German names

Baby name consultation: Mary, family, strength, beauty, and nickname options for baby no. 3’s name

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , , , , ,

Happy Monday! There are a bunch of holy people celebrated today — some that jumped out at me are two popes (Pope St. Adrian III and Bl. Pope Eugene III), St. Morwenna, and St. Sunniva of Bergen.

Please remember that as of July 2 (as I wrote in the post that day), I’m suspending consultations indefinitely due to various things going on in my life (all good!). I will continue to post consultations I’ve already done for those families who want public posts, and I have some birth announcements and other things to post this summer as well; I also always keep you all in my prayers! 🩷🩷🩷

Today’s consultation is for Annelise and her husband, who are expecting their third baby very soon! This little one is a green bean (=gender unknown) 🌱 and joins big sibs:

Mariana Catharine (“She is named after both my mother and great grandmother – both Catharina Maria – with her own unique twist on the family tradition. Mariana also catches my husbands paternal grandmother Mary and mine and my MIL’s middle name, Marie. I love that her name is not only three of my favorite saints, Mary, Anne and Catherine, but also so deeply rooted in our family and Austrian heritage on my mom’s side. She chose her own nickname – Mari. Which suits her perfectly! If she had been a boy, she would have been James William“)

Henry James (“While I was pregnant with him, he came to me in a dream and told me his name. When I woke up, I very excitedly told my husband I met our baby and not only is it a boy but he told me his name. Every fiber of my being knew we had to go with this name for him. When he was finally born, holding him was surreal because he was absolutely the same baby as in my dream. His name carries a lot of family significance on my husband’s side. My husband is named after his grandfather Hale James [“Jim”], who was named after his father James Hale. My husband loves that our Henry has the same initials [HJB] as his grandfather, who passed not long before Henry was born. While Henry the 8th gives the name some bad PR, there are a few wonderful Saint Henry’s we love! And James goes without saying. We love the nickname Hank and our Henry really brings it to life. He is all things boy, tough and wild! If he had been a girl, he would have been Lillian Alexandra“)

Mariana Catharine and Henry James are such attractive combos and I love that they have faith and family significance. Mari and Hank are such sweet sibling names!

Annelise writes,

“For this baby, I’ve been feeling my heart connect to only one name – Maddalena. Which is both wonderful and challenging. I love that this name, like Mariana, has so much familiarity to it and yet is very unique. It sounds both new and old at the same time. It’s a beautiful connection to Mary Magdalene, who’s feast day is in July, and is full of nickname potential! The cons are that my husband isn’t a big fan. His worries are that it is too long, too easily misspelled and worries if it is too similar to Mariana. He would prefer the more common, Madeline. 

When it comes to boy names, we love the idea of using my husband’s middle name as the middle name. Christopher is also my husband’s father’s middle name. Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree on a first name we both like that works well with Christopher. So we aren’t fully committed to this idea.

Stylistically, I am drawn to romantic, lyrical names for girls and regal, traditional names for boys. I care very little about how popular a name is and actually prefer, especially for girls, more unique names with strength, beauty and nickname options. I love when a name has deep religious significance, family and personal ties. My own name is Annelise Marie. I grew up with a unique name and nickname (Lissi) and loved it. I love that it calls to Saints Anne, Elizabeth and Mary. My own name has that unique but sounds familiar feel that Mariana and Maddalena have. 

My husband, however, is drawn to names that sound very familiar and aren’t too exotic. He would happily choose from the 25 most popular names in the US, while I read those as a list of names to avoid, particularly for girls! lol He is on board with using first and middle saint names.” 

Some names that Annelise likes include:

  • Diana
  • Louisa/Louise
  • Cecilia
  • Elisa 
  • George
  • Owen
  • Otto
  • Michael
  • Charles 

Some names her husband likes include:

  • Cecilia
  • Charlotte
  • Delaney
  • Mackenzie
  • Michaela 
  • John/Jack
  • Charles 

Some family names that might be nice to include are:

  • George
  • William
  • John
  • Michael
  • Quinn (could be for boy or girl)

Saints they love include:

  • St. Padre Pio
  • St. Anne
  • St. Mary Magdalene
  • St. Clare
  • St. Teresa
  • St. Azelie 

Some additional considerations:

“Mary has always been my guiding force. I feel profoundly called by her and close to her. Some of her titles I love are Our lady of the Mystical Rose, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of Heaven, Queen of All Saints. 

Hard no list: While we both love Charles, we simply can’t do it with our last name.

[Annelise’s grandfather recently passed.] His passing was expected … but has not come easily. He was an extraordinary man and so well loved by his family. 

I think it would be wonderful to honor him somehow in naming this baby.” His full name included Floyd, Eldo, and Quinn.

Additionally, Annelise shared a portion of her family tree with me, which I had such fun looking through — so many great names on there!

I also really loved hearing the names Annelise and her husband would have given each of their older kiddos if they’d been the opposite sex — James William and Lillian Alexandra give a good sense of their style. I know some people consider the names their children would have been named to be off limits going forward — I’m assuming that’s how they feel?

As for the names they’re considering, I’d love to offer my thoughts in case they’re helpful:

  • Maddalena: This is, indeed, a gorgeous name! I like how Annelise characterized it as “both new and old at the same time,” and I love that St. Mary Magdalene’s feast is in the month she’s due. I would love to help figure out a name in her honor that Annelise and her hubby both like! I’m interested that he thinks it’s too similar to Mariana — I’m sorry to say that I had a similar thought when I first read it, especially because the “r” in Mariana would sound more like a “d” for Spanish speakers, which is something I think of because we have a large population of Spanish speakers where I live. But that may not be their situation, which would certainly make Maddalena less problematic from that perspective. If we put aside for just a second the fact that Annelise has “been feeling [her] heart connect to only” Maddalena as a first name (which is definitely an important consideration!), some possible solutions or compromises between you and your husband could be:
  1. Maddalena as a middle name: Moving Maddalena to the middle spot could make Annelise’s hubby feel more okay with them using this form that she prefers. If they did so, they could use a first name that they both agree upon and really just leave Maddalena as the seldom-seen middle name, or they could incorporate Maddalena into the everyday call name. For this family, my favorite idea would be Mary Maddalena. It’s an old but traditional practice in several Catholic cultures (Irish, French, Spanish, Italian) for every daughter in a family to have a form of Mary as their first name, even if they exclusively go by their middles. Considering that Mariana already has a Marian first name, they could consider Mary Maddalena as their second baby’s given name (first + middle), and call her by a nickname of Maddalena. If you used Lena, there’s no issue at all with Mariana and Maddalena being similar — Mari and Lena are great together! You could also do something Rose Maddalena and do a mashup nickname from the first + middle like Romy or Reina.
  2. A different form: Maddalena and Madeline are sort of the two ends of the spectrum regarding the names to honor this Saint. I wonder if something more in the middle would be agreeable to them both? I’m thinking Magdalene (or Magdalen, Magdalyn) — it’s not as familiar as Madeline but not as potentially problematic as Maddalena (especially in terms of not being as similar to Mariana). It also has more of a surname feel, like Delaney and Mackenzie on Annelise’s husband’s list. Another option is Magali, which I don’t see often — I knew a woman with this name a long time ago, it’s the Occitan (French) form.
  • Cecilia: Because Annelise and her husband have pretty different lists except for Cecilia, which they both share, Cecilia is definitely high on my list for them! I love it as a sister to Mariana and I love it on its own, but I also love the idea of something like Mary Cecilia as mentioned above.
  • Louisa/Louise: Both lovely names, but they made me think of two other names that I would think of as a closer match for this family: Lucia for a girl and Louis for a boy. I wonder what they would think of those?
  • Diana: I find this one surprising! But when I consider that Annelise prefers “regal” names for boys, Diana makes sense. I don’t love that it has the same ending as Mariana though.
  • Elisa: This is one of my favorites for this family because of its connection to Annelise’s name! I love that Mariana has “ana” like her Anne, and using Elisa for her second daughter would give both her girls a nice connection to her. Because she likes “romantic and lyrical” names for girls, including the very Italian Maddalena, I wonder what she would think of the Italian form of Elizabeth, Elisabetta? Elisa could still be the nickname.
  • Charlotte: Even though Annelise don’t have this on her personal list, Charlotte is a style match for Louisa, and since they both like Charles but can’t use it, maybe Charlotte is a good compromise?
  • Delaney, Mackenzie: These names Annelise’s husband likes are definitely different from the ones she likes, but they gave me an idea for some that might be good compromises — I’ve included those ideas in my list of “official” suggestions below.
  • Michaela: I’m interested by Michaela — it can have a Delaney/Mackenzie feel (as in McKayla), but in the spelling Michaela it has a more traditional feel. I’ve actually always loved it and had it on my own list.
  • Christopher as middle name: I love their tentative plan of using Annelise’s hubby’s middle name for the baby if they have a boy! It’s so meaningful that it’s also her father-in-law’s middle name. Since she said they haven’t been able to agree on a first name they both like that works well with Christopher, I wondered what they’d think of considering Hale as a middle name? It’s a middle name that would clearly be for Annelise’s husband’s side of the family, and it has a totally different sound and rhythm from Christopher, which might mean that it would work well with names that wouldn’t work well with Christopher.
  • George: This definitely fits into the “regal, traditional” feel Annelise prefers for boys. Georgie is such a fun nickname, and I also love Geo and Geordie.
  • Owen: I loved seeing Owen three times in Annelise’s family tree! I’m not sure what I think about it for a first name for them, though … it has a different feel from George and Charles, for example … I have always loved St. Nicholas Owen — I could see loving them using it in that way (as a middle name for Nicholas, as a direct nod to that Saint, while also looping in their family name), or as a middle in general.
  • Otto: Otto is very cool, but this helps me articulate a thought I’ve been trying to formulate: the mix of ethnicities they have represented in their name lists is unexpected, especially given their very English surname. Even though Mariana is listed in Behind the Name as Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, and Ancient Roman, I think it, and similar names like Juliana, have been used enough that they don’t come across as obviously ethnic. Maddalena, however, is clearly Italian, and if then if they add in Owen, which has a more Irish feel, and especially Otto, which has a very German feel, people who pay attention to names might take notice. I know Annelise has German and Austrian ancestry, so Otto totally makes sense for them! I guess I’m feeling like Otto calls names like Maddalena into question more, which I’m not sure they want to do. Or maybe it doesn’t matter to them! And it doesn’t have to necessarily! (** ETA: Annelise subsequently shared with me that she had a very international upbringing, which has definitely informed her taste in names. So cool! **)
  • Michael: Michael on Annelise’s list and Michaela on her husband’s is interesting … Michael is certainly solid, handsome, and saintly for a boy!
  • Charles: I’m so bummed that they both love Charles but they can’t use it! I wonder if the variants Carlo (like for Bl. Carlo Acutis — soon to be St. Carlo!) or Karol (St. JP2’s birth name) appeal to them?
  • John/Jack: John with the nickname Jack seems like a perfect name for this family. John has the “regal, traditional” feel that Annelise prefers, and Jack feels like her husband’s style. John is probably my top choice for this family of the names Annelise and her hubby are considering! It also has the amazing quality of going well with all kinds of middle names — it can serve to “normalize” the more out-there middle names, too, in the same way that I’ve always thought Mary as a first name does for girl names. When I was looking through Annelise’s family tree and saw a relative named John George, I immediately loved John George as a combo for them! But I also love John Christopher! And John Pio! And John Charles! I think John Christopher nicknamed Jack is what I would recommend — it seems like a name that hits all the right notes (family, faith, and a name that both Annelise and her husband are likely to like).
  • William: I really love names that work to honor both sides of the family!
  • Quinn: I love Quinn as a possible middle name! I’m not as much of a fan of it for a first name for them — if they were doing all Owen-type names, then yes, definitely Quinn! But with Maddalena and Otto in the mix as well, I would prefer Quinn in the middle. George O’Quinn, John O’Quinn, William Quinn, and I love Mary Quinn for a girl (sounds like Mary, Queen)! This is a nice, easy way to honor both Annelise’s mom and her grandfather.

Speaking of, I want to spend a minute talking about Annelise’s grandfather specifically and her family tree more generally — I have so many ideas to share! First off: her beloved grandpa. I had so much fun thinking about his name! I looked it up to see if the meanings of any of his names might be helpful, and Behind the Name says Floyd is a variant of Lloyd, which means “grey.” Grey! What a cool name! I think it could work for a boy (for a first or middle) or a girl (probably more as a middle — the new Hunger Games book/movie has Lucy Gray Baird as one of the main characters, and she goes by the double Lucy Gray, so I wouldn’t do that that combo [though I love it!], but Maddalena Grey is a very intriguing combo!) But only if Annelise was sure to feel like her grandpa was represented in a meaningful way if Grey was used somehow!

Then, Eldo: I’m so intrigued by Eldo! It’s kind of a mystery name! It’s not in Behind the Name’s database (I consider Behind the Name to be the most trustworthy in terms of name meaning, origin, etc.) so I had to venture out into sites of questionable reputation and found that it could be of Aramaic origin via South India meaning “birth of Christ” (source, source) (would be cool if Annelise or her hubby had any ties to India in their family!), or it could be of Spanish/Galician/Portuguese origin meaning “happy, joyful” (source). Both of those meanings are amazing! They inspired some of my suggestions below. Also, Christopher could nod to Eldo if they accept the “birth of Christ” meaning!

Then, further in Annelise’s family tree, I found some really lovely names and combos, some of which also inspired some ideas below. It was cool to see Cecilia — a name they both love, and it’s also a family name! Regina is a middle name for one of her ancestors, which means “queen” and has a long, impeccable tradition of being used for Catholic girls in honor of Our Lady. It could be used in honor of Queen of Heaven and Queen of All Saints, as Annelise noted she loves those titles. Other variants include the Spanish Reina (RAY-na) and the French Reine (REN). Could be cool for a middle name! Ooooh and I’m just thinking, they could use Reina as a mashup-type nickname for Rose/Rosa Maddalena, which would get Mystical Rose, St. Mary Magdalene, and any of Our Lady’s titles as Queen in one name! Gah! I’m loving that idea!

Speaking of Marian titles, Annelise said that some of her titles that she most likes are Mystical Rose, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of Heaven, and Queen of All Saints. I wonder if she would ever consider Rosa Mystica as a first + middle combo? Any of the Rose names could honor that title (Rose, Rosa, Rosemary, Rosalie), and could also honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, too. They’re considering John for a boy, which could also nod to Our Lady of Guadalupe because of St. Juan Diego (Juan is the Spanish form of John). And I already mentioned some ways of working in “queen” (Regina, Reina, Reine), but the “of heaven” part could be fun to play with: Regina Caeli is “Queen of Heaven” in Latin, with Caeli said like CHAY-lee — I’ve seen some families name daughters Caeli (first name) in honor of this title. Celeste means “heavenly,” so that could work too: Regina Celeste, Reina Celeste, Celeste Regina. Annelise and her hubby both like Cecilia, and the very similar Celia, which can work as a nickname for Cecilia but is also its own name with separate etymology, means “heaven” — maybe that? Celia Regina, or mixing it up to something like Celia Rose or Celia Rosemary, could be lovely and meaningful from a Marian perspective.

Okay! On to new ideas! As noted, I was inspired by Annelise’s family tree, and I also did my usual research, looking up Mariana as well as the names they’re considering in the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link) as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. I really tried to harness a “romantic, lyrical” feel for girl names and a “regal, traditional” feel for boy names. Based on all that, these are my ideas:

Girl

(1) Elena

This idea was inspired by a couple things. I didn’t think of it until I saw Annelise’s ancestor Helen Regina in her family tree, and thought that was such a beautiful combo! Helen didn’t seem quite right for this family, though, nor Helena or Helene, but the variant Elena seems perfect! Then I realized that Elena has the same sound as the end of Maddalena, so maybe Elena could be a good compromise between A. and her husband! (They lose the St. Mary Magdalene connection, but they could make up for it with a variant of Mary somewhere: Maria Elena, Mary Elena, Elena Marie, etc.) If they like the idea of mirroring the full Helen Regina combo, Elena Regina and Elena Reine would both do nicely.

(2) Natalia, Natalina, Noel(le)

This was originally inspired by the possible meaning of Eldo being “birth of Christ,” since the Natalie and Noel names literally refer to Christmas Day. Then I saw Natalia in the BNW as a style match for Mariana! Like Mariana, Natalia is very pan-European, having usage in lots of different countries and languages. I couldn’t help but notice that a specific Italian variant is Natalina, which nearly rhymes with Maddalena (depending how you say the “lena” part), but might provide enough differentiation from Mariana that Annelise’s husband would be okay with it? Then of course Noel and Noelle. They could certainly consider them for the first name spot, but I feel like they’d be a more natural fit for them in the middle spot.

(3) Matilda

Annelise has an ancestor named Mary Matilda, which I loved right away! Matilda is also a style match for Louisa on her list! It’s a little clunkier than Mariana and Maddalena, but a beautiful name nonetheless with some sweet nickname options.

(4) Stella(maris)

Estella is a match for Louisa, which didn’t feel quite right to me for this family, but made me think Stella might be perfect. Then I found that Henry, Jack, and Charlie are all style matches for Stella! While I love the trimmer Stella, I wondered what they’d think of the fuller Stellamaris? It refers to Our Lady’s title Star of the Sea, and is also seen as Maristella, which I would have suggested in a heartbeat if it wasn’t so similar to Mariana! I also have a friend who named her daughter Stella Marissa as a nod to Our Lady, Stellamaris.

(5) Saintly surname-type names

Because of the surname-y Delaney and Mackenzie on Annelise’s husband’s list, I wanted to try to think of names that might be similar, but with saintly significance and hopefully a “romantic, lyrical” feel. Avila came immediately to mind — it’s not technically a surname, but serves a similar role in St. Teresa of Avila’s name. Another is Salette, from Our Lady of La Salette — I did a consultation for a family considering Salette (dropping the “La”) and I thought it was brilliant and so pretty. Bessette is another, from St. Andre Bessette, and has the added feature of looking like a French diminutive of Elizabeth. Annelise and her hubby might also like to look through the girls’ names in this family — there’s a definite saintly surname feel in a few of them, like Vianney, Clairvaux, and Lourdes, and all of them done in an ultra-feminine way. (That link goes to the original post I did on them; here [this baby had some scary health issues at birth, in case any of you can’t handle reading that kind of stuff right now!], here, here are birth announcements for subsequent babies. Amazing namers!)

Boy

(1) Edmund

As soon as I saw Edmund in the list of names similar to Louisa I knew I had to include it on the list! It has that regal, traditional feel I think Annelise is looking for, with lots of nicknames options: Ed, Eddie, Ted, Teddy, Ned. St. Edmund Campion is great! Edmund Christopher is very handsome to me.

(2) Arthur

Arthur is a style match for Louise, and again, once I saw it I was like yes! What is more regal and traditional (especially from an English perspective) than Arthur?? I thought they might particularly like a nickname I’ve been seeing for Arthur: Bear, because of Arthur’s possible and mostly accepted meaning of “bear.” (I love the nickname Bear so much that I tried to convince my husband of Benedict Gerard with the nickname Bear for our youngest!) There are several Blesseds with that name. I think this is a name that wouldn’t pair well with Christopher — do you all agree? Arthur Christopher has repeated ending sounds, but some people quite like that. If these parents like Arthur but not Christopher with it, maybe they would consider Arthur Grey? Or, I also really like Hale from Hubby’s family — Arthur Hale is handsome too!

(3) Felix

This was originally inspired by Eldo’s possible meaning of “happy, joyful,” but then I was excited to see that it’s a match for Otto and Eliza (similar to Elisa). I’ve been seeing some little Felixes here and there, it’s a cool name!

(4) Alexander

I did a quick general search online for “regal” names for boys, just to see if anything jumped out, and Alexander was on the list, which reminded me that Alexandra was going to be Henry’s middle name if he’d been a girl, and I wondered if they’d be interested to switching it to a boy’s name? Alexander is saintly and papal and has some cool nickname options in addition to the familiar Alex like Xander, Zander, and Sander. Sandy is a traditional nickname that isn’t used much anymore, but my boys have a friend named Sandy whose given name is Alexander and I love hearing it.

(5) Bates, Hart

These last two are taken from Annelise’s family tree, both names that I think are so cool and could work as either first or middle names. Bates is the first: I’ve always loved that Bates is a medieval diminutive of Bartholomew, giving it impeccable faith credentials in an unexpected way.

The other is Hart: I worked with a doctor a long time ago in a previous career whose son was named Hart — his wife’s maiden name. I loved that! A hart is a male deer (stag), and the “ard” part of names like Gerard and Bernard are actually the Old German element “hart” which means “brave, hardy,” both of which gives it a really masculine spin. I also love that it sounds like “heart,” which gives it an affectionate feel. There’s also this birth announcement I did for parents who named their son Gerhardt and call him Hart. Love, love, love!

And those are all my ideas! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for the little sister or brother of Mariana and Henry?

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!

Fun Friday Question: Do you choose your child(ren)’s Confirmation name?

sanctanomina Fun Friday Question , ,

Happy Friday everyone! Appropriately, today is the feast of the Saint of joy, Philip Neri! Read more about him here and here.

I read a question online the other day from a Catholic mama wondering how other mothers chose their children’s Confirmation names. I found it to be such a startling question! While I do know that parents would choose a Confirmation name for a very young child who can’t do so him/herself, as this reader and her husband did for their baby who would be very sick at birth (for those who remember me sharing about Meagan [here, here], and posting her little sister’s consultation and birth announcement, you’ll love to know that she has two more younger sisters!), and another friend did so for her very little ones who were Chrismated (the Eastern equivalent of our Confirmation), I’m more familiar with the practice of confirmands choosing their own Confirmation names as teens (or adults, for those who are confirmed later). I never considered choosing my boys’ Confirmation names, and indeed have delighted in witnessing their process of identifying the Saints they feel closest to and choosing their names. I definitely like to bring up the subject with them, and maybe make suggestions, but I’ve never thought of taking over that decision. I chose my own without my parents’ help as well, and so did my friends, but maybe our experience isn’t the norm? Maybe there are regional differences?

And speaking of regional differences (and my second mention of German naming practices this week!), I have friends in Germany whose son was just confirmed and when I asked if he took a Confirmation name she said that that’s not really a thing there. Do you know other places where it’s not common to take a Confirmation name? (Here is the article I wrote for CatholicMom on Confirmation names a few years ago, which might be helpful for anyone choosing a Confirmation name [parents or confirmands].)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Read all about how to get your own baby name consultation from either Theresa or myself 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!

German naming rules

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty , ,

Happy Monday, everyone! Today is the feast of St. Rita, one of my very favorites — I turned to her for intercession for some of the most *impossible* things in my life, after hearing of her powerful intercession from a friend who had an *impossible* thing happen after asking St. Rita for help — God has worked through her in amazing ways! I wrote more about St. Rita here and how to honor her in baby naming here. St. Rita, pray for us!

Did you all see Swistle’s lastest post about finding a name that works in Germany and the United States? I was fascinated by what the letter writer (an American) wrote about the restrictions she feels in naming her baby, who will spend significant time in Germany while growing up. Specifically:

“For some background on German names: there are a lot more unspoken rules around naming a child. If you look up ‘kevinism’ you will see just some of the rules linked to Germany. These include not giving your child a super ‘american/british’ name, not doing a super american/french name with a german last name, place/thing names are not acceptable, and names that are of german/latin/hebrew (biblical) descent are seen the most proper and correct. Scandinavian names are also popular in Germany. There are some exceptions to these rules, but generally these rules apply. While some younger germans are pushing away from these rules, they are still very much followed by many.“

Kevinism! A new word to me! I looked it up and found the article “The Strange German Disease Called ‘Kevinism’: Can a Lame Name Mess Up Your Life?” in Discover magazine (links in the quote were in the article; I didn’t add them):

“Another day, another crazy German noun: Kevinismus, which basically means, ‘You’re named Kevin? Sucks to be you.’ According to a study of interactions on the German dating site eDarling, online daters don’t even bother to click on the profiles of users with names that seem foreign and gauche to German ears, like Kevin. The authors suggest that this online neglect due to their unpopular names mirrors lifelong social neglect, which is also responsible for making Kevins smoke more, get less education, and have lower self-esteem. …

An article on Kevinism [note: this article contains a lot of German] in Die Welt quotes sociologist Jürgen Gerhards, who asserts that Anglo-American names (Mandy, Justin, Angelina to name a few more) are a lower-class phenomenon. It seems that no one has actually crunched the numbers to prove that, but jokes like ‘Only druggies and Easterners are named Kevin‘ suggest he’s on to something.”

Had you heard of this??

The mom gave a list of some of the names that she said won’t work, including:

“Lucy- the name we both love, but cannot use because it is seen as an English name and not a proper name in Germany. Plus, the older generations in Germany who do not speak English pronounce it like ‘lutzie’ which is not a dealbreaker, but we want a name that everyone feels comfortable with. …

Claire- we are both ‘okay’ with this name. Germans would prefer it to be Clara, but we can get away with Claire …

Kaia- a name I like, it would work in Germany b/c of its scandinavian origins …

Maren- another name that we’ve thrown around. Also diverts from my typical leanings for more classic names, but it is shorter. I like the meaning ‘of the sea.’ It is a German/Danish name, but older name in Germany and I think it is rising in America. …

Lily- the only ‘flower/thing’ name that Germans find acceptable, because they do not consider this name to be a flower. In Germany, the name is spelled ‘Lilly’ and comes from the full name Elizabeth. …”

Fascinating! It reminds me of the story Jenny Uebbing related about her Joseph Kolbe:

“… while traveling in Italy (the first time) we chatted up a capuchin Franciscan from Poland in a restaurant in Assisi of all places, and as he bounced 7-month-old Joey on his knee, we proudly told him that his middle name was Kolbe ‘for Father Max.’ The happy friar shot us a look of horror and asked in disbelief You took his family name?! So I guess the American trend of assuming surnames is not kosher the world over.”

Anyway, back to Kevinism — some more info from Swistle’s readers:

“I am German and have named two children in the last four years in the knowledge that a move to the UK in the next years is quietly likely. Swistle has excellent advice, but I would like to add the following: ‘Kevinism’ is a thing BUT if you know that one parent of the child is from an English speaking country people will be a lot more understanding.”

And:

“Another German Mom (and teacher) here.

Please don’t worry too much about kevinism. It’s on the way out and only pertains to some American names.

Essentially, it’s the same as in the US: if you want to avoid scorn, avoid ‘made-up’ spellings, lots of y’s and celebrity names

Rose (pronounced Rosuh) is actually a fairly traditional given name in Germany. It’s often but not always short for Rosemarie and it is quite dated (a grandma name), but it does exist. And Rosa is considered quite modern. …

Please don’t let the Internet scare you so much. I promise we are not that conservative!!! And just as in the US, we have so many new immigrants coming in, that our children’s generation will see this very differently.”

And there were several other comments that were helpful and enlightening; some gave some great name suggestions, and some pointed out which names are considered “dated” in Germany. I loved reading all of it!

Finally, this comment is kind of amazing!:

“So! I wrote in a long, long time ago about my (now deservedly ex-) boyfriend who hated noun names with a passion, but wouldn’t explain why. I remember you wondering, Swistle, why he hated them so much.

This genuinely answers that: he was German! I didn’t realise that was a German thing! The resolution I never knew I needed.”

Wow! So many things to learn in that post! Do any of you have experience with German naming? Do you agree with the conversation going on in this Swistle post between what the letter writer feels are her limitations and what the commenters are saying?

Read all about how to get your own baby name consultation from either Theresa or myself 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: Saintly, possibly Marian name needed for baby no. 5!

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , , , ,

Happy Monday, everyone! Enjoy this week’s consultation by Theresa Zoe Williams!

Mama Sarah writes in for help naming her fifth child, a little green bean. Baby will join big siblings:

Liam Henry

Josephine Elizabeth

Isaac David

Naomi Evangeline

She says:

“Always a fan of Saint names, especially saints who had a special love for Mary.

Plus James (grandpa), Patrick (husband’s patron saint), Alice (an aunt who passed away this year). I feel kinda funny taking names from a country that we have no heritage from… but that is not an absolute. Our backgrounds are from Poland, Germany, Ireland, England, France, and Omaha Indian. We like names that have a good nickname too.”

So many fun things to consider!

Names they like but aren’t sold on:

“Boys- Maximilian (after St. Maximilian Kolbe), James, Felix, Patrick, Ezra. Leaning towards Maximilian James or Felix James. Looking for more options…

Girls- Gianna Catherine (both saints with feast days near my due date, plus I have a special place for St Catherine of Sienna), Veronica Catherine, Zita Rose, Viviana Therese, Annalice Catherine. Open to other options, just haven’t had anything really stick out as a winner.”

I love so many of these names.

Names they can’t use:

“Pretty much have crossed off any top 10 names and anything difficult to spell or not phonetic.”

Additionally, they cannot use:

  • Matthew
  • Joshua
  • Benjamin
  • Michael
  • Samuel
  • Benedict
  • Luke
  • Noah
  • Cameron
  • Caleb
  • Ryan
  • Cyrus
  • Thomas
  • Blaise
  • Peter
  • Simon
  • Abigail
  • Rachel
  • Julianna
  • Audrey
  • Ruth
  • Zoe
  • Kathleen

On to names!

First, about the names they like but aren’t totally feeling.

Maximilian — I love this name for them. I love that it’s Polish and connected to a very Marian saint. It goes so well with their other kids, too. I especially love Maximilian James.

Felix — I love that this is their other frontrunner right now. Goes great with their other kids and has the bonus of meaning “happy” which is just such a bright, fun meaning for a kid. Felix James is incredibly handsome.

James — I like this in the middle spot for them and I love that it’s an honor name. I really feel like
this has to be their son’s middle name if they have a boy. It’s just so loaded with goodness for
them.

Patrick — Great, solid name that goes well with the other kids. I love that it honors dad in a different way. You just cannot go wrong with a little Patrick.

Ezra — I wasn’t expecting to see this on their list and I’m so glad it is! It’s fun and unique but still fits in with the other kids. I can see why this doesn’t feel like “the one” though.

Gianna- I was surprised to see this on their list because it’s so different from their other girls’ names. That’s not a bad thing! It would definitely widen their taste. I felt this way about most of the names on their girl list, actually. Gianna Catherine is a beautiful name and I love the connection to saints’ feasts near Sarah’s due date and her love of St. Catherine of Siena.

Veronica — Great name, surprised to see it on their list, think it goes well with their other girls. I
love the nickname Vera for this name, too. Veronica Catherine is so chic.

Zita Rose — Completely and utterly surprised by this name in a good way. They’re actually a little more daring than their other kids’ names and facts Sarah gave me imply!

Viviana Therese — Beautiful name. I love this expanded version of classic Vivian and gives their taste in names a much more romance language vibe than their current kids. It fits right in and yet expands their taste at the same time.

Annalice — At first I was confused by this spelling of Anneliese but then realized the “Alice” portion is to honor their aunt who passed. I love this. I think it’s a really sweet spin on a name that fits right in with their other kids. Annalice Catherine is just so full of meaning and gorgeous. This would be at the top of my list for them. The only thing is that they’ll constantly have to spell and correct pronunciation of it for the rest of her life.

On to some new ideas! Let’s start with the girls.

(1) Emilia

Two things gave me this idea for them, their Polish heritage and that their other two girls have middle names that begin with E. Servant of God Emilia Wojtyla was Pope St. John Paul II’s mother. So she’s Polish, an almost saint, and her name begins with E. This name is also a little more romance-language inspired than their current kids’ names but like the ones on their not quite list. Catherine Emilia and Annalice Emilia are both beautiful. As a bonus, here are some other E names I thought they might like in the middle spot: Edith, Esther, and Eleanor.

(2) Miriam

This is an Old Testament name like Naomi and also a form of Mary, putting it on par with Josephine. I loved that this form of Mary gave them an Old Testament connection and is less popular than other Mary variants. Miriam Edith, Miriam Emilia, Miriam Esther, Miriam Eleanor, and Miriam Catherine are all really stunning and go beautifully with their other kids’ names.

(3) Tamar

I was thinking of different Old Testament names that fit with Josephine and Naomi and this one came to mind. She was a daughter-in-law of Judah and a daughter of King David, which I thought was a cool connection to Sarah’s husband David, like Isaac is a cool connection to Sarah. Servant of God Dorothy Day named her daughter Tamar Teresa and I’ve always thought that’s beautiful. Tamar Catherine and Tamar Emilia are also really beautiful.

(4) Phoebe

This one came up while I was looking for Biblical names and thought it was a great fit for them. It means “bright, pure”, so it has a similar meaning to Catherine and is the name of a saint who was a friend of St. Paul’s (you can read about her in Romans). It stretches their naming style just a little bit without going crazy but still fits in really well. Phoebe Catherine is beautiful but the meanings may be a little redundant. If they think that’s the case, I also love Phoebe Esther and Phoebe Emilia.

(5) Tabitha

Another name that popped up while I was researching Biblical names. She was the woman restored to life by St. Peter and I’ve always thought that was really cool. Tabby is a cute nickname and Tabitha Catherine, Tabitha Emilia, and Tabitha Eleanor are all really stunning.

Now for the boys!

(1) Dominic

When Sarah said they like saints who honor Mary and already had Maximillian on their list, this was the next name I thought of. Mary gave the Rosary to St. Dominic and he founded the Dominicans. As a plus, the name means “of the Lord” which is super cool and sweet! Dominic James is such a handsome name and fits right in with the other kids.

(2) Bruno

I thought of this name because they said they have German heritage. Little known fact, but Bruno is actually a German name! Even though places like Italy and Spain use the name quite a bit, too. St. Bruno founded the Carthusians. The name means “armor, protection” or “brown” and I think the armor meaning is particularly cool for a little boy. I like that this name is short and sweet like their other two boys. Bruno James is cool and grounded.

(3) Louis

The next Marian saint that came to mind was St. Louis de Montfort who is famous for writing a consecration to Jesus through Mary and True Devotion to Mary. The name also means “famous battle” which is cool for a little boy. I’m super fond of the nickname Lou, too. The only drawback here is if they care if any of their kids share initials. A Liam and a Louis might be too much for them? Louis James is so classically handsome.

(4) Edmund

I was looking up Polish saints and Bl. Edumnd Bojanowski came up. He founded or co-founded four religious congregations devoted, in some way, to Mary, which I thought was cool for them. The name Edmund means “rich protection” and doesn’t rank in the 1000 of baby names. Edmund James is stunning.

(5) John Paul

Maybe a little obvious? Personally, this is the only double first name I like. The obvious connection here is to Pope St. John Paul II who was extremely Marian and, bonus, he was Polish. John means “Yahweh is gracious” and Paul means “small, humble” and I just think they’re so powerful together. John Paul fits right in with their other kids, too, and John Paul James has a beautiful, strong rhythm and flow.

These are my suggestions. What do you think?

I’m back on hiatus from doing consultations (though check back from time to time, as I hope to open up a few spots here and there as I’m able), 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!

Baby name consultation: German or German-friendly name for boy no. 3

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , ,

Another consultation for this week! So many babies on the way! 😍😍😍

Leah and her husband are expecting their sixth baby and third boy! This little guy joins big siblings:

Maximilian Joseph (“For our first, Maximilian was really the only name we both said we liked from my list. We were of course thinking of St. Maximilian Kolbe. I have visited Auschwitz. I do like the idea of our children having a Saint to look up to and ask for help. We both liked the nickname as well, which we most often use. The name meaning “greatest” was a bonus. 🙂

My husband liked Joseph, which was his dad’s middle name. I also liked it because our son was born in March, right around the Feast of St. Joseph. 

I am also a German teacher and speak the language with my children. So I wanted a name that is spelled (almost) identical and is similar sounding in both English and German.”)

Clara Marie (“For our first daughter, Clara was again the only name that we (at first) both could agree on. I have visited Assisi, and like the meaning of clear, bright. I am partial to girls’ names ending in “a”. 

My middle name is Marie, after my grandmother, Mary, so I found that appropriate and honoring Saint Mary, of course.”)

Gianna Elizabeth (“Then came our twin girls, and I recall it wasn’t sooo hard to come up with two girls names … Gianna is the older twin, and my husband wanted them in alphabetical order. I was reading about St. Gianna Beretta Molla during the twins pregnancy, like her story, and like how the name (in English) sounds. My Mother’s middle name is Elizabeth.”)

Katerina Helena (“My husband actually wanted to name Clara, Katerina, about two weeks before her due date, but, by then, I was already much too decided on Clara. I think of St. Catherina of Siena as her namesake. 

My Mother-in-law is named Helen, hence Helena.”)

Johannes William (“Sticking with German sounding names, we both liked Johannes fairly early on and stuck with it throughout my pregnancy. I was thinking of St. John the Baptist and our son was due, but not born, on his feast day. I also like the nicknames Jo, Hans and Hansi, all of which he gets called, except by my husband, who calls everyone by their whole name, except for Max.

I don’t love that some “strangers” pronounce the J in English, instead of German, but we expected that, and it’s not a big deal. I enjoy the German J (yo) sound. I also like the meaning “gift from God”. 

William is my husband’s middle name, after his Uncle.”)

I love each of these names!!

Names Leah and her husband are considering for their new baby include:

  • Sebastian (“My husband suggested this name first of all, and I liked it. But, to pronounce it in German, it could get a little tiresome to me. Also, I tend to use nicknames, so I would probably call him “Basti”. I like the story of the soldier and martyr St. Sebastian as a patron. It’s sort of on the backburner now.”)
  • Wilhelm (“My husband suggested this too and currently likes it the best. I don’t, because our youngest sons’ middle name is William, the English form of Wilhelm. It just seems like the same name. I would always pronounce Wilhelm with the hard “v” sound and nickname him “Willi”.”)
  • Wolfgang (“I’m not sure which one of us came up with this. The story of St. Wolfgang is not very inspiring to me, but perhaps I haven’t read enough about him. I find it interesting that his chapel was a highly popular pilgrimage site. I would again pronounce this with the hard “v” sound and nickname him “Wolfi”, which I find super sweet for a little boy. When he’s older I feel like “Wolf” is a nice and manly boy nickname that friends might give. The meaning can be taken as “one who goes with the wolves”, or who is like a wolf, which is a good thing, since the wolf was a “hero” and winner of battles or fights.”)

Names they’ve discussed but decided to cross off their list include:

  • Zachariah (“husband doesn’t like how it sounds“)
  • Job (“husband doesn’t like it“)
  • Pio (“husband doesn’t like how it sounds“)
  • Sixtus (“seems like a joke to me“)

It’s so fun to work on consultations where the parents favor names from a certain language or background — I love scrolling through lists of names that might be new to me! Maximilian, Clara, Gianna, Katerina, and Johannes are fantastic names for Leah’s older children, and I was excited to look for German or German-friendly names for their new baby boy.

I thought I’d start by offering my thoughts on the names they’re considering, in case they’re helpful:

  • Sebastian: I love Sebastian, and the nickname Basti is cool! I find that boys tend to love St. Sebastian’s story (those arrows! So gory! So fantastic! Haha!)!
  • Wilhelm: I feel the same as Leah in the sense that they already really used Wilhelm. Otherwise a great name!
  • Wolfgang: I love this too! Wolfi and Wolf are both great nicknames as Leah mentioned — Wolfi for a little guy is adorable, and Wolf for a man is amazing. I looked up St. Wolfgang and thought that the fact that he’s known as the Great Almoner because of his charity is pretty great. This is also one of those names that, if you like German names, Wolfgang definitely needs to be on your list!
  • Zachariah, Job, Pio, Sixtus: I’m glad Leah included the names they’ve considered and decided against, as they provide good information for me in terms of the style of names she and/or her husband likes.

Okay, on to new ideas! You all know that I start each consultation by looking up the names the parents have already used and those they like/are considering in the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link) as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. I did so here, and I also looked through the list of German and Dutch Names in the back of the book, and then I had a couple of other ideas for this family as well. In fact, I had so many ideas that I was excited about that I had a hard time narrowing down to just three! So I’ll list my three “official” suggestions here, and follow with a few more quick ideas just in case.

(1) Dominik

Dominic was the biggest style match for this family, being listed as similar to Maximilian, Gianna, and Sebastian. Spelling it with a K is a neat way to signal their affinity for the German language while not changing the pronunciation at all. Niko is the nickname that I feel like they would like best, but Dom/Dommy is cute too.

(2) Leo

Leo is one of those great names that travels well and fits with lots of different languages and backgrounds. I think the German pronunciation is just a bit different from the English? But I like it because it’s equally at home as the brother of Johannes as it is Gianna, and it’s an actual style match for Clara.

(3) Henrik

I love Henrik! Henry is so hot right now, and Henrik gives it a nice unexpected twist while still being easy to say with an obvious pronunciation. I loved reading about St. Henry II, also known as Good King Henry, king of Germany — a great patron for a boy! Henry is a match for Clara and William (which I hope means Henrik would be a match for Wilhelm).

Okay, so those are my “official” suggestions, but there are so many other great names that I wanted to suggest! Like:

  • Benedikt: If you love German names and you’re asking a Catholic baby name consultant for ideas, you know our German Pope Benedict’s name has to be on here! Again with the K — I like that it signals Germanness without changing pronunciation.
  • Gerhard nicknamed Hardy: I love St. Gerard anyway, and since Leah’s into nicknames, I love Hardy as a nickname.
  • Hugo: The Italian variant Ugo is actually a style match for both Job and Pio. I think Hugo is adorable!
  • Karl: This very nearly made my official list because Charles is a match for Clara and Carlo for Gianna. It always makes me think of St. John Paul II!
  • Konrad: Actually, both Conrad and Konrad would work — I have Konrad here because I know a family who has embraced the dad’s German heritage and named one of their sons Konrad, but Conrad is legit too, and my husband and I also considered Conrad with the nickname Cord, which is listed on Behind the Name as a German diminutive. Another idea is Kurt, which is a contracted form of Conrad!
  • Oskar: I mostly wanted to include Oskar here because it was in the list of German names and I love it, and that K spelling is great.

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the little brother of Maximilian, Clara, Gianna, Katerina, and Johannes?

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!)

Baby name consultation: Old Testament, German/Dutch, and/or Irish-y for baby boy no. 2

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!! You know this is one of my favorite days, and you know Irish names are some of my favorites — check out my Irish names and Rose of Tralee tags for more!! I also read this piece that’s appropriate for today: “It’s not Happy St. Patty’s Day, but St. Paddy’s Day. Here’s why” by Amy Croffey — interesting to get an Irish person’s take!

Today’s consultation was meant to post on Monday, but as has been happening more and more to me as my kids get bigger (whoever said, “Little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems” wasn’t joking! Not that we’re having problems, just life is so much bigger and busier when they’re big and busy!), the day got away from me, and then yesterday Hubby and I took a day trip, so Monday’s post is posting today, which ends up being great because what’s better on St. Paddy’s Day than a baby name consultation?!

Andrea and her husband are having their second baby — their second boy! Their little guy joins big brother:

Jonah John (“My dad, brother, brother in law, and grandfather in law are all named John“)

Which I love for its biblicalness, family ties, and alliteration (I love alliteration). Great job, Mom and Dad!

Andrea writes,

“We thought this baby was going to be a girl and already had the name, Margot Ruth picked out. Obviously there is a chance that we could never have a daughter but would like to take this name into consideration. 

Our baby will be half Mexican, so ideally we would like a name that is pronounceable in Spanish but not too Mexican to be able to go with our German/Dutch last name. 

Overall, we like unique/biblical names but not too weird. We like names with meaningful meanings that are somewhat biblical like “peace”, “God’s gift”, etc.

Both of my grandfathers have passed… one this past August and I’m due around his birthday. His name was Isidro. We kind of like “I” names because of this, but not a must.”

 Some names they’re considering include: 

  • Benjamin 
  • Eli  (“we considered naming our first son this“)
  • Liam (“like it but too popular“)
  • Owen (“like it but too popular“)
  • Oliver (“like it but too popular“)
  • Ira (“husband thinks it’s too similar to Jonah. I feel like maybe an “I” name could honor my grandfather, but not a must“)
  • Peter (“uncle that passed away“)
  • Finn 
  • Otto
  • Sebastian
  • Otis
  • Timothy, Daniel, Paul as possible middle name
  • Edsko (“family name [first/middle] of several of my husband’s Dutch/German family tree“)
  • German/Dutch names

Names they can’t/won’t use include:

  • James
  • Isaac
  • Michael
  • Elijah
  • Matthew
  • Levi
  • Luke
  • Mark
  • Ruben
  • Milo
  • Jude (“has always been a favorite“)
  • Max
  • Joshua
  • Christian
  • Henry
  • Hans
  • Ezra
  • Theodore

Alrighty! So one of the things I noticed first was Isaac and Luke on the list of names they can’t use — I likely would have suggested them otherwise, so it was great Andrea included her “no” list. As for her “yes” list, I love the names she and her hubby are considering! It was so interesting to me to see three solid styles emerge: biblical (Benjamin, Eli, Ira, Peter, Timothy, Daniel, Paul, and I would include Sebastian here, even though it’s not biblical, since I think it has a similar feel as the biblical names), Irish (Liam, Owen, Oliver, Finn), and German/Dutch (Edsko [wow!], Otto, and I would include Otis here, even though it’s English, since it’s related to Otto). I kept all three of those in mind as I looked for names that I thought this couple might like. First, though, I’d like to offer my thoughts on the names they’re considering, in case they’re helpful:

  • Benjamin: A great name! I’ve always loved the full Benjamin and the fantastic nickname Ben. I also like that it’s Old Testament like Jonah, but is popular enough among the general population that I think they could easily use non-biblical names going forward without it seeming too jarring, which is also like Jonah I think. However, since Andrea said that the like Owen and Oliver but they’re too popular, I should warn them that Benjamin is as well: according to the Social Security Administration it’s been a top ten name since 2015 and is currently no. 7. (Since popularity is important to Andrea, I included the ranking for all the names I discuss going forward.) (Jonah’s no. 141, which is a really nice sweet spot of familiar but not common.)
  • Eli: Like Jonah and Benjamin, I think Eli is used enough among the general public that it doesn’t come across as heavily biblical as it used to, which is good if they don’t necessarily intend all their sons (if they have more than these two) to have biblical names. Eli’s no. 62.
  • Liam, Owen, Oliver: I’m glad Andrea included these as names they like, even though they’re too popular for what they’re looking for. Liam has been the no. 1 name in America for the last three years, and no. 2 for three years before that! Owen is no. 21 and Oliver is no. 3. A funny thing about Oliver — my husband and I very nearly named our third son Oliver — he was born in 2008, when Oliver was just starting to not be a “weird” name at no. 118. Now it’s no. 3! Amazing ascent!
  • Ira: I was really surprised to see Ira on Andrea’s list, since I have always thought it to be a name exclusively borne by Jewish men! I’d never looked it up, but did so because of it being on her list, and was surprised that the Jewish element wasn’t mentioned in any of the places I looked — do you all think of it as a predominantly Jewish name, or is that just my experience? It was fun to discover it’s an Old Testament name — I didn’t know it was biblical before looking it up — and I like that it begins with an I, as Andrea said she might like to honor her grandfather Isidro with an I name. However, I agree with her hubby, too, that it’s very similar to Jonah in that it’s a two-syllable name ending in A. Maybe it would be good in the middle spot? But my favorite I idea for them is Isidro itself! I could understand Andrea not wanting to use Isidro in the first name spot, as she mentioned not wanting a name that was jarring with their German/Dutch last name, but it would be great as a middle name! A funny thing here is that one of my boys’ best friends is named Isidor, and his mom is from Germany, so I thought that might be perfect here — when I looked it up to check on spelling (Isidore is English and Isidor is a German spelling) its entry said Isidore “has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.” That’s hilarious, given what my impression of Ira had been, and yet Ira’s entry doesn’t mention Jewish usage at all! My son’s friend goes by Isi (said like Izzy), which is just too cute. Ira is no. 875 (interestingly, after having been a top 500 name for most of the twentieth century and a top 200 name until 1934, it dropped out of the top 1000 in 1993 and only came back on in 2016; it’s been hovering in the mid-900s since, until 2019 when it jumped a little to 875); neither Isidro, Isidor, nor Isidore are in the top 1000.
  • Peter: Peter’s a good, solid name, and I like that it’s in honor of Andrea’s late uncle. It seems a bit different in style than the other names they’re considering, though — I think they might be happiest with it as a middle name rather than a first name? Peter is no. 212, which is very appealing.
  • Finn: I love the name Finn — it’s such a sweet name for a little guy, and so handsome for a man. It’s been used quite a bit in recent years, too, both as a given name on its own and as a nickname for names like Finnian and Finley, so it doesn’t feel as Irishy Irish as it used to. That said, this is a good place to mention that Old Testament, Irish, and German/Dutch are three pretty strong styles, and while one can certainly find overlap between them (I tried to do so in some of my ideas below), if Andrea and her hubs choose names for their children that are on the strong end of each of those style’s spectrums, they run the risk of losing the feeling of cohesiveness that most parents I work with would like for their kids’ names. That is, they tend to like their children’s names to sound like they go together. That’s certainly not a requirement! Every once in a while I work with a couple who prefer to have an eclectic mix among their children’s names, and that’s fun too! I just want Andrea and her husband to be aware of it. Finn is no. 172, a great place to be.
  • Otto: It’s so funny, I was so surprised when I first started hearing Oliver being given to babies fifteen years ago, then Owen followed right behind, then Oscar, which I thought was really the outer limits of the O names for American parents. But more recently I’ve been seeing Otto here and there, which is just tremendous! It was out of the top 1000 altogether from 1975 to 2010, and is currently at no. 427.
  • Sebastian: I love the name Sebastian — I love how sophisticated and saintly it is — and it still feels offbeat and unusual to me, even though it’s no. 18. No. 18! I’m always shocked by that!
  • Otis: I didn’t know until I looked it up that Otis is related to Otto! And like Otto, I would have thought that Otis would be beyond the limits of what American parents would consider for their children, and then I saw that actors Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde named their son Otis in April 2014 and in 2015 it came back into the top 1000 after not having been in the top 1000 since 1994. It’s amazing the power celebrities have! Otis has continued to rise since then, though slowly — it’s currently at no. 707.
  • Timothy, Daniel, Paul: These are all wonderful names and perfect in the middle spot! Timothy is no. 188, Daniel is no. 15, and Paul is no. 245.
  • Edsko: This is a fascinating name! I looked it up to learn more about it, but I can’t find it — it’s so fun to have a truly unique name in their family tree! How meaningful for them!
  • Margot Ruth: I just have to say, I LOVE their girl name!! I definitely took Margot into consideration when I was doing my research!

So those are all my thoughts on the names Andrea and her hubby are currently considering, now on to new ideas! You all know that I always look up the names the parents have already used and those like/are considering in the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link) as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. I did so here, and I also took a look through the list of German/Dutch names in the back of the book. I also used the Name Matchmaker tool at babynamewizard.com for Ira, since it doesn’t have its own entry in the book. I certainly noted any names that were listed as similar to more than one of the names on Andrea’s list, but I was also looking for names that I thought could be both biblical and German, for example, or biblical and Irish, or German-ish and Irish-y, that kind of thing. Based on that, these are my new ideas for this little guy:

(1) Gabriel

I mentioned that I kept a special eye out for names that are listed as similar to more than one of the names on Andrea’s list, but of the names on her list, Jonah’s name is the most important since they’ve already chosen it and bestowed it on one of their children — whatever name they choose for this baby needs to be in consideration of Jonah. Not that they can’t choose a name that’s different in style! Just that, Jonah’s name needs to be consciously considered, since he’s already named. So seeing Gabriel listed as a style match for both Jonah and Sebastian — two names on their list, one of which is their older son’s name — definitely means that Gabriel needs a spot on this list! It’s one of my favorite names, and I really like that it’s Old Testament like Jonah, but it’s also in the New Testament, which provides a nice bridge between names like Jonah and Peter, and it’s a pan-European name, meaning it’s used by almost all of the European cultures, so it can fit with most any heritage, including German and Dutch. Gabriel’s Behind the Name entry doesn’t include Irish in its list of usage, but I always think of Irish actor Gabriel Byrne as being a great example of how it’s got decent traditional usage in Ireland as well. Gabe is a great, friendly nickname, too, and if they don’t like Gabe, I’ve actually seen Eli used as a nickname for it! Gabriel is no. 37.

(2) Abel

I’m always surprised I don’t see Abel get more usage! I see Abraham from time to time, and Abel can take Abraham’s awesome nickname Abe, but Abel itself is so much lighter than Abraham. This family has an Abel, if you’d like to see what Abel’s siblings’ names are at least in one family. Abel is no. 157, which is a great match for Jonah’s 141.

(3) Bram

Speaking of Abraham’s nicknames, as much as I love honest Abe, Bram is the nickname that really has my heart, and I think it might be perfect for this family! Bram is in the German/Dutch list, and it’s also the name of Dracula author Bram Stoker, who was Irish. Biblical, German/Dutch, and Irish-y in one name! Wow! Not only that, but it’s a style match for Margot! So many amazing things about this name! It seems that the Dutch pronunciation is BRAHM, rhymes with “bomb,” which I think is probably close to what the Spanish pronunciation would be as well, right? The English pronunciation is BRAM, rhymes with “gram,” and I suspect the rhymes-with-gram pronunciation is what they’ll mostly hear, so that’s something to consider before choosing this name. Either way, as long as they’re firm and consistent about their chosen pronunciation, it should be fine! Bram is not in the top 1000.

(4) Ethan

Ethan is listed as a match for both Jonah (!) and Eli, and even though it’s a biblical name, I don’t think that fact is well known by American parents in general. Do you agree? Due to that, I think Ethan might be a great choice for Andrea’s second boy, since it shares Jonah’s biblical-ness, but in such a subtle way that they could easily branch out from biblical names going forward without too much of a fuss. Something that was really tickling me when I was working on this was the idea of Ethan Edsko — what an amazing complement to Jonah John! Both with great family meaning, and the alliterative thing is just so fun. I could see how that would really restrict them going forward, though … so this is probably a bad idea, but I do love it! Haha! Ethan is no. 10 after having spent 2002-2015 between nos. 2 and 7.

(5) Elliott (Eliot, Elliot)

Elliott is a match for Oliver, and it’s also a medieval diminutive of Elias, which is a variant of Elijah, which makes Elliott kind of a sneaky Old Testament name! Elliott could be a perfect way to connect to Jonah’s Old Testament-ness while opening up their style for non-biblical names going forward. They could also use Eli as a nickname for it, if they wanted. (I also love Elliott Edsko!) Spelling can be an issue — since there are three spellings, I think it might be hard for people to remember which spelling is the right one for this baby — Eliot has a literary feel, for poet T.S. Eliot; Elliott is the standard, I think — the one from which the others came; and Elliot kind of splits the difference. Elliott’s no. 160, Elliot’s no. 173, and Eliot’s not in the top 1000.

(6) Tobias

Tobias is a match for Margot and Sebastian, which is just perfect, because it’s also an Old Testament name like Jonah, AND it’s in the list of German/Dutch names, so Tobias would be a great connection between all those names! I don’t see a Spanish variant, but I think it’s pronounceable in Spanish, right? Tobias is no. 272.

(7) Mathias

Rhyming with Tobias and also on the German/Dutch list is Mathias, which I love for this family for those reasons, but also because it’s a New Testament name rather than an Old Testament name, which is a nice way to expand their style, and because it’s a style match for Margot! Mathias is the German/Dutch spelling, which is no. 420; the spelling Matthias is the English spelling, and is no. 407.

(8) Oscar

Finally, I mentioned Oscar earlier, and I’d love for Andrea and her hubby to consider it! It’s got German/Dutch usage (the spelling Oskar would really reinforce that), it’s easily pronounceable in Spanish, and writer Oscar Wilde was Irish, so they have a lot of their boxes checked right there! One of my readers who has really embraced her husband’s German heritage recently named her son Oskar, so cute. Oscar is no. 205 and Oskar is not in the top 1000.

And those are all my ideas! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for Jonah’s little brother?

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!)

Birth announcement: Oskar Karl Wolfgang!

sanctanomina Birth announcement , , , ,

I had the privilege of doing a consultation for the second baby of longtime reader Alyssa and her husband several years ago, and posting a subsequent birth announcement for that baby, and I’m so excited to share that they’ve welcomed their third baby — a little boy given the fantastic name … Oskar Karl Wolfgang!

Alyssa writes,

“I’m happy to introduce Oskar Karl Wolfgang! As you know, with a husband named Klaus, we always go for German names and Oskar joins siblings Konrad Wolfgang, Louisa Marie and Hugo Wolfgang (in heaven). Oskar is a German name that we both liked, and Karl is after my husband’s brother. We were just going to stick with one middle name but our 6 year old, Konrad, was so adamant that the baby also share the middle name Wolfgang (he LOVES his middle name!), so we added it in. We’ve been calling him Oskar or Ozzie, or sometimes Ox because he was our biggest baby so far! His patrons are St. Oscar Romero, Bl. Carlo Acutis (I was in labor the day he was beatified and I prayed to him a lot throughout the process), and St. Wolfgang. You can never have too many patron saints, right?!“

Absolutely 100% right!! I love this name story, and I LOVE their style! In the previous consultation I’d done for them, I’d written that their first son Konrad’s name (Konrad Wolfgang) is “such an amazingly fabulous name! It’s bold, traditional, saintly, and I love how unapologetically German it is, and how they just own it!” — I feel the same way about Oskar Karl Wolfgang! They’ve done a fantastic job! I also love that Alyssa was in labor on the day that Bl. Carlo was beatified — an awesome new Blessed who just happens to have the same name (Italian variant) that Alyssa and her hubby had chosen as Oskar’s middle. Amazing! And how Konrad loves his middle name and wanted Oskar to share it, just like their little one in heaven does! And Ozzie and Ox! So wonderful, all of it!

Congratulations to Alyssa and Klaus and big sibs Konrad and Louisa (and Hugo in heaven), and happy birthday Baby Oskar!!

Oskar Karl Wolfgang

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

Spotlight on: Hildegard

sanctanomina Spotlight , , , , , , ,

My CatholicMom.com piece for August posted on Wednesday and I don’t want you to miss it — I know we’re all in need of some peace as the new school year looms (or has already started for some of you)! Check it out: A Litany of School Saints: Protection and Help for the Academic Year.

This name spotlight is a little different from my others, in that it’s more about how to honor this saint without using her name! A reader wrote:

“Would you ever consider doing a post on names to honor St. Hildegard of Bingen? She is such an amazing saint, and we would love to honor her in naming our baby, but maybe there are other parents out there, like us, who just can’t quite bring themselves to name a little girl Hildegard. (For those who can, good for them! But I’m not quite there!)“

I totally agree, she is such an amazing saint!! And while I have a soft spot for Hildy/Hildi/Hildie (either as a nickname for Hildegard or as a given name in her honor), I do of course totally get what this mama means in regards to the full Hildegard. It’s a little heavy!

Before getting into other names that might honor her, though, I want to talk about Hildegard itself for a minute. According to Behind the Name and the Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Hildegard is made up of two elements: hild/hiltja, meaning “battle” and gard/gart , meaning “enclosure, protection; yard, garden.” Of those two, the first element seems the most “St. Hildegard,” both in terms of sound (Hilda/Hilde would seem natural to most people if you were to tell them that it was in honor of St. Hildegard) and in terms of meaning (“battle”! What an amazing and unexpected meaning for a girl and a woman! Such a warrior name! Perfect for one of the only female Doctors of the Church!). Other spellings and variants include the English Hylda and the Italian Ilda and Elda.

(And again: Hildy/Hildi/Hildie! SO sweet! For a real-life sweetie pie named Hildegard, see Haley Carrots’ little girl!)

However, if none of these are quite right, I think these other ideas can work:

— Sibyl: The mama who wrote to me had already thought of Sibyl as an idea, since St. Hildegard of Bingen is known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, and I think it’s definitely a St. Hildegard-specific name, if you want it to be. A great option! Other spellings and variants include Sybil, Cybill, Sibylle/Sybille, Sybella, Sibilla/Sibylla, and the intriguing Norman variant Sébire (though I’m not totally sure of pronunciation).

— Rhine: While Rhine is a place name that’s not objectively specific to St. Hildegard, Sibyl of the Rhine makes it subjectively so. In this sense, Rhine could be for St. Hildegard in the way Siena is for St. Catherine and Avila is for St. Teresa. Its sound is similar to Ryan and would make a really fun and different way of honoring her.

— A name to do with “ten”: One of the interesting things I discovered in my research is that St. Hildegard is traditionally understood to be her parents’ tenth child (apparently only seven children are recorded, but perhaps her parents were counting miscarried children, as so many of us do?) and as such was dedicated to the Church as a “tithe.” How interesting! Maybe a name having to do with the number “ten” would hit the right note for some families? Dixie, for example, is thought to have derived for the French for “ten.” (I’ve also loved the idea of Tennyson for a tenth son! I can see it working nicely for a girl too! It doesn’t have “ten” in its meaning, but the Ten- makes it obvious!)

— Bernard, Eugenius, John, Benedict: Men with these names played important roles in St. Hildegard’s life and afterlife. St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Pope Eugenius both encouraged her in her writings; Pope John XXII beatified her; and while Hildegard was popularly regarded as a saint since the fourteenth century, Pope Benedict XVI made it official (a process known as “equipollent [equivalent] canonization,” which I’d never heard of before) and also declared her to be a Doctor of the Church. Bernadine, Bernadette, and Bernarda are feminine variants of Bernard; Eugenia is for Eugenius; Joan, Jane, Jean, Joanna, Gianna, Giovanna (and more!) are some feminine variants of John; and Benedicta, Benedetta, Bettina, Benita, and Benoîte (and more!) are for Benedict.

— Two further arguments for a Benedict name: St. Hildegard was a Benedictine; also, since Benedict means “blessed,” I’ve often thought it can be used in honor of all the holy people (I included it in my book of Marian names for that reason).

— Names with similar meaning: I looked for other names that had a similar meaning and found a few possibles. The one that I think is closest is Blair — it means “plain, field, battlefield,” which is so similar to Hildegard’s “battle” + “enclosure, protection; yard, garden.” Others include Clotilde, Matilda, and Romilda, all of which have that “hild” element contained within (the “ild” part in all of them). And the fact that “garden” is included in the meaning of the “gard” part of Hildegard makes me think of flower names, which would really provide some nice, feminine alternatives.

I know a lot of these ideas might seem too far afield from Hildegard, but I also know that some families might find them to be the perfect solution to the dilemma of wanting to name a daughter after St. Hildegard but not finding Hildegard to be their style. (And if you want to name a son after St. Hildegard, many of these can work for boys too!)

Please share with me your ideas for naming a baby after St. Hildegard without using the name Hildegard! I’d also love to hear from any of you who have named after St. Hildegard, or know someone who has. I want to hear all the details! Happy Friday everyone!

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: Elizabeth Ríonach (nn Liesel)!

sanctanomina Birth announcement , , , , ,

I had the great privilege of doing a consultation for Laura and her husband’s second baby a few years ago, and posting a birth announcement, and then doing a consultation for her third baby this past summer — and here’s the birth announcement! Laura and her husband have welcomed their third daughter and given her the amazing name … Elizabeth Ríonach nn Liesel! I don’t normally include the nickname in the post title and name announcement, but I’m sure you can see why I’m all heart eyes over this gorgeous name and its nickname!

Laura writes,

“We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Elizabeth Ríonach, who we are called Liesel.

Thank you so much for our consultation; it really helped me to understand why I wasn’t quite committed to Liesel: I really wanted her to have a longer, more formal name. This didn’t perturb [hubby], but as a German speaker, it sounded too nicknamey to be her given name. I couldn’t get him to go for Anneliese, but he was happy with Elizabeth, which I suggested after an hour had passed since her birth and she still had no name.

Ríonach was just too lovely to pass up, and I love that she has the Gaelic connection to sister’s Caoilfhinn. We really liked the nod to Our Lady as well.

Juliet Ríonach and Riona Josephine were other contenders. I think we settled on a great name, and having her full name be Elizabeth has helped make the unusual Liesel more approachable for friends and [those] who can’t get over the Sound of Music connection.

More importantly, we are so in love with our little Liesel. Big sisters Clara and Rosalie could not be happier. In fact, Clara told me just this evening at dinner that she’s so happy we picked Liesel to be our baby from Jesus. ❤️”

I just love this whole story! The consultation I did for Laura over the summer was mostly for a middle name (and I’m so thrilled that my suggestion of Ríonach — Irish for “queen,” making it Marian — hit the right note for them!), but how great is it that the consultation helped her and her hubby figure out the best first name for their baby girl as well!

Congratulations to Laura and her husband and big sisters Clara Louise and Rosalie Caoilfhinn, and happy birthday Baby Liesel!!

Elizabeth Ríonach “Liesel” and her big sisters ❤

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!

Baby name consultation: Adventurous German or Irish name needed

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

I had such fun working on a consultation for Laura and her husband’s second baby a few years ago — they ended up giving the baby the middle name Caoilfhinn, just to give you an idea of the kinds of names they like! I’m so excited that they asked me for ideas/thoughts/suggestions for baby no. 3 — a third girl! This little lady joins big sisters:

Clara Louise
Rosalie Caoilfhinn

Such lovely, feminine names!

Laura writes,

“You did a consultation for our second, and now we’re facing a similar problem with our third: a long list of boys’ names, and a tiny list of girls’. If you could help us finalize a third option, we’d really appreciate it!

We love our heritage as German/Irish and love European names, but especially ones in that vein. A saint name is preferred, but not necessary for both first and middle. So far, we have liked the name Liesel the best.”

Liesel!! I love it!!

“Now we’re having a hard time picking *the* middle name. There are several that we like, and we were trying to avoid anything that sounded ‘sing-song.’ (Áine/Anya came up in our last consultation and was beloved by many readers, but Liesel Áine sounds like lasagna! Haha.)

Here are some of the ones we have on our list:

Amabel (though the two names ending in -el might be a bit much), Paulina, Mariana, Josephine, Bronwyn, Joan, Hildi, Kateri

Bronwyn may be my favorite because its sounds are so different from Liesel. But I also like one or three-syllable middles as I think they help the entire name flow. (Hubby will NOT consider a four-name moniker.)

Another name we’ve considered (as a middle) is Eilidh (AY-lee). My grandmother was Eleanor, but Aaron really dislikes that name. He likes Eilidh, which I’ve heard is the Gaelic version, but it doesn’t sound right with Liesel. My husband also likes Maisie, particularly as a nn for a Marian name (though we’re not sure which). I think it’s perfectly darling.

To help you out (and hopefully not confuse you), boy names that we (BOTH — lol) like are: William, Wolf, Arthur, Thomas, Becket, Edmund/Éamon, Frederick/Freidrich (nn Fritz), Bernhard/Bernard, Roger, Felix, Rórdán.“

I love Laura and her hubby’s taste in names! I think Liesel is a great sister name to Clara and Rosalie, which also checks off Laura’s boxes of German and saintly. Her comment about Liesel Áine sounding like “lasagna” made me laugh out loud! I think they’re right to avoid it! As for their other middle name ideas:

— I love Amabel, but I agree with Laura that it doesn’t have the best flow with Liesel

— Paulina, Mariana, Josephine, Bronwyn, Joan, Hildi, and Kateri are all great options! I agree that the juxtaposition of the German Liesel and the Welsh Bronwyn is interesting and unexpected, I like it! But I think I agree with Laura that one- and three-syllable middles have the best flow with Liesel

— I too love Eilidh! But I agree that Liesel Eilidh isn’t ideal. I wonder if Laura and her hubs might consider the fuller Eilionoir? Liesel Eilionoir has the rhythm they like and is so similar to the sound of Laura’s grandmother’s name (though I think it’s Scottish instead of Irish) (although, I’m just seeing that Nameberry lists Eilidh as Scottish as well, so maybe Scottish is ok?). Or what about a Nora name? I like both Liesel Nora(h) and Liesel Noreen, even though Nora and Noreen are both two syllables

As for Maisie — I love it too!! SUCH a sweet name!! I love the idea of using it as a nickname for a Mary name. Mariazell is a name in my book that I love, that could definitely take Maisie as a nickname. Marie-Azelie, or any M- name with Zelie as a middle, could work to get to the nickname Maisie as well. And actually … Liesel has that same Z sound … so Mary Liesel, Marie-Liesel, Maura Liesel, Moira Liesel, etc. could lead to Maisie as a nickname as well. Or M + any name with a Z-ish sound!

One of the names that showed up a couple of times in my research for this family as being similar to their style — specifically similar to Arthur, Edmund, and Bernard — is Marian/Marion. I like Marian as a sister to Clara and Rosalie too! Or as a middle? Liesel Marian?

Another idea for Maisie is a Margaret name — Maisie is a diminutive of Mairead, which is the Irish Margaret, so Margaret, Marguerite, and Margot could all work as full names that use Maisie as a nickname. Or Mairead! I actually know a couple little Maireads, including the daughter of one of my best friends. She always says, “Rhymes with parade!” which makes it really easy to help others know how to say it. Margaret/Mairead isn’t Marian, but they could easily remedy that with a Marian middle.

Another name I adore, which is also an entry in my book, is Maylis (also spelled Maëlys) — it can be said may-LEES, may-LIS, or MAY-lis, and is generally considered to mean “Mary of the lily” in French. I could see Maisie working for it as a nickname! Though I admit Maylis is so short that maybe a nickname is silly.

I’m sure none of you are surprised that the “minute” I meant to spend on Maisie turned into quite a few minutes! Haha!

Back to the task at hand! You all know that I usually start consultation by looking up the names the parents like and have used in the Baby Name Wizard book, as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity — I did so here, and I also looked through my Marian names book and my own mental files for ideas for Liesel’s middle name, which yielded some good ideas, I think!

(1) Alannah
I love that behindthename says Alannah as a given name “has been influenced by the affectionate Anglo-Irish word alannah, from the Irish Gaelic phrase a leanbh meaning ‘O child’ …” Isn’t that sweet? I love Liesel Alannah!

(2) Annika
Laura mentioned Anya/Áine, and when I saw Anna show up as a style match for a bunch of the names on her list, I thought maybe a different Anna variant would do. I love Annika for its German feel — I know Laura likes mixing ethnicities, but Liesel Annika was too gorgeous to not suggest! That said, if they were open to changing the first name, Annika Eilidh was striking me as a stunning option as well.

(3) Maeve
Maeve is Irish, one syllable, and Marian per my book! Baby Names of Ireland gives one of its meanings as “cause of great joy,” which is so similar to Our Lady’s title Causae Nostrae Laetitiae (Cause of Our Joy). Liesel Maeve has that two-syllable + one-syllable rhythm that Laura favors.

(4) Riona, Rionach
Amazingly, this actually showed up in the Baby Name Wizard — it tends to not be the greatest source for unusual or ethnic names, but Riona was listed as a match for Eamon! It, or the name it derives from, Rionach, means “queen” — I included Riona in my Marian names book as a variant of Regina! The even more Irish Rionach might appeal to Laura and her hubs even more. Liesel Riona(ch) is pretty cool! (Though Baby Names of Ireland doesn’t include the fadas, Behind the Name lists them as Ríona and Ríonach, so that could be fun for someone like Laura.)

(5) Loretta
My last idea is Loretta, which is a style match for Bernard and was my own grandmother’s name — she was super Irish, and her given name was Mary Loretta, though she went by Loretta (or Rett). It’s a Marian name, after Our Lady of Loreto, or the Marian Litany of Loreto, and I looove how Liesel Loretta sounds. I love alliteration like that! (But I totally understand if Laura and her husband don’t!)

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for Liesel’s middle name?

My book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life!