other day and read this fun bit:

“St Andrew is a patron of lace-makers. On his feast, sometimes known as ‘Tander’, areas such as Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire celebrate by feasting, drinking elderberry wine, sports and serving a special cake called the Tandra Cake, particularly in Bedfordshire. It has a bread dough base to which lard, sugar, currants, lemon peel and eggs are added.”

I thought Tander and Tandra were intriguing possibilities for naming a baby after St. Andrew (or any other Andrew)! While I’ve never seen either one as a given name, I used to know a girl named Tandy, and one of the Behind the Name entries for it claims it’s a Scottish diminutive of Andrew — an Andy variant — that’s used for both boys and girls.

The Tander/Tandra/Tandy connection to St. Andrew reminds of the connection of the word “tawdry” to St. Audrey:

“It was in the 16th C that the word tawdry arose, at first to describe the necklaces sold at St. Etheldreda’s or St. Audrey’s (cf. the formation of Tooley St. from St. Olave) fair, and later for any cheap garish goods” (from The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names [affiliate link] by E.G. Withycombe)

(Note that Audrey started as a pet name for Etheldreda.)

I believe St. Olave refers to St. Olaus of Sweden, who’s also known as Olaf and Olave. Of course I had to look up Tooley after reading the reference to it above, and while there are other possible origins of Tooley, this site argues:

“This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. ‘the son of Toly,’ probably a nick, of the immense favourite Bartholomew. Lower writes, ‘Tooley, a crasis of St. Olave. Tooley Street in Southwark is so called from its proximity to the church of St Olave.”

And because going down namey rabbit holes is one of the things I do best, I just have to say that when they refer to the name Bartholomew as “the immense favourite,” they’re not kidding. I spent an entire winter a couple of years ago poring through A Dictionary of English Surnames (affiliate link) by Reaney and Wilson and was blown away by how many English surnames originated as forms (pet names, diminutives) of Bartholomew. I mentioned two of them (Bates and Batten) in this piece I wrote for Nameberry, and Withycombe gives this nice summary:

“[Bartholomew] is not found in use in England before the Conquest, but it was very common from the 12th C onwards. The cult of St. Bartholomew was popular (there are 165 church dedications to him in England) and his relics were widely diffused. Bartholomew, with its diminutives Bartle(t) and Bat, gave rise to a number of surnames such as Bartholomew, Bartle, Bartlet(t), Bate(s), Bateson, Bateman, Batcock, Batkin, Batt(s), Batson, Batty.”

You all are the only people I could share all this with and not think you were falling asleep with boredom! Haha! Thanks for being as interested in names as I am! Have a great weekend!! ❤

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!

Baby name consultation: Long and feminine plus nickname for baby girl due before Christmas

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

Genie is a longtime Sancta Nomina reader, and I’ve had the privilege of doing two previous consultations for her (here, here) and posting two birth announcements (here, here)! I’m excited to post a new consultation for her for her baby girl due in less than three weeks!

This baby girl joins big siblings:

Malachi Benedict Aquinas

Noah Oliver Francis

Liam Michael Damien

+ Aelred Dominic John (with Jesus)

Henry Andrew James

Moira Elizabeth Charlotte

George Maximilian Joseph

Genevieve Immaculee Grace

Such amazing combinations! You’ll see that Genie has a particular knack for putting names together in the most beautiful ways!

She writes,

“We need a some fresh girl name inspiration to add to the list we’ve built since our courtship. None of them are really sparking us right now. 

Our trend so far for girls seems to be first names on the longer, classic side that have a saint and or Marian connection & nickname potential. We like the Marian names to be fairly obvious. And like her sisters, this baby will have two middle names from saints and Our Lady since my kids need all the heavenly help they can get! There have also been literary connections in the past but I don’t see that as a hard requirement. I’m still trying to come up with a nod to Our Lady of La Salette. 

We’ve been praying for this baby’s guardian angel to help us know her name and are hoping her birth day will also aid in that discernment. For example Lucy for 12/13 or Sophie as a nickname from the O Wisdom Antiphon on 12/17. There doesn’t necessarily need to be a link to Advent or Christmas.

Name combos that have been on the list are:

Josephine Felicity Mariae nn Joy/Sophie/Zosia: This was our other front runner with Beatrix for Evie’s name last time. And as the next brother up, George, usually goes by Joe Joe we felt the nickname Josie was too close.

Beatrix Evangeline Anne/Clare/Jane nn Beasy:  Beatrix has my favorite meaning of “She who blesses” and reference to Mary. Jane was DH’s Grandmother’s name, but is it too much with the G in Evangeline? 

Lucy Elinor Anne/Agnes/Jane/Violet nn L.E./Ellie/Lulu: DH likes Elinor as a first name but we haven’t found a combo of middle names we like with it. His big draw to it as a first name is that his birthday is the feast of St. Helena and the nickname “Ellie”. To me the Lucy in front flows well but the Marian connection doesn’t feel as strong with this combo. I’m also concerned that Ellie is too close to [Genevieve’s nickname] Evie or that our oldest daughter would feel left out with her M name. I really love Violet as a name to but nothing complete has come to us for it.

Emmelia Magdalene Rose nn Emmie/Millie/Mila: We’ve just always loved this combo in honor of St. Basil’s mom, the “Mother of Saints.” 

Margaret Gemma Therese nn Meg/Megsy after Little Women: St. Margaret Clitherow is my confirmation saint. 

We also like Cecilia as a first name. And I really like Catherine as a first name for Sts. Catherine of Siena & Alexandria … We would use Kitty as a nickname. 

Cecilia Catherine Thérèse has been thrown around. We wouldn’t use Cece as a nickname but thought Kitty might still work with that combo? I could also see Cecie like Cecily as one. But again the clear Marian connection is lacking to me.

Marigold (one of my favorites!), Penelope, Kateri, Naomi, Adelaide, Anastasia, Bernadette, Faustina, Perpetua, Faith, & Regina are other middle name options we’ve noted.”

Of course you have to know that I basically swooned through Genie’s entire email! Such gorgeous names!! I bolded the combinations because I didn’t want you to miss any of them, and I kept that up in my ideas below as well.

Josephine Felicity Mariae is my particular favorite — I love the way it looks and sounds! And the nickname ideas of Joy, Sophie, and Zosia are fantastic! But I really also love Beatrix Evangeline Clare (Clare’s my favorite of the second middle name options, just based on sound) nn Beasy (so cute!), Lucy Elinor Jane (Jane’s my favorite of the second middle name options, due to the family connection) nn L.E./Ellie/Lulu (Lulu’s darling), Emmelia Magdalene Rose nn Emmie/Millie/Mila (I love Mila), Margaret Gemma Thérèse nn Meg/Megsy, and Cecilia Catherine Thérèse nn Kitty or Cecie. Absolutely beautiful, each one.

I’m so reluctant to add anything to these beautiful names! I can’t imagine being able to come up with anything more perfect! But I do understand the feeling of “none of them are really sparking us right now,” so maybe something in my ideas will help freshen up the list.

I also wondered if any of the names on Genie’s middle name list would be considerations as first names? I particularly like Marigold, since she said it’s one of her favorites. I love that Mari, Maggie, and Goldie can all be nicknames for it … and maybe even Maisie, I think that could work, which could also be a nod to Genie’s Confirmation name, since Maisie’s a traditional nickname for Margaret. I love Marigold’s connection to Our Lady, Crowned (feast day August 22: The Queenship of Mary). Maybe something like Marigold Virginia Reine, to really drive home the regal connection? (And three Marian names!) I also love Adelaide, Anastasia, Bernadette, Perpetua, and Faith as first names for this family.

Genie mentioned a couple things that she’d like to find appropriate combos for, so I spent some time trying to come up with ideas for them:

  • Genie said she’d like to nod to Our Lady of Salette. I had a reader who considered Salette as a first name for a baby girl in honor of that title, and considered Sally as a nickname for it. I also thought Etta could work. Maybe Salette Evangeline Rose? Or what about “La Salette” or “de La Salette” as a middle name? Our Lady had pearls on her robe in that apparition, and Margaret means “pearl,” so maybe Beatrix Margaret de La Salette? Or Beatrix Marguerite de La Salette? Or using the Irish, maybe Beatrix Mairead de La Salette? There were also a number of roses present on her form, so maybe Rosa Mairwen de La Salette? (Mairwen is a Welsh name combining “Mary” and “white/fair/blessed”; I thought it went well with their Celtic sensibility as noted in Liam and Moira’s names.)
  • Genie said Hubby likes Elinor as a first name — I do think Ellie’s a sweet nickname, and while it is similar to Evie, Genevieve and Elinor aren’t similar at all. Also, since the three sisters would be Moira, Genevieve, and Elinor, all with different official first initials, I’d focus on that with Moira so she wouldn’t feel badly about Evie and Ellie. I wonder if they would consider Helena itself? Ellie can be a nickname for Helena, as can Nell and Lena. I particularly like Nell for them (and actually Nell can work for Elinor too!). Maybe Elinor Madonna Rose? (I love using Madonna as a middle name as it’s explicitly Marian and points specifically to her motherhood, which I love.)
  • Genie said she loves Violet but hasn’t been able to come up with a great combo — maybe Violet Josephine Thérèse? Violet Elinor Anne? Violet Gemma Thérèse? (I like Violet and Gemma together — she could consider any purplish gem to her own!) Does Violet represent Our Lady well enough in those combos though? Or Violet Rosemary Jane? (Too many flowers?) Violet Madonna Helene? (Kind of cool that Madonna, with its “holy mother” connection, clearly refers to Our Lady here, but can also nod to St. Helena.) Violets also used to be called Our Lady’s Modesty, and an interesting name that they might like to work into a name is Haidee: it’s a name that was created by Lord Byron for a character in Don Juan, and he based it on the Greek for “modest, reverent.” Knowing that Genie likes literary connections as well, and with such a lovely meaning, maybe she’d like to consider the doubly “modest” name of something like Violet Haidee Madonna?
  • In thinking of a combo with Cecilia as a first name with a clear Marian connection, maybe they could consider the spelling Caecilia? It’s the original Latin form of Cecilia (this family used it for their daughter; they also have an Anastasia Lucia, which I like for Genie’s daughter! Anastasia Lucia Rose maybe?), but I like Caecilia for Genie because they could possibly use Caeli as a nickname, which isn’t connected to Caecilia etymologically but is so visually, and Caeli could provide the Marian connection as in her title Regina Caeli. Maybe Caecilia Regina Rose, to really double (triple!) down on it? (Or even just Cecilia Regina Rose, if they don’t like the Caecilia idea but like the Regina Rose middles?) I would say Caeli like CHAY-lee, but it can be said KAY-lee or, if they use it as a nickname for Caecilia, they could just say SAY-lee. Other nicknames for Cecilia can include Celia, Celly, and Lia.
  • Regina Rose made me think that Perpetua Rose would also be a lovely double-middle combo — very Marian with the added meaning of “everlasting rose.”

I also took a look at the upcoming feast days on CatholicSaints.info and the other O Antiphons (I wrote a piece with ideas based on them here) and thought these names might be helpful to add to Genie’s ideas (in addition to Lucy and the Sophia names):

  • Dominique: Dominic means “belonging to the Lord” and can be used for O Adonai (O Lord), Dec. 18
  • Kyrie: refers to “the Lord,” and can be used for the same
  • Aurora: Latin for “dawn,” the time of the rising sun, which can be used for O Radiant Dawn, Dec 21; this is also a Marian name — St. Bonaventure used Aurora in reference to Mary thirty five times in his Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary includes a reference to Our Lady as aurora in the closing prayer for Vespers
  • Emmanuelle, Emmanuella: for O Emmanuel on Dec. 23
  • A Spanish version of a name for Our Lady of Guadalupe, like Maria or Rosa
  • I know they’ve already used Immaculee, so if the baby is born on the feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), maybe Catherine or one of its variants would be perfect, since it’s said to mean “pure”; Catherine could also be appropriate for Dec 28 — Holy Innocents
  • Bl. Clara Isabella Fornari (aka Anna and Chiara) on Dec. 9
  • Loretta for the feast of Our Lady of Loreto on Dec. 10
  • Bl. Elizabeth Rose on Dec 13
  • St. John of the Cross on Dec 14 for Jane as a first name (or middle); St. John the Apostle on Dec 27
  • St. Adelaide of Burgundy on Dec 16
  • Pope St. Anastasius I on Dec 19 for Anastasia
  • Bl. Cecilia of Ferrara on Dec 19
  • St. Anastasius II of Antioch on Dec 21
  • Mary, Mother of God on Jan 1 — Madonna would be perfect!
  • St. Basil the Great on Jan 2 for Emmelia
  • Holy Name of Jesus on Jan 3 for Emmanuelle/a

Then I did my usual research in the Baby Name Wizard, looking up names that are similar to the names Genie and her husband have already used and those they like, as it lists, for each entry, names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. And I looked through my book of Marian baby names as well. Based on all that, these are some new ideas:

(1) Natalie or Natalia

I know Genie said there didn’t have to be a Christmas or Advent connection, but I enjoyed finding names that I thought she might like that also had that connection! Natalie and Natalia literally refer to Christmas, as they come from the Latin natale domini: “birth of the Lord.” They can also be Marian names via her title Our Lady of the Nativity, or they could choose Our Lady’s own nativity (Sept. 8) as her name day. Nathalie’s also a pretty and unexpected spelling (French).

(2) Susanna

I always think of Susanna as a Christmas name, since Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life (Zuzu’s petals!) mostly likely had a Susan name (Zuzu is a nickname for the Susan names). Susanna is my favorite of the Susan names, and I included it in my book of Marian baby names because it means both “lily” and “rose” in Hebrew; because of its “rose” meaning, it could make a nice name for a baby born on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 9). Susie, Sukie, Anna, and Annie are all possible nicknames in addition to Zuzu. St. Susanna’s feast is August 11. (In case it’s helpful, Susanna Mariae was our choice for a baby girl through most of our boys, but for our last I’d actually switched it to Susanna Margaret Mary. St. Susanna and St. Clare share a feast day [Aug.11], so maybe Susanna Mariae Clare would be perfect?)

(3) Clara

Genie has Clare listed as a possible middle name, but what about Clara as a first name? I like it better than Clare as a first name for them and it has both a Christmas and literary connection via The Nutcracker. There’s a Bl. Clara Isabella Fornari whose feast day is Dec. 9 (she’s also known as Anna [her birth name] and Chiara [the Italian version]). I like the combo Clara Dominique Mariae.

(4) Catriona (or Riona/Rionach?)

Genie said she loves Catherine for Sts. Catherine of Siena and Alexandria, which made me think to suggest Caterina (St. Catherine of Siena’s actual name; Catherine is an English and French version). But then I thought the Irish version, Catriona, might be even more suited to her taste! It’s said like Katrina, or you can add in a half syllable: ka-TREE-ə-na, and they could use Kitty, or Cat, or Riona/Triona as nicknames. A really fun connection is that Riona on its own is actually from the Irish rionach, which means “queenly” — a nice Marian name! Rionach is a name in its own right as well! Maybe as a middle name? This mama named her daughter Elizabeth Ríonach (nn Liesel), which I think is so pretty! Catriona Perpetua Rose would also be lovely.

(5) Christiana

A Jesus name would be great for a Christmas baby, and Christiana is my favorite of them — so pretty! AND there’s a St. Christiana the Slave whose feast is on Dec 15! Something like Christiana Mariae Josephine would include the whole Holy Family in one name!

(6) Seraphina

When Genie said she likes longer names with a saint or Marian connection and nickname potential, I thought of Seraphina/Serafina right away. Of course it refers to the seraphim, but I think it can also be used as a name to refer to the angels in general, which is why I included it in my book of Marian names: for her titles Our Lady of the Angels and Queen of the Angels. Sera, Fia, and Fina are all pretty cool nicknames, and I think Sophie/Sofie could work, too, like she was thinking for Josephine.

(7) Verity (or Charity?)

Verity means “truth,” which is amazing anyway, but the name Verity also has a British-y feel to me (admittedly because of the lovely character of Verity in Poldark, which gives it a literary sheen as well), which I think fits in pretty well with Genie’s other children’s names. Maybe Verity Adelaide Madonna? Verity Rose Bernadette? Verity Sophia Faith? (That’s a powerful virtue combo! For that matter, what about Charity Sophia Faith? For “faith, hope, and love”?)

(8) Stella (or Stellamaris? Or Maristella?)

Stella is one of my favorite ideas for this family. I love that it can refer to the Christmas star, and I love that it’s Marian via her title Stella Maris. The full Stellamaris could also be used as a first name, with Stella as the nickname, or Stella as a first name and Maris as one of the middles, or Maristella, which is a lovely reordering of it (see birth announcements for Maristella Rose and Maristella Katherine, both of which made me think of Genie! Maristella Catherine Rose?) A very Christmasy combo would be Stella Aurora Emmanuelle, wow!

And those are all my ideas for Genie’s baby girl! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the little sister of Malachi, Noah, Liam, Henry, Moira, George, and Genevieve?

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!

Baby name consultation: Advent name for a surprise baby?

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , ,

I’ve had the great privilege to do two previous consultations for today’s family — one which was supposed to post here but I got to post a birth announcement instead because the baby came sooner than expected!, and this one and subsequent birth announcement, and I’m honored to post this consultation for them today! They’re expecting their fifth baby on earth, a little green bean who joins big sibs:

Lea writes,

“We are 15 weeks along with a (surprise) baby #5! We are due August 14, 2020. We have 4 other children on Earth and 4 in heaven. Here are our other children’s names. You helped us name 2 of them!

James Pershing
Paul Raymond
Luke Gordon
Felicity Victoria Kathleen

And in heaven: Agnes, Eli, Isaac, and Nicholas“

I just love these names! The boys’ names are so handsome and straightforward (and Luke was specifically with Our Lady in mind!), and Felicity is such a beautiful name for the little sister of all those brothers!

“We are stumped on boy names in particular but I’d like to hear your suggestions for girls too. I have a strong intuition that it is a boy, though! 

Names we have considered for a girl are mostly Advent themed as we discovered baby was coming during the first week of Advent.

Marian Elizabeth
Marian Violet
Marian Rose
Lucy Rose Marie

And boys we have considered are:
Maximilian Victor (since we’re due on St Maximilian Kolbe’s feast day)
Samuel Victor (like the name and the way it fits with other boys)

We don’t really like Kolbe (husband doesn’t anyway) and Victor would probably be the middle name because it’s the last grandfather to be used by us. Each of our other boys has a grandfather in their middle name.

We love Rose and Marie for girls but not really for first names because they feel a little too common.  

So, suggestions for names that are either Advent/saint themed would be appreciated! As I mentioned this baby was a total surprise to us, we’ve not faced this circumstance before so maybe a name reflecting that would be neat if that exists??“

I totally get that they’re stumped on boy names, since I had a harder time coming up with new ideas for boys than for girls! I did my usual research first in the Baby Name Wizard, looking for style matches for the names they’ve already used and those they like/are considering, then found all my old posts on Advent and Christmas names (they’re all listed here), and between the two of them, I made my list of ideas for this baby. That’s when I went back and reread my previous conversations with Lea, and had to cross a few of my ideas off my list, as I’d previously suggested them! I’ll list them here again, though, just in case:

Girl
(1) Annabel
I suggested this for them when they were expecting Felicity, saying: “The Anna family of names were big for you in my research — Anna is a style match for James and Jude, Anita for Paul, and Hannah for Isaac. While I love Anna names (and St. Anne!), I didn’t think the ones I mentioned would fit your “unique” designation, but I thought Annabel/Annabelle might. It’s not technically an Anna name, arising in the Middle Ages in Scotland as a variant of Amabel, which is a variant of Amabilis, which is contained in the Marian title Mater Amabilis (Mother Most Amiable), but of course the fact that Anna is contained in it can definitely be a nod to St. Anne. In fact, you could think of it as Anna + belle, where belle means “beautiful” in French. How lovely! I love that it’s also a Marian name. I don’t feel like I have a good sense of your taste in girl names, so I don’t know if you’ll love it, but I really like it for you.” Now that they have Felicity, I actually think Annabel(le) goes really well as her sister! I also included Annabel in an article about Christmas names that I did for CatholicMom, saying that it “is fitting for the holy day on which we celebrate Mother Mary giving birth to her Baby.” (I know Lea asked about Advent names, but I looked through my Christmas names posts because the names can often be Advent-y as well.)

(2) Anna, Hannah
I mentioned these in the Annabel bit above, but an added reason that I love Hannah or Anna for Lea and her hubs this time, especially, is because of their baby being a surprise. Hannah prayed for Samuel for so long, and St. Anne and St. Joachim prayed for Mary for so long, that I think their stories are great for anyone who’s surprised by a baby-on-the-way! Anne is lovely, but I think Anna is a better fit for them.

(3) Faith, Hope, Nadine
When Lea was expecting Felicity, she said she’d love a name with a good meaning, and I had Faith, Hope, and Nadine (which means “hope”) listed as suggestions for her back then. This time, I had them on my list because of their Advent meaning!

Boy
(1) Joseph
I was digging Joseph for this baby, because of the Advent/Christmas connection, but then I discovered that I suggested it for them when they were expecting Luke and interested in Marian names. Maybe they’d like to consider it again?

(2) Gabriel
Similar to Joseph, I’d suggested Gabriel when they were expecting Luke because of its Marian meaning; I love it now for them because of its connection to Advent and Christmas.

(3) Martin
Martin was one I considered suggesting to them for Felicity, but then decided not to –which I noted in Felicity’s consultation, so I really already threw it out there! I had it on my list again for them now because it’s a style match for Paul, and I was really trying to find new boy names to suggest to them. It’s a great saintly name, but unfortunately I don’t think it has any Advent or Christmas connection.

(4) Henry
I suggested Henry for Luke almost solely because I have a friend who has a James and a Paul, as well as a Henry! Haha! This time, I had it on my list because it’s a match for Lucy and Samuel, though, like Martin, it doesn’t have any Advent/Christmas connection, as far as I know.

Alright, so those are the names I’d previously suggested that would have been on my list today otherwise. But don’t worry! I can always come up with more ideas! 😜 First though, I just want to offer some thoughts on the names they’re considering, in case they’re helpful:

  • Marian Elizabeth/Violet/Rose: I think Marian as a first name is unexpected and lovely, and certainly *ahem* Marian! 😂 I love each of the middle names Lea and her hubs are considering with it: with Elizabeth, it’s so “The Visitation,” which is awesome; Violet and Rose can both nod to the Advent candles, which is great for what they’re looking for.
  • Lucy Rose Marie: Gorgeous! I like that St. Lucy’s feast day is Dec. 13, which is both during Advent and close to when they found out this baby was on his/her way! Rose and Marie as middle names are just beautiful. If it’s helpful, I have a friend named Rosemarie. (Actually … I wonder if Rosemary or Rosemarie might interest them in the first name spot? I like them both for this family and as Felicity’s sister!)
  • Maximilian Victor: Awesome, I love St. Max and I love that Lea’s due on his feast day! Maximilian has more of a “Felicity” feel to me than their older boys, and helped me when trying to come up with boy ideas for them.
  • Samuel Victor: I agree, I like how it sounds with the older boys. I also love the story of Hannah and Samuel, and as I mentioned above with Hannah, I think Samuel could be a nice nod to the surprise! of this baby.

Speaking of the surprise factor, when I read that Lea might like a name that nods to that, my first thought was Isaac! I excitedly scribbled it down for them … and then remembered they already have an Isaac! But I quite like the Hannah/St. Anne/Anna idea for them in that vein. Another surprise baby was John the Baptist, though Lea had previously said John has been used a lot in their family.

Okay! On to my suggestions for this baby:

Girl
(1) Lydia
As soon as I saw Lydia in the post on Advent names I did for CatholicMom, I thought yes!! The biblical Lydia was a seller of purple cloth, which could be a nice nod to the purple candles of the Advent wreath. Additionally, it’s a style match for Samuel! I love it as a sister to Felicity.

(2) Stella
Stella might be too Christmassy and not Adventy enough? But I love it for this family! It means “star,” and so can refer to the Christmas star, but it can also refer to Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris), and it’s a style match for Lucy.

(3) Holly, Ivy
Of course both Holly and Ivy have an unmistakable Christmas feel (and I know I’m referring Christmas a lot, instead of Advent, but it’s hard to separate out the two! And most people have holly and ivy up during Advent, so I think they work!), but they’re also both entries in my book of Marian names! I wrote: “Christmas holly (Ilex opaca et al.) has been known as St. Mary’s Holly and represents the perpetual virginity of Our Lady” and “Kenilworth ivy (Cymbalaria muralis) has also been known as Tears of Mary.” Ivy is also a style match for Eli.

(4) Natalie/a
Speaking of Christmas names that also work for Advent, Natalie is a style match for Nicholas and I thought they might really like it! Its variant Natalia is gorgeous too. St. Natalia’s feast is July 27, so if the baby comes that early, Natalia or Natalie might be perfect!

(5) Susanna (Zuzu)
Susanna might be my favorite idea for this baby — it means both “rose” and “lily” in Hebrew, which gives Lea and her hubs Rose without the “common” feeling (and is also why it’s in my Marian names book); it can be Advent-y through its nickname Zuzu (Zuzu’s petals in It’s a Wonderful Life!); AND St. Susanna’s feast day is August 11! Felicity and Susanna sound like amazing sisters!

(6) Immaculata
Finally, I have Immaculata here more as a middle name idea, inspired by St. Maximilian Kolbe, since he founded the Militia of the Immaculata and often referred to Our Lady as “the Immaculata.” I know a little Faith Immaculata and I’ve always thought her name was just stunning; for this family, I’m loving the idea of Rose Immaculata — Marian and Kolbe-ian in one name! I know Lea said Rose feels too common, but as a first name it isn’t really. It was no. 123 in 2018; it was a top 100 name — often in the top 20 — from 1900 to 1960 before dropping down as far as 392 in 1997. It is on the upswing — it broke into the top 300 in 2011 and since then has increased each year — but Lucy is no. 51, for reference. Of course, if they just can’t shake that “too common” feel, then that matters! But giving the name an unexpected middle can give the whole combo a real sparkle.

Boy
(1) Andrew
I loooove Andrew for this baby, it’s hands down my favorite idea!! I think it’s amazing as a brother to James, Paul, and Luke (and Felicity of course), but even better, did you know that Advent is set in reference to the feast of St. Andrew? His feast is Nov. 30, and the First Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday nearest his feast. How cool! Andrew Victor is very handsome.

(2) David
I also quite like David for them — as with Andrew, I love it with brothers James, Paul, and Luke, and its Advent connection is fantastic, being that we wait for the birth of King David’s descendant. David Victor sounds fine together.

(3) Nathan(iel)
Another name from Jesus’ genealogy is Nathan, and since Nathan is a style match for both Luke and Samuel, I thought it would be a good suggestion for this baby! Nathan’s place in the genealogy is pretty cool, as I wrote about in this post. The longer Nathaniel is a match for Nicholas, and Nate and even Nathan can certainly be nicknames for it. Nathan Victor and Nathaniel Victor both work nicely.

(4) Dominic
Dominic is a match for Maximilian, and I love that it means “of the Lord,” so they can definitely assign it an Advent meaning if they want to! St. Dominic’s feast day is August 8, which could be great for a boy born a few days early! Dominic Victor has a pretty heavy-duty meaning: “victory of the Lord”!

(5) Charles
Charles is based solely on style — it’s a match for James; Charlie is a match for Lucy; and its variant Carl is a match for Paul. Since they’re having a hard time with boy names, I felt like I couldn’t not include a name that seems to match their taste! Charles and Charlie are great names and have such great patrons: Sts. Charles Borromeo and Charles Garnier; St. John Paul II (birth name: Karol); and Bl. Karl of Austria (for whom JP2 was named!), among others. (If you read the article at that link, you’ll be left thinking there’s no better name for a Catholic boy than Charles!) I like Charles Victor.

(6) Sebastian
Originally, I had Oliver here, also for style reasons: it’s a match for both Felicity and Lucy, and a sweet brother for James, Paul, and Luke. But then I said Oliver Victor out loud and thought that didn’t work too well! So I’m changing my last idea to Sebastian, which is also a match for Felicity, as well as Maximilian. I actually love Sebastian Victor together, since St. Sebastian is the patron of athletes!

And those are all my ideas for this family! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for the little brother or sister of James, Paul, Luke, and Felicity?

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 expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!

Birth announcement: Lincoln David!

sanctanomina Birth announcement , , , ,

I posted an emergency consultation last night for Meredith from Daily Divine Mercy and Catholic Sticker Club — her baby was on his way and they weren’t sure about his name! She has let me know that he’s arrived and been given the so-handsome combo … Lincoln David!

If you remember, Lincoln David had been their chosen name until Meredith’s hubby started having second thoughts, which is when she reached out to me. She writes,

“You might think I’m crazy for what I’m about to say, but I wanted to see what he looked like before we committed to Lincoln … [The names from the consultation hit] on ALL of my favs, [hubby] is just really picky. Ultimately I’m just grateful we agreed. I’d be sad if we didn’t have any more boys and I missed out on Lincoln.”

Isn’t that perfect?? I told her that being sad at the idea of never being able to use Lincoln is a perfect litmus test for whether a particular name is the right one or not. And coming to an agreement with her husband is so great! I know I always feel like that’s the pinnacle of naming for me — I love when my husband and I finally agree on a name.

Another fun bit about this name is that Meredith really wanted a Christmas connection with the middle name, and liked that David had that … and today is the “Key of David” O Antiphon — so her little guy was born on the Key of David Eve! So great! (I wrote more about O Antiphon names here.)

Thank you to those who left ideas for Meredith in her eleventh hour!

Congratulations to the happy parents and big sibs Jackson/Jack, Theodore/Teddy, Clara, and William/Will, and happy birthday Baby Lincoln!!

Lincoln David with his mama and two of his big sibs ❤

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 — a perfect🎄Christmas gift🎄 for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!