Hanson brothers

I have a backlog of birth announcements from public figures in the Catholic online/social media world that I’ve been wanting to share, so here they are! Happy Friday! (If I’ve forgotten anyone, please let me know! There are also a couple that I’m not totally sure are okay to post publicly — if you’re one of them, please let me know!)

I posted a consultation for Kendra from Catholic All Year back in May, and you’ve probably all seen that her baby was born in September — a gorgeous baby girl named … Barbara Josephine!

I did a private consultation for Lindsay from Just Love Prints late last year, and was delighted when she shared the birth of her baby just after Christmas — a lovely little lady named … Lillian Joy “Lilly”!

I posted a birth announcement for the fourth baby of Katrina from Rose Harrington Art a couple years ago, and she recently shared the birth of her fifth baby on Instagram — a beautiful baby girl named … Liliane Cruz “Lily”!

I posted about the naming of the children of my favorite football player, Philip Rivers, a few years ago (thanks to his lovely wife!), and then a birth announcement for their eighth baby not that long after; they’ve since had another baby — a darling daughter named … Anna! (Beautiful story and picture of the whole family [minus the baby] here.)

The Hanson (MMMBop) middle brother Taylor’s wife Natalie is a name lover like us, and has written about naming their babies on Nameberry here (first four) and here (no. 5); she had baby no. 6 a year ago — a handsome little dude named … Claude Indiana Emmanuel “Indy”! She shared the name story on Nameberry here. (Note: I know they’re not Catholic. I hope Natalie doesn’t mind me including her here!)

I love following Anna and Gabe Liesemeyer from In Honor of Design on Instagram, and couldn’t wait to see what they named their sixth baby! I wasn’t disappointed! They welcomed a sweet little Miss who they named … Chiara Maris!

Leah Darrow was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model and is now an amazing Catholic evangelist! She shared an amazing video on Instagram FROM HER HOSPITAL BED AS SHE LABORED that she’d made in response to Michelle Williams’ recent Golden Globes speech about how she wouldn’t have been able to have the life she has without having had an abortion; like an hour later Leah posted the picture of her brand new baby (!!!), a bouncing baby boy named … Valor Joseph!

Congratulations to all the parents and siblings, and happy birthday Barbara, Lilly, Lily, Anna, Indy, Chiara, and Valor!! Have a great weekend 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!

Like with the Royal baby post, this one veers a little outside of my main topic of Catholic baby naming into non-Catholic celebrity babydom. But the Hanson brothers, of MMMBop fame, and their wives have done, in my opinion, an extraordinary job naming their children.

Oldest brother Isaac and his wife Nikki have: Clark Everett (called Everett), James Monroe (Monroe), and Nina Odette (no word on whether she’s called Nina or Odette)

Middle brother Taylor and his wife Natalie have: Jordan Ezra (Ezra), Penelope Anne (Penny), River Samuel (River), Viggo Moriah (Viggo), and Wilhelmina Jane (Willa). (Mom Natalie is a name nut like us, and has blogged about the naming of her children here [first four] and here [number five].)

Youngest brother Zac and his wife Kate have: Ira Shepherd (Shepherd), Junia Rosa Ruth (Junia), and George Abraham Walker (Abraham).

There are so many things I love about their naming style. I love that they have a whole-family tradition of going by middle names — a really nice way for cousins to feel connected. I love that their collective taste is a little funky, with an often Christian spin, as seen with Biblical names James, Jordan, Ezra, Samuel, Moriah, Junia, Ruth, and Abraham. Junia is one of my favorites of their choices, and I love it followed by Rosa Ruth. I also love their adventurousness, as they seem to just choose names they want to choose.

What do you think of the Hansons’ names? Do you have examples of families whose naming you admire?