Mary

The new-to-me story of Anastasia and Salome

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty , ,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Did you know this about Anastasia?

sanctanomina Including Mary, Naming nitty gritty ,

I don’t even want to reference the other Anastasia that’s been flooding the media, so I won’t (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, blessed are you), but I will say that this gorgeous name has a tiny bit of a taint for me at the moment. But then I read this today, and while I’ll have to do some digging to find out more (and I don’t have time right now, as a certain 11 month old wants breakfast), I’ll just leave you with it, and if you know more, please share!

“Anastasius, common in the Greek Church, was seldom used in the West, but Anastasia, the name of a 4th-C martyr mentioned in the Canon of the Mass, became a general favorite, and in medieval legend was attached to the Virgin’s midwife.”

~ The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, EG Withycombe (21)

Jessie’s girl!

sanctanomina Baby name consultant, Birth announcement, Update , , , ,

Back at the end of January Jessie wrote asking for help naming their fourth baby, a girl. She has wonderfully provided us with an update, and a photo!

“Kate! I’m so sorry for not updating you sooner! Our little girl was born on Valentine’s Day and we have just been so caught up in her that I forgot to write … [My husband] decided he would really like to honor his Great aunt, who was like a grandmother to him and to who he was very close to without directly using her names. Her middle name was Mary so I searched all your posts for Marian versions. We ended up with Liliana (lil-ee-ah-na) Grace. Lily for Mary, Ana for St. Anne, Jesus’ grandmother, since he always thought of his Aunt as his grandmother, Grace because I still liked it 🙂  We both love it and I never would have thought of it without your posts which included so many original ways to include Mary/saints in names. Thank you so much! I’ve attached a picture for you in case you want to use it in an update … we did truly love your suggestions. I’ve called dibs on Louise Philomena for next girl!!!“

How wonderful! Something that had really jumped out at me when Jessie first emailed was how she said, “I’d love something that matches the feel of both Eleanor/Ella like my first little girl but by the time I weigh everything else, I can hardly think about that too.” I totally think Liliana fits the bill! Nice job, Jessie and Hubby! And thanks so much for the update — it’s so fun to read the end (but really beginning!) of the story!

DSCN4981

Liliana Grace

Spotlight on: Pearl

sanctanomina Spotlight , , , ,

A reader emailed asking about the name Pearl from a Catholic point of view, specifically wondering if it might be Marian?

Pearl is actually very Catholic, but not in that form. It’s most familiar in the form of …. Margaret.

According to behindthename, Margaret is “[d]erived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαριτης (margarites) meaning “pearl.”” There are loads of Sts. Margaret, and loads of versions of the name. My favorites include the French Marguerite and Margaux/Margot, the Spanish Margarita, the Welsh Megan, and my most favorite of all is the Irish Mairead. And the nicknames! Some of them are names in their own right, but they can also be used as nicks: Greta, Rita, Madge, Maggie, Meg, Meta, and others. Even Daisy, because the French form Marguerite is also a noun (marguerite) meaning daisy (the flower), and I’ve heard of a couple little girls given the name Margaret and the nick Daisy.

I mean, come on. Margaret has it going on.

One thing it isn’t, though, is Marian. I couldn’t find any title/appellation referring to Our Lady that included “pearl” anywhere (if any of you can prove me wrong, I’d be beyond delighted!). Even the Irish Mairead, which contains the Irish Mary within it (Maire), has no connection to Mary.

So: Pearl. Beautiful, saintly name, and very Catholic, as long as you look at it through Margaret glasses.

Baby name consultant: Wee Lassie Heckaman

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

It’s March! In my house, March means Irish — Irish food, Irish music, Irish coffee in my green Claddagh mug (okay, maybe just the “coffee” part of “Irish coffee”), Irish green everywhere for the entire month — so what better way to kick it off than with an Irish-y Irish name dilemma?

Theresa and Sean Heckaman are expecting #8, a little girl, who will arrive via a scheduled c-section on St. Paddy’s Day. Their other children are:

Theodore (Teddy) Stephen Joseph

Joshua David Joseph

Patrick Darrel Joseph (also born on St. Paddy’s Day!)

Joseph Wayne Michael

Miriam Anna Rose

Evalena (Evie) Margaret Marie

William (Liam) Fulton Joseph

Theresa gave a lovely explanation for each one, which I’m not including here for space reasons, but each name is a lovely mix of family and saint names (note also the “Joseph” in each boy’s name and the form of Mary in each girl’s).

Theresa wrote in this comment here on the blog:

“I am scheduled for a c-section on March 17th, and we decided to go with the name Rosary Brigid Marie. It’s making me a little nervous because it’s not common and anyone who isn’t Catholic looks at me like I’ve got three heads. I love the nickname Rosie, and can’t seem to settle on any other formal name, so Rosary it is! The good news, though, is that any Catholic who hears it is thrilled 🙂 … I’m having a hard time with the middle names, though. I’m not entirely sold on Brigid, the first draft was Rosary Therese Marie, but that changed when we learned the baby’s birthday, now we have to do something Irish! We’ve always planned on having our girls’ third middle name to be Marie, but we started off with Miriam Anna Rose (figuring Miriam is enough Mary for one name), so I’m not afraid of finding another Mary name, but flow is a problem. Moira and even Maura seem to make it too much of a mouthful. I’m probably overthinking this!”

I’d responded to that comment with:

“Theresa! This is gorgeous! And Rosary has a long history of use in other languages — Rosario, for example, is a name used for both men and women in Spanish, and for men exclusively (I think) in Italian. My mom actually has a friend named this, an older Italian man, and he’s always gone by “Soddy” (I assume because the Italian pronunciation is more like ro-SOD-io? With that semi-rolled R?).The behindthename.com entry says about Rosario: “Means “rosary”, and is taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Rosario meaning “Our Lady of the Rosary”. This name is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Italian.” So I’m totally on board with Rosary, nice job! And Rosie totally makes it not a big deal — friendly, “normal,” accessible nicknames can make just about any formal name okay, in my opinion. … (I do just want to whisper to you though, since you’ve already decided on Rosary and all, that Roisin is one of my favorite favorite Rose names, and it’s sooo Irish!!! It’s a diminutive of the Irish Rois (Rose), and could totally take the nickname Rosie! Roisin Therese Marie? Mmmmmm!) … Also, the Rose names are considered Marian, and I totally would consider Rosary to be so too — does that help with your flow problem? You don’t need to use Marie (unless you want to of course) because Our Lady is already honored. If you still want an M Mary name there, I agree Moira and Maura don’t flow well, because I think the rhythm of Marie is what works — two syllables, with the emphasis on the second. So Maureen would flow quite well I think (or the Irish spelling Mairin, accents over both i’s).”

I encouraged Theresa to email me if she wanted to chat about it some more, and I’m so delighted that she did!

She gave this further info: “Other first names considered for this new baby: Louisa and Beatrice. I have always wanted a Rosie, though. I think the main problem we’re (actually myself since my husband is fine with the current name, Rosary Brigid Marie) is just the middle names and finding something that really goes together well and has an Irish feel.”

So this is what I have to say about all that:

First off, I actually think Rosary Brigid Marie sounds fine and flows well and — honestly truly — sounds like a name a native Irish person would use (at least in Old Ireland): reverent, Catholic, and Irish. A beautiful, gorgeous name for a St. Paddy’s Day baby! And St. Brigid is St. Patrick’s female equivalent, so I really do think they’ve chosen a brilliant name. (I have a long love of all things Irish — my maternal grandfather was born and raised there, in Cobh, Co. Cork, and my own mom has studied the Irish language, and I studied abroad in Galway while in college, and have visited a bunch of other times … it’s all I can do right now to not replace “mom” with “mum” and start saying “thanks a million” and go make some tea. So I hope my sense is right that Rosary Brigid Marie is a good Irishy Irish name!)

But I will always have a suggestion or two (or three, actually, as I always shoot for) when it comes to names, and here they are:

(1) Alternatives to Rosary

Theresa loves Rosie, but not the Rose names. Rosary is pretty inspired I think, and I suggested Róisín already (though I get that might be too much for someone who doesn’t live in Ireland) (pronounced row-SHEEN), but I also wanted to suggest Rosaleen. Beyond Shannon and Sean: An Enlightened Guide to Baby Naming (by the Nameberry ladies) says, “The Irish had imported Kathleen to America in the nineteenth century, but it wasn’t until the 1920s that the true impact of the Irish “een” names began to be felt. These included not only actual Irish names like Pegeen, Eileen and its variant Aileen, Maureen (a diminutive of Maire, the Irish Mary) and Noreen (a diminutive of Nora), but also Josephine, a French name that was very popular in Ireland; Doreen, an Anglicization of the Irish Dorren or Doireann; and Rosaleen, the Irish pet form for Rose. Colleen — an Irish word meaning “girl” but never used in Ireland as a name — hit the New World in the 1940s, peaking in popularity in the early 1960s” (6) (my emphasis).

Rosaleen is sweet and old-fashioned (in the best way possible) and Irish. I love it. Also, when I’m considering Irish names (as I would have loved to have given my boys names like Padraig and Tadhg but my husband has not a drop of Irish blood and his style is “Bob”), I consider the kinds of names that traditional Irish parents might choose — which may or may not be super duper Gaelic-y Gaelic but almost certainly will be saintly or otherwise heavy-hitting-Catholic (one of my native Irish friends when I was in school there was John Paul — along with a thousand [or more?] other boys his age, as he was born just after JP2 was elected pope). This all brings to mind a friend of mine from years ago named Rosemarie, who is also native Irish, and represented the Gaelic-speaking part of Ireland (the Gaeltacht) in the 2001 Tralee Festival (read about the Festival here and here). I love Rosemarie, and have had it on my list for years, through all these boys of mine.

(2) Alternatives to Brigid

I’m thinking of the second middle as the most obvious nod to the baby’s birth/feast day. Brigid is great — as I mentioned above, she’s St. Patrick’s female counterpart, and even has a cross named after her. Very Irish, very saintly, just lovely. Another idea is Bríd (said breed), which is a contracted form of Brigid and might be helpful if a one-syllable name would work better in that spot. BUT, if other super-Irish ideas are wanted, how about:

  • Catriona — said kah-TREE-nah (like Katrina), an Irish form of Katherine
  • Kathleen/Caitlin — the Heckamans could do Kathleen, that spelling, or Caitlin, which in Irish is said exactly like Kathleen! They’d have an uphill battle trying to get people to say a first name Caitlin as Kathleen, but in the middle they can do anything they want
  • Eilis — said EYE-lish, the Irish form of Elizabeth

I particularly like the idea of a C/Katherine or Elizabeth variant for them, as they haven’t used either one yet with their other girls, and they’re such big Catholic names.

(3) Alternatives to Marie

I know Theresa said they aren’t worried about finding a suitable Marian name, but I thought I’d throw a few good Irish options out there anyway, especially since they’d originally planned on Rosary Therese Marie — if the Marie were to change to an Irish form, they could go back to using Therese if they wanted and still have an Irish-y name:

  • Máire — Beyond Shannon and Sean says this is “the true Irish version of Mary.” They say it’s pronounced like Marie; behindthename says it’s pronounced MOY-ra; babynamesofireland says it’s pronounced MY-ra. That says to me they can choose the pronunciation they want!
  • Some other “Mary equivalents used in Ireland” (according to Beyond Shannon and Sean): Carmel (after Our Lady of Mount Carmel); Dolores (after Our Lady of Sorrows); Máirín – said like Maureen, an Irish diminutive of Mary; Maureen (anglicized form of Máirín); Molly (a diminutive of Mary)

What do you all think? Can you think of any other ideas that might be helpful for Theresa and Sean for their little Irish Catholic baby girl?? Are there any Irish readers out there who can verify my Irish thoughts or tell me I’m full of bologna/blood sausage?

Reading round-up

sanctanomina Reading Round-up , , ,

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

Elizabeth

Thomas

Stella Mary

Maria Francesca

Ann Kateri

Ryan

Abby Aurea

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Saturday! Day of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Reading round-up

sanctanomina Reading Round-up , , , , ,

Swistle posted an update today to a fun dilemma that could easily have fit in here: Baby Boy or Girl Seewald-without-the-S, Sibling to Urban, Charles, Levi, and Matthias. Those are some great Catholicky names! I especially like how there are the more unusual, like Urban, Levi, and Matthias, right alongside the more common, like Charles and new baby Thomas. That’s Catholic naming for you — all part of one big family. 🙂

I liked this article over on CatholicMom.com: The Power of Names. Totally agree with this: “But I find it a daunting prospect each time, to name another person. To shape the beginning of identity by vowel and consonant. To help mold their life by the meaning of what they are called.” But totally disagree with this: “Sometimes I wish the perfect name would be dropped in our laps, so we wouldn’t have to worry about choosing the right one.” (Um, no. The list-making and sometimes-heated “discussions” and worrying that the baby will never have a name are some of my favorite parts of choosing a name. For real.) I also love considering that “Mary and Joseph probably had their own pet names for their young son.” That’s a mind blower.

Then there’s this article, from Pamela Redmond Satran: The Pope, My Catholic Girlhood, and Baby Names. Some fun points, like: “Nuns got to pick new names for themselves when they entered the convent. That itself was appealing enough, but what was really amazing was that their choices were not confined by ethnic background, historical period, or even gender,” but in general a sad bummer of an article:

  • “I couldn’t wait to hear who the new pope was going to be, not because I’m a practicing Catholic any longer or because I cared which Cardinal got elected. No. As usual, I was in it for the name”
  • “… sites as Catholic Online, Which sends out a Saint of the Day newsletter that I get for — what else? — the names”
  • “What was most appealing about Catholicism was the ritual of renaming, which extended far beyond the nuns to include pagan babies, popes, and even yourself … The only thing more exciting than naming the pagan babies was getting to pick our own Confirmation names. Not strictly a renaming, this meant adding a second middle to our own lineups. My choice, I’m chagrined to admit, was the pedestrian Mary, but for very name nerdish reasons: Combined with Pamela Ann, it made my initials P.A.M. Brilliant!”

I’m pretty sure we all here get the excitement she’s talking about when she swoons over Sr. Miriam Gervase’s and Sr. Jacinta’s names, but please, Catholic namers, be in it for more than the name. As Jen commented over on our FB page, “There’s more to a saint than just his/her name. But I thought everyone knew that.” Amen sister.

Birth announcement: Lourdes Marie Talbot

sanctanomina Birth announcement , , , ,

I posted once about the beautiful names of My Child I Love You‘s blog mama Lindsay, before I knew her #9 was on the way. I’d been eagerly anticipating the birth and name reveal, until I learned that the baby had an omphalocele and that “this tiny, innocent baby will suffer from pain her first early days.” Then I was eager to pray and for a good outcome, and it seemed inappropriate and selfish and heartless to even think about the baby’s name. I know you know.

But when the baby’s name was revealed my first thought was that there couldn’t be a more perfect one, as she was born on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, and she was named … Lourdes. Lourdes Marie Talbot. If anyone needed Mother Mary to be extra close, it’s this tiny baby and her mama and her whole family, and I could not imagine a more perfect name.

I can barely think about baby Lourdes, can barely imagine what it must be like to be in her mama’s shoes right now. I’ve been checking the blog for updates so that I can keep praying and rejoice with them when the tide turns, but at the same time I feel like I’m peeking at the posts out of the corner of my eye, hoping to get the gist without being consumed by the sadness. I know you know.

Added to the baby’s situation is that Lindsay’s mom is being treated for cancer. It’s too much for me to think about, really, so I’ve been praying to Our Lady of Lourdes and Bl. Matt Talbot and Fr. Emil Kapaun for their intercession, as Lindsay requested. It seems there was some progress, and then some sliding back. Please join me in praying for this tiny baby and her sick grandma and her beautiful family so full of love and faith.

Double names on paper

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty , ,

I wrote recently about mash-up names and feminine first names with a masculine middle and this is related but yet a different angle — how does one deal, on paper, with having double names? By which I mean, if you were going to give your child two names that he or she would always go by, how would you decide to spell it and why?

I mean, I know a MaryAnn and a Mary Beth, a Roseanne and a RoseAnn, even an Elisa Beth; I’ve seen Marykate and Mary Kate, Marylee and Marilee. Maybe the daddy of them all for us kind of namers are the little boys honoring JP2 — I’ve seen JohnPaul and John Paul and John-Paul and Johnpaul. It all kind of makes me a little crazy because I love the idea of double names and could totally come up with some pretty fab combos, but (and maybe this is writer/editor me) how names look on paper — either written out on top of a school paper or signed on a check or filled out on a form — matters to me. I just want to know how am I *supposed* to do it?

Mary Beth, on paper, could result in a person getting called just “Mary” (perhaps assuming the “Beth” is a middle). (Actually, this happens even when hearing it out loud too, so …)

MaryAnn will forever confound people who, like me, want to get it right. (I do now with the MaryAnn I know, but it took a while.)

John-Paul’s hyphen is meant to keep the elements together, but may end up being more of a headache — do forms even take hyphens? Does it come across as overly stuffy or too particular, especially for a boy?

I know a little Marie-Therese, which I just love, but if I were her mother and I’d carefully selected such a beautiful name for her, I think I’d really hate people assuming they can shorten it to just “Marie.” Or maybe little Marie-Therese would shorten it herself when she got older, not because she wanted to but because she was tired of the hassle?

And how would you write your initials, if you had a hyphenated name? Would Marie-Therese McMahon be M-TM? Or MM? Are two names connected by a hyphen considered two names (hence initials M-T) or just one big one (initial M only)?

These are the questions that keep me up at night. 😉 Or at least, they knock out certain name contenders for me, because I just can’t come to a peace about how to write them. I really wanted John Paul (I think that spelling?) for one of our boys, but my husband’s a convert and he thought it might be a bit much for his mom to handle (especially since the boy I particularly wanted to name John Paul was born only a couple months after my husband became Catholic) — now I think, maybe I dodged a bullet? Would I have always been unsettled about whichever spelling of John Paul we decided on? Would he have finally succumbed to being called just John? (Nothing wrong with John! Just … it wouldn’t have been his name.)

This is when it’s somewhat burdensome to always be considering every aspect and angle of naming. This crazy mind of mine, it’s a blessing and a burden. :p

Please tell me, how do you handle names like these? Or what have you seen others do?

That old Hollywood feel I keep talking about

sanctanomina Uncategorized ,

Over on the Baby Name Wizard blog, there’s a great article this week called Glamorous Baby Names Inspired by Old Hollywood. There are some goooorgeous names on that list, including Clara and Rita, both of which have been part of discussions here lately (here and here). I’m surprised that Stella isn’t on the list, not because I can think of a Hollywood Stella, just because it always has that feel to me. Ava makes the list, of course, and reminds me of a little girl I know named Ava Marie, named so because it sounds like Ave Maria. How pretty is that? And what a lovely idea!

Can you think of other names that you’d include on an Old Hollywood list?