Baby name consultant: Baby girl No. 2 with JR initials or … ?

October 3, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Mary, Nicknames

Betsy and her husband Chas are expecting their second little one — a second daughter! Their first sweet little girl has the beautiful name:

Claire Eleanore

Betsy tells her name story thusly:

“When we were considering names, we just threw out ideas and both liked Claire early on. I don’t think we ever came across a girl’s name that either of us liked better. We decided to choose a middle name that started with “E” so that she would have my husband’s initials. In the end, we just really liked Eleanore, but it also had some loose connections for us. My sister is Ellen and Chas had a teacher that was a big influence on him who is named Eleanore (we took her spelling of the name). We did not know if Claire was going to be a boy or a girl, so if she had been a boy, she would have been Lewis Frank.”

For this baby girl, Betsy writes,

“I really like Julia Rose after my dad. (Yes, my dad! I have to give your posts credit for convincing me that it is ok to honor someone indirectly using a variant of their name, or in this case initials.) My dad is James Robert but my husband has an uncle James and a cousin Robert (on his dad’s side — so they share our last name). We have pretty much ruled out either of those names for a boy because I don’t like the idea of having the same first/last combo as another living relative. I think if we do decide to use JR initials for a girl, we will go with Julia Rose, however, I am interested in any suggestions you might have for us.”

I’m so delighted that something I wrote has been helpful! 😀

For further inspiration, names they like for boys include:

Joseph
Theodore
Connor (“[but] I don’t want to use another “C” name“)
William/Liam
Lewis

Okay, first up are my ideas for initials JR. I love Julia Rose! Other J names that are great include:

Juliet (I know, it’s basically Julia, but it’s one of my very very favorites, so I had to list it! I spotlighted it here, and this mom nearly chose Juliet as the name for her Clara’s sister)
Jacinta (I know, Jacinta probably isn’t their style, but it’s another of my very favorites, and Bl. Jacinta is the sweetest patron. If it helps, I think Jess(ie) is my favorite nickname for it. I spotlighted Jacinta here)
Judith (yup, I did a spotlight on Judith too! Haha! What an amazing name! I also did one on unusual nicknames for it)
Josephine (they have Joseph on their boy list, but Josephine is such an amazing style match for Claire and so many other names on their list!)
Johanna (Johanna-with-an-H was really calling to me as a name Betsy might like. Joanna’s nice too, but the H really seems more their style to me, for inexplicable gut reasons)
Jane (Claire and Jane would make the most amazing pair of sisters! I love the nickname Janie)
Joy (I’ve been digging Joy recently, what a sweet name!)
June or Juniper (Junie could be a nickname for either of these, which I just die over! So sweet!)

And R names:

Ruth (Ruth in the Bible is one of my very favorite women, and I think it makes a smashing middle name) (or first name, for that matter, mostly because of Ruthie! Love it!)
Ruby (I looove the name Ruby—I spotlighted here, with all the faithy connections I could think of)
Rosa, Rosalie (I know they already have Rose in consideration as a middle for Julia, but Rosa and Rosalie are great options if they’d like to consider something longer than one syllable)
Roma (this makes me think of Rome and the Pope and the Vatican and Roman Catholic, a fun and unusual option!)
Rosemary/Rosemarie (another great option if you need a longer middle name to go with a very short first name, for example)
Rosary (I know! So unexpected! This mom named her daughter Rosary!)
Rebecca (Ditto the longer middle for a shorter first idea)
Regina (gorgeous Marian name, and so great for the middle)
Rosanna (so beautiful!)

Some first+middle combos that come to mind right away include:

Juliet Rebecca
Juliet Regina
Juliet Rosanna
Jacinta Rose
Jacinta Rosemarie
Jacinta Rosalie
Jacinta Rosanna
Jacinta Ruth
Judith Rosalie
Judith Rosanna
Josephine Rose
Josephine Ruby
Josephine Regina (Mary and Joseph in one name!)
Johanna Rose
Johanna Ruby
[NOT Johanna Rosanna! Haha!]
Jane Rosalie
Jane Rebecca
Jane Rosanna
Joy Regina
Joy Rebecca
Joy Rosanna
June Rebecca
June Regina
June Rosanna

Whew! 😀

Okay! On to my other suggestions for Betsy and her hubs. You all know that I almost always start a consultation by looking up in the Baby Name Wizard the names the parents have used and like/are considering as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. Based on that research and my own mental files, these are my ideas:

(1) Violet
Violet has that same sweet, sort of vintage-y charm that I get from Claire Eleanore. I love that a Violet could go by Vi or Lettie or the full Violet, and it can also be considered a Marian name!

(2) Josephine
I mentioned Josephine above—I just love it as a sister to Claire!

(3) Katherine, Zoe
K/Catherine is a style match for Julia, Joseph, and William, and is a great, classic, saintly name that goes great with Claire imo. But if Betsy and her hubs don’t like the alliteration (or even if they don’t mind it but are interested in unusual nicknames), I love that St. Catherine Laboure’s birth name was Zoe! Wow! I’ve heard of one little Catherine going by Zoe as a nickname, and another little Zoe named in honor of St. Catherine. Zoe was listed as a style match for Liam, so I thought it was fun to add in all this K/Catherine + Zoe info (and I’m suggesting the Katherine spelling since Betsy said they don’t want another C name).

(4) Grace
Grace is such a sweet, simple, gorgeous, Marian name. It’s a style match for Claire, Julia, and Rose, and has the awesome nickname Gracie.

(5) Amelia/Emilia
Amelia is similar in style to Eleanor and Julia, and when I saw Emily listed as similar to William, I thought of the spelling Emilia, which is the spelling of JP2’s mom and some other saints as well.

(6) Eve/Eva/Evelyn
Eva’s a match for Julia and Rose, and Evelyn for Eleanor and Theodore, and Eve just seemed like a great sister for Claire, that I thought I should suggest them all! They’re all gorgeous in their own way!

And those are my ideas for Betsy and her husband! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for Claire’s little sister?

Bonus consultation: Preference for three-syllable Old-World catacomb-y names

September 29, 2016September 29, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Nicknames

I’m excited to post this bonus consultation for a couple with such a wonderful story — the mama, Kara, is American and her husband is British, and they live in England, and she shared that, “My husband and I are converts. He was a Church of England Clergyman, and now he’s a Catholic priest.”

How wonderful is that?!! What a great and inspiring story!!

I don’t think many of us know any families with this kind of background, and I love hearing from our international readers, and when I asked Kara if she would mind if I posted her consultation today, she told me that today is her husband’s fourth anniversary of ordination! Congratulations to him! It’s also the feast of Sts. Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, so yeah, just a great day all around. 🙂

Kara writes,

“My 4th is due at the end of October and if it’s a boy, we are stuck for a name! If it’s a girl, then the name will be Helena Mary.”

This little green bean 🌱 (=gender unknown) will join big sibs:

Rosamond Mary (“She’s known as Rosey, and named after my Godmother and Our Lady“)

Matthias Michael (“We always had Matthias picked for our first boy. Shortly before he was born a priest friend died and his name was Fr. Michael. It seemed right to remember him by using his name“)

Simeon Thomas (“Simeon was not a name I loved, but when I was pregnant with him the Feast of the Presentation came along, and I felt like the Lord was saying you are going to have a boy, and his name should be Simeon. And I was all like, really Lord? And He was like, yes. So we went with it. And it suits him very well. The name Thomas is from my husband’s grandfather. The only grandparent he knew was this grandfather who died when he was a child.”)

I just loooove these names!! Rosamond is a fairly uncommon Ros- name, and Rosey is so sweet! Matthias is a favorite of mine, and I love seeing Simeon used! I definitely think it needs to be used more!

Kara continues,

“Ok, here’s all the stuff that makes us super picky…

We don’t want a popular name. For us, that probably means it needs to be below the top 100 baby boy names. And it gets worse — I am American, my husband is British, we live in England. So it can’t be in the top 100 in the UK or the USA. [The 2015 list can be found here.]

Also, the name can’t be pronounced different in the UK and USA. That kind of thing drives me crazy! So Anthony is pronounced Antony here and something like Cordelia ends up being Cor-dee-lee-ah.

We’re not a fan of using last names as first names. So my husband’s patron is St. Edmund Campion, but we wouldn’t consider Campion as a name.

My husband thinks we have a thing going with naming our kids 3 syllable first names and 2 syllable middle names. I am not convinced that this pattern is essential.

I think we are probably wanting a saint’s name, but are open to thinking about other kinds of names.”

Names and patrons they’re considering (but none has felt totally right just yet) include:

Edmund (“My husband loves St. Edmund Campion, I love St. Edmund Arrowsmith. We definitely wouldn’t want Eddie to be a nickname though. There’s a bonus in that St. Edmund Arrowsmith was born near where we live in Liverpool and you can go get a blessing from his actual hand in a church nearby“)

Dominic (“I love Blessed Dominic Barberi. He is buried near to us. I love his story and I love that his mother used to say to her kids, “Children, you can be saints!”. Unfortunately, Dominic is a pretty chav name in Liverpool. (Chavs are urban youth in track suits and Burberry caps who wander in packs getting up to no good.) My husband does like the original St. Dominic too“)

Damien (“I love Fr. Damien of Molokai. But it’s also rather a chav name. And someone pointed out to me that Damien and Simeon sound rather similar. So I am not convinced“)

Gaetano/Cajetan (“My husband loves St. Gaetano Catanoso. The English version of his name is Cajetan evidently. Both seem a little too wild for me“)

John Henry Newman (“My husband really likes him, but the name is too popular. Also, our last name is Brown, so I would always think of that song “John Brown had a little Indian…””)

Peter Julian Eymard (“He’s another one my husband likes“)

Paschal Baylon (“We both like him. We live in St. Paschal Baylon Presbytery though, so it seems odd to name a child after where you live!“)

St. Nicholas (“My husband likes his story. We also like St. Nicholas Owen. But it’s too popular and I have a brother named Nicholas“)

Ambrose Barlow (“He has links to the area we live in, so that’s nice“)

I had a lot of fun finding names that would fit their criteria—I found quite a few three-syllable names that were below the top 100 in both America and the UK! I had a few other ideas as well, which seem like they might work well for Kara and her hubs, but first a few thoughts about the names they’re considering/that they’d like to consider:

— I love Edmund for them, I think it’s so great, and as for the nickname issue—Ned is as traditional as Ed/Eddie, and it’s a style match for Rosey (according to the Baby Name Wizard, which may not be terribly accurate for them since it’s based on US naming trends, but in this instance I think it’s spot on). I will say though that Rosamond and Edmund sound almost *too* good together, with the similar endings. Campion totally seems like it would be more their speed, especially since it has the vowel doublet that they seem to like (Matthias, Simeon, Damien), and I love love the nickname Cam, but if they really won’t consider last names and they don’t want to use Edmund, I wonder what they would think of Eamon? It’s an Edmund variant that I love, which could nod to both the Sts. Edmund that Kara and her husband favor.

— I’m so interested in the feel of the name Dominic where they live! I’d actually asked Kara if I could post that one bit about the chav names sometime, just as a way of showing how certain names have different connotations in different places, but I didn’t get to it. So interesting though, right? I’ve heard the term “chav” before but hadn’t ever had a really good handle on what it means.

— I agree with her about Damien and Simeon sounding too similar, boo!

— I love Gaetano/Cajetan too, but Kara’s right—they’re pretty wild!

— John Henry Newman is great—I wonder if they would consider the full John Henry? Or maybe changing it up to something like Ian Henry? It’s not as obvious, but it definitely works, since Ian is a form of John.

— I wonder if Peter Julian Eymard’s middle name might be just their speed—Julian has that vowel couplet, and it’s a style match for Dominic, Damian, and Nicholas!

— I love Paschal too! I can’t tell if I think it would be too weird? Our church is named for St. Clement, and I’ve often thought that Clement would be an awesome name for us, not just because of the saint/meaning, but also because of our parish (we were married here too, and all our kids baptized here, so it’s meaningful to us). I tend to think our community would love a little one named after our church, but maybe with Kara’s husband being the priest it gives it a weird edge?

— Oh gosh, I love St. Nicholas Owen too. Would Owen work?

Alrighty, on to my ideas for Kara and her husband! Their style is pretty consistent, at least according to the BNW—very old world and kind of catacomb-y, which I love love love!

(1) Barnaby or Barnabas
Barnaby has always had a Brit feel to me—and I apologize in advance if I’m totally off about what has a British vibe! I think there’s a street in London by that name? Is that a bad thing? I admit I fell in love with it listening to the lyrics from the song from Hello Dolly (sung by characters named Ambrose, Cornelius, and Barnaby—a pretty great set!). Barnabas is another variant, which isn’t as cheerful sounding as Barnaby (which could be good). I like both of them a lot, and there are a few saints/blesseds to choose from. Barnaby is a style match for Rosamond, has never been in the top 1000 in the U.S., and isn’t in the top 100 in the UK.

(2) Thaddeus
Thaddeus is similar to Barnaby in terms of being weighty and biblical, and it’s a style match for Rosamond and Matthias. It feels like maybe a little much for everyday use—more so than Matthias and Simeon, despite that they’re all the same number of syllables—but I know two little Thaddeuses who go by Taddy, which I love, and which would particularly fit in with sister Rosey. Thaddeus was #703 in 2015 in the U.S., and isn’t in the top 100 in the UK.

(3) Leopold
Leopold is similar to Rosamond and Matthias, and trims down to Leo so easily. It’s so handsome and sophisticated, and three syllables! I enjoyed the stories of all three of these holy men. It hasn’t ever been in the top 1000 in the U.S., and isn’t in the top 100 in the UK.

(4) Raphael
This one might be problematic pronunciation-wise—I know there are pronunciation issues here, where I hear both rah-fay-EL (mostly) and RAY-fee-uhl (occasionally). Raphael was #537 in 2015 in the U.S., and isn’t in the top 100 in the UK.

(5) Tobias
Rosamond and Matthias shared a bit more overlap in terms of names that were similar to them, so I really wanted to loop Simeon in. Tobias is a style match for it, as well as for Raphael, which is a match for Matthias and Dominic as well. Such a great name! It’s the most popular of the names I’m suggesting, coming in at #316 in 2015 in the U.S. and on an upward trajectory; it’s not in the top 100 in the UK.

(6) Phineas/Phinnaeus
Are you seeing a theme here? All these great, heavy-hitting names with vowel couplets! Phineas is another great one—the first time I heard it on a child in real life was Julia Roberts’ son Phinnaeus, who goes by Finn, which is one of my favorite names ever. Phineas is a match for Simeon, Barnaby, Raphael, and Tobias, hasn’t ever been in the top 1000 in the U.S., and isn’t in the top 100 in the UK.

(7) Joachim
This is the only name that didn’t come from my research, and it may be too like Gaetano/Cajetan to Kara in terms of being too wild, but it’s super saintly and I always think of it as exclusively Catholic, though I know it has more use in Europe than America, and likely some of those Joachims aren’t Catholic I suppose. I think it has the feel of Matthias and Simeon without being obviously biblical. It’s never been in the top 1000 in the U.S., and isn’t in the top 100 in the UK.

(8) Benedict
Another great, heavy-hitting, saintly, three-syllable name! I’m actually surprised Benedict’s not on their list already, so maybe that means they already considered it and decided they didn’t like it? But it’s a match for Rosamond, Edmund, Ambrose, Barnaby, and Thaddeus! The last time Benedict was in the U.S. top 1000 was in 1968 (#971), and (despite Benedict Cumberbatch, who I assume is a good association) it’s not in the top 100 in the UK.

(8) Piers/Pierce
This last one gets away from the three-syllable, heavy, mostly biblical feel of the previous suggestions. Piers is a style match for Rosamond, and I really like that it’s not obviously biblical, so I feel like it fits in with Rosey’s name a bit more than some of the others, but at the same time it *is* biblical, being a variant of Peter, which ties it in nicely with Kara’s other boys. I know there’s Piers Morgan, and I don’t know if that’s a good/bad/neutral association. If negative, Pierce might be a nice alternative. Piers has never been in the top 1000 in the U.S., though Pierce was #466 in 2015; neither are in the top 100 in the UK.

And those are my ideas for Kara and her husband! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the little brother for Rosamond, Matthias, and Simeon?

Nicknames: Fulton

September 27, 2016 sanctanomina Nicknames Catholic baby names, Irish names, Nicknames

I’ve had several requests over the last couple of years from readers for nickname ideas for Fulton — most recently in yesterday’s consultation — and I feel like I’m really short on ideas!

I think Finn could work, or Flynn, and eclare offered Fult as well (“kind of like Walt” she said), which is so great and natural. I was thinking that Philip is sort of similar (two syllables, starting with the F sound, an L in the middle) that maybe Fil/Phil could work (though Phil tends to the be the nickname that parents of today’s little Philips want to avoid), or Flip (like for something like Fulton Patrick?). Skimac suggested a Fulton could go by a nickname of his middle name, if he really wanted a nickname, and I like that suggestion too (though it was very specifically for yesterday’s family, who has a daughter who sometimes goes by a nickname of her middle name).

I’m really really hoping the rest of you can add to this list! I’d love to hear all your ideas, and especially if you know any Fultons in real life who go by a nickname — please share!

Baby name consultant: Biblical boy name with one-syllable nickname preferred

September 26, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Nicknames

Stephanie and her husband are expecting their fifth born baby, a little green bean 🌱(=gender unknown)! He or she will join big sibs:

Bethany Grace
Luke Michael
Jackson Paul
Caeli Rose

I looooove these names!! They’re all amazing, and I really love seeing Caeli used in real life!

About naming her older kiddos Stephanie writes,

“We have many girl’s names that we love but we are stuck on boy’s names! Bethany Grace was a name my husband and I just loved — we consider her patron Our Lady of Grace. Bethany is obviously a biblical region. She goes by Beth.

Luke Michael is named after St. Luke and St. Michael the archangel. Michael is also my husband’s and both of our dad’s middle names.

Jackson Paul is named after two of our grandfathers — Jack and Paul. Paul is also a strong biblical name. He goes by Jack.

We lost two babies through early miscarriage between Jack and Caeli — Samuel and Veronica. I just knew that first baby was a boy and that his name was Samuel, and my husband chose Veronica because we lost her during lent and Veronica was on his mind a lot as we prayed the stations of the cross frequently.

Caeli Rose was a name given to me by God — I can’t explain it. We didn’t find out her gender before birth but I think somewhere deep in my soul I knew she would be Caeli Rose. Everyone calls her Caeli (Chay-lee) and I frequently call her Rosie as a nickname.”

Such gorgeous names, and such significance behind each one! I love them all!

About the naming of this baby Stephanie writes,

“The girl names we’re considering are Stella or Stella Maris, Kateri, or Philomena. I love them all and would be happy with any of them, by my husband is leaning towards Stella!

The boy names give us grief! I feel like there should be a biblical connection, and should probably have a decent one-syllable nickname. Sam was a perfect fit but he is our saint in heaven and I can’t use that again. We also love Matthew but it’s my brother and nephew’s name (so we don’t want to use any derivatives either). John and Jacob are out (too close to Jack). And I’m just not feeling Mark or any of the other obvious new testament names. I considered Judah but I don’t think my husband loves it!

We’ve also tossed around Augustine (Gus or Auggie), Benedict, William, Ambrose or Fulton. What are nicknames for Ambrose and Fulton? I get so hung up on nickname options! We also like Joseph and would probably consider it as a middle name. My husband has a devotion to St. Gerard but I’m not sure I’d name my baby Gerard, and Majella sounds more feminine to me.”

First off, how lucky is Stephanie to have a list of girls’ names that she’s totally fine with, and her husband likes one of them—that’s sort of rare in the emails I get! Most of the time I hear how Mom likes certain names and Dad doesn’t like any of them or vice versa. They’re all beautiful.

And the boy names! I love their criteria of biblical connection + “decent one-syllable nickname”—I have lots of ideas! But first—regarding Judah—I wonder if they’ve considered just Jude?

I love Augustine, Benedict, William, Ambrose, and Fulton—heavy hitters, all! And I totally understand getting hung up on nickname options—I’m the same way, nicknames are so important and half the fun of choosing a name in my opinion! I’ve often thought about nicknames for Ambrose because it’s on our list as well—I’ve seen Brose as a fairly traditional nickname for it, but maybe too close to Caeli’s sometimes nickname Rosie? I’ve also seen Amby, but my faves are the ones I’ve come up with on my own: Sam (which wouldn’t work for this family), Bram (a traditional nick for/variant of Abraham but I think totally works as a nick for Ambrose!), Abe (so cute!), Bo, Brady or Brody (perhaps especially with a D middle name), and I think even something like Ace could work, especially if paired with a C middle name, like Ambrose Christopher or Ambrose Charles/Carl. And I recently discovered thanks to one of you wonderful readers that NBC’s Olympic swimming analyst and former swimming champion Rowdy Gaines’ first name is actually Ambrose. I’m dying over Ambrose nicked Rowdy! (I’ve included all these on my Nickname ideas page.)

Fulton’s hard! I’m not really coming up with anything but Ful! Or maybe Finn? (I have more thoughts on Finn — see Philip/Phineas below.)

A thought about Gus—I’ve come up with some other ways to get to Gus that might be helpful here — one of my favorites is something like Gregory Stephen with the nickname Gus (from the G of Gregory and the S of Stephen). St. Gregory’s awesome! Or a super biblical name is Gideon—something like Gideon Stephen or Gideon Solanus (for Ven. Solanus Casey) could lead to Gus as well.

Okay! So on to my ideas for Stephanie and her hubs—I basically just tried to think of all the biblical names that I thought would fit their style and have “decent one-syllable nicknames,” and I also looked up all the names they’ve used and those they like in the Baby Name Wizard as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity—I found some new ideas in there and confirmed the others that I’d already had on my list for them. Here they are:

(1) Benjamin or Benedict/Bennett
As far as Ben- names go, Benedict is more saintly/Catholic-sounding than Benjamin, but Benjamin’s a bit easier for the non-Catholicky Catholic part of the world to handle, if that makes any sense, and it seems like a better fit for Stephanie and her hubs because they’d really like a biblical name.

Benedict’s great though, and having the nickname Ben kind of makes it feel a little biblical, even though it’s not — does that make sense? Bennett is also a possibility — it’s a medieval form of Benedict.

(2) Caleb
Caleb’s one of my top suggestions for them—it totally seems their style to me, and it can take the great nickname Cal! I love that!

(3) Dominic
I know, Dominic’s not biblical, but it fits with the feel of Benedict, Augustine, and Ambrose, and comes with the great nickname options Dom and Nic(k), so I thought I’d suggest it anyway!

(4) Gabriel
When Stephanie said she’s “not feeling Mark or any of the other obvious new testament names,” my sense was that she meant the “normal” names like Andrew, Peter, etc., and that some of the less popular NT names might be okay. I would put Gabriel in the “less popular” category because traditionally it hasn’t been used as much as the others (though it’s fairly popular today), and I like it for this family a lot. The nickname Gabe is a great one too—it has a similar feel to me as Jack, Sam, and Ben. I’ve also seen Gil as a nickname for Gabriel, so that’s another option too.

(5) Joshua
I wonder if they’ve considered Joshua? I love that it can be considered a name for Jesus, since Jesus comes from a Greek translation of Joshua, and Josh is a great nickname.

(6) Nathaniel/Nathan
Like Gabriel, I would put Nathaniel especially in the “less obvious” NT category, and the nickname Nate is a great one. But perhaps Nathan is more their speed?

(7) Nicholas
Nicholas is actually a New Testament name, and the nickname options Nick and Cole are both fab.

(8) Philip or Phineas
I’m guessing Philip is one of those obvious NT names Stephanie doesn’t care for, but I wonder if the right nickname could jazz it up enough for her? We considered Philip as a first name with Neri as a middle (St. Philip Neri!) and the nickname Finn, but I think Finn could work as a nickname for Philip even without an N middle name. Or maybe a different middle name? Philip Nicholas? Phineas is another possibility—it’s an OT name, and Julia Roberts named one of her sons Phinnaeus (I like that spelling too) and calls him Finn. Finn is really on-trend right now, in a good way imo, I love it! There’s also the new Star Wars character Finn, who’s awesome.

(9) Raphael
I love the name Raphael and the nickname Rafe—so cool and fairly uncommon! And it’s an OT name, which is a nice biblical connection.

(10) Seth
I think Seth could really work for this family! It’s a great one-syllable name like Luke, and of course fits in with their one-syllable nicknames.

(11) Thaddeus or Theodore
I’m not sure they’ll like the full Thaddeus (though it’s a style match for Veronica and Benedict), but it’s a NT name that has the super cute nickname option of Tad—I know two little Tads (nicks for Thaddeus), and I just love hearing it/saying it. I suspect Theodore might be more their speed, though it loses the biblical connection, but its nickname Ted is one syllable and really similar to Tad. (Theo’s also a great nickname option.)

(12) Timothy
I’m guessing they’ve already ruled out Timothy, but hear me out! I’m really feeling it recently—I never hear Timothy on new little boys, but it’s a great biblical name, and Timmy and Tim are solid, handsome nicknames. I’ve also recently been thinking that Ty’s a great nickname option for Timothy, cute!

(13) Zechariah or Isaac
I feel like Phineas, Thaddeus, and Zechariah kind of go in the same category—names that might just be a little more than what Stephanie and her hubs like. But Zachary seemed like a great fit for them until I remembered that they can’t have brothers Jack and Zach, so I wondered about Zechariah, which can be Zeke instead. Zeke’s so fun! And I love the connection of Zechariah to St. Elizabeth/St. John the Baptist/Our Lady/the Mystery of the Visitation.

Isaac is awesome too, one of my faves, and even though the undoable Zac is a common enough nickname for it, I also think Zeke could work, and Ike is very traditional and adorable. And I saw somewhere online that today used to be the feast of St. Isaac Jogues and Companions (and still is in Canada?) (one of his companions was St. Gabriel Lalemant — see Gabriel above)!

And those are all my ideas for Stephanie and her husband! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for a little brother for Bethany, Luke, Jackson, and Caeli?

Baby name consultant: Eighth baby (boy) — no repeating initials please!

September 12, 2016September 12, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Irish names, Nicknames, Scandinavian names

Happy Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary!! One of my very very very very favorite feast days ever!! 💞💞💞

Lara and her husband are expecting their eighth baby, and fourth boy! Their older kiddos came in a girl-boy-girl-boy pattern, and they’re delighted that this wee babe is continuing the trend, joining:

Grace Anna (“named after her great, great g-ma and her birth mother“)

Anders Evans (“my husband’s middle Swedish name, and Bill Evans, jazz pianist, my husband’s favorite“)

Ella Katherine (“loved the classic name Ella and Katherine is my middle name“)

Ian Louis (“he surprised us and arrived early at 29 weeks and such is Ian, meaning “God is gracious” and my dad’s first name, Louis“)

Margaret Carolynn (“After watching A Man For All Seasons, my husband was moved by Thomas More’s relationship with his daughter Margaret. Also, we’ve always loved the nickname Maggie. Carolynn is a combo of my mother’s middle name, Carolyn and my mil’s middle name Lynn“)

Nathaniel Joseph (“He was our most challenging name to decide. Nathan was too common for me and Joseph was a favorite of my husband’s. Nate was also a great nickname“)

Mary Virginia (“After seeing Mary of Nazareth we were convinced to be classic Catholic and have a Mary in our family. Also, my grandmother’s name was Mary Virginia. She passed when I was 4, but my memories of her are strong and lovely“)

I love all these names! They’re such great, meaningful names, and a little bit unexpected as a set I think, which is so fun.

Lara writes,

“We don’t want to use another M name and would like to have each child with a different initial. Names we cannot use are Ryan, Collin, Blake, Brayden, William, John, Erik, Gibson, all nephews’ names. Close family friends, have Gabriel, Jude, Becket, Blaise, Luke and Max.”

I know Lara was worried that their “rules” were too restrictive, but as I always say — the more the merrier! I love a good challenge!

First off, one of the things that I noticed right away is that Anders has a Scandinavian name and Ian has a Celtic name, so one of my goals was to find a name or names that sort of bridges those two styles, and a couple of my ideas below fit that. Otherwise, I looked up all the names Lara and her hubs have already used in the Baby Name Wizard as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity.

So! All that said, I came up with a few ideas for Lara’s littlest guy, some of which fit her rules and one that doesn’t but maybe might work anyway:

(1) Henry
Henry is far and away my favorite idea for this baby. It’s got a British feel, which I think Ian fits into nicely, and it’s a style match for Grace and Margaret, but my favorite aspect of it is that one of the Sts. Henry was sent to evangelize Scandinavia! I spotlighted the name here.

(2) Oliver or Oscar
I think of Oliver as an Irish/British name with a similar feel as Ian (and there’s the great St. Oliver Plunket), but it’s theorized that its roots are actually Germanic or Old Norse, so I think it can have that dual feel that I was looking for.

Another idea I had along these same lines is Oscar. Oscar was the name of Finn MacCool’s grandson in Irish legend and there’s the Irish poet Oscar Wilde, but it’s also quite popular in the Scandinavian countries. Bl. Oscar Romero was beatified last year, and I spotlighted the name here.

(3) August
Here’s my rule breaker! August was listed as a style match for Grace, Anders, and Virginia, and Augie and Gus are both great nickname possibilities, and Gus especially would make the fact that August repeats Anders’ initial maybe not as big of a deal.

(4) Theodore
Theodore’s a style match for Anders, Virginia, Louis, and the August I just suggested above. I love Theodore for this family! He could be Theo or Teddy, or the full Theodore. So handsome!

(5) Finn
Finn is another name that’s a great “bridge” name — on one hand, it’s an Old Norse meaning “person from Finland,” but I think — and certainly correct me if I’m wrong — that these days it’s just considered a general Scandinavian name? Rather than particularly tied to Finland specifically? And on the other hand, it has separate origins as an Irish name! (Finn MacCool, as I mentioned earlier.) It’s fairly popular currently for several reasons, the most recent of which is the character of Finn in the new Star Wars, but my favorite way to use it is as a nickname for Francis — I think it’s such a cool and kicky way to make a little Francis feel a little more current.

(7) Samuel
Samuel is a style match for Grace, Ella, Nathaniel, and Henry, so cool! I love Samuel, and the nickname Sam/Sammy is so hard to beat.

(8) Charles
Finally, Charles, a style match for Louis, Joseph, Margaret, Mary, and Virginia. I know some people have used Charles as a nod to St. John Paul II (his birth name was Karol, the Polish version of Charles), and I’ve recently learned about the amazing Bl. Karl of Austria. There are lots more Sts. Charles too, like St. Charles Borromeo. Great name! Charlie’s one of those great, friendly nicknames, and Cal’s also a possibility, as well as these other interesting ideas.

And those are all my ideas for Lara and her husband! What do you all think? What would you suggest for their little boy?

Nickname issues, and name discernment/being “at odds with the Holy Spirit”

September 10, 2016September 13, 2016 sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty Catholic baby names, Name discernment, Naming regret, Nicknames, Pope Francis

I had a really interesting email from a reader, and she’s eager to hear what you all think! She writes,

“I’ve read your post on name regret, and I was wondering if you had ever considered doing a post on name discernment. My husband and I have a name we both like for our first child (due in 10 weeks!), except I cannot stand the nickname variant! Bad associations I guess. There are many great reasons to use this name, and it feels right in so many ways with all the connections we have with it, particularly when compared to our other frontrunners (which we both like quite a bit, but don’t feel as right). However, we cannot get over the nickname impasse with this original name — he doesn’t like the idea of using the full name or alternate nicknames on a regular basis, and I don’t think I could see using the traditional nickname. Have people ever run into this type of situation? Did they go with the name that felt most right, even if they didn’t like it, per se? Trust in the Holy Spirit and hope you grow to like it? With this being our first, I’m just not sure what to think.”

Interesting questions, right? I really see it breaking down into two questions: (1) How do we handle using a formal name that we both love that has seemingly inevitable nickname issues that we can’t agree on? And, as this mama put it later in her email, (2) What did you do if you ever had a time when your “preferences were perhaps at odds with the Holy Spirit”?

I gave this mama my own thoughts to No. 1, which were basically along the lines of “if you go with the name they both like — which seems to be, from her email, just what they’re feeling called to — the rest of it will shake out.” Do you agree? Do you have experiences of your own like this?

As for No. 2, I’m interested to see what you all will say! I’ve had experiences myself where things happened that seemed to make obvious what the baby’s name was *supposed* to be, things just fell in place in a really providential way, and it was kind of thrilling to really feel like we’d done it — we’d found the name that was meant just for him! And we know there are times when God actually does say, “This is what the baby’s name will be.” (Jesus.) But at the same time, I also think that God uses our preferences and tastes and styles for His purposes, so that second question gets kind of tricky, and I can totally see it setting up a situation where name regret might occur. And it’s all based so much on feelings — which name feels right and which doesn’t — and feelings can definitely be helpful, but they can also be wrong and/or misleading. Also, being “at odds with the Holy Spirit” sounds very grave, but in regards to naming one’s baby, I don’t think it’s quite as heavy or binding. After all, as Pope Francis said in Amoris Laetitia, “For God allows parents to choose the name by which he himself will call their child for all eternity.” (166)

So lots to think about here, and we’d love to hear your thoughts! I’ve done a few other posts that kind of swirl around this topic as well and which might be helpful — they’re listed in this post.

Updated to add: How timely! I was just catching up on email, and one of you wonderful readers sent me the link to this article: One in five mothers say they chose wrong name for their child, poll finds. It was definitely an interesting read, and my biggest takeaway was that sometimes name regret happens and there’s not much that can be done about it (e.g., little girls named Isis and Elsa just before those names took on huge obvious associations, or kids that grew up to dislike their names), which I feel like might help reduce the stress associated with picking the *right* name, since sometimes it’s taken right out of your hands, no matter what precautions you take. Rather than being a terrifying thought, it’s kind of a soothing one to me! So just pray and do the best you can.

Number names

September 8, 2016September 8, 2016 sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty Catholic baby names, Nicknames, Number names

[I apologize to all the people waiting for an email back from me! This is the first week of school and I’m just now starting to catch my breath. Soon!]

Happy Birthday Mother Mary!! My bishop tweeted the greatest thought today: “Mary’s birth is the dawn of hope, humanity’s second chance.” A perfect thought not only for Our Lady’s birthday, but also for the Year of Mercy! ❤

Ages ago (like, back in January) Krista asked for a post about number names, and it’s been on my mind ever since. I’d had a rough idea of doing so around the first day of school — you know, ‘rithmetic and all — and then Abby at Appellation Mountain and I tweeted a bit the past few days (in response to a Haley Stewart tweet) about number names, so it’s definitely time to do this.

I was thinking of all the number-named people I know of and came up with a good few (both real and fictional):

I have a cousin who goes by Trey because he’s the III, and my sister went to school with a III who went by Tripper
The character in the Divergent series who goes by Four (real name: Tobias)
Usher’s little guy Usher V, who goes by Cinco, and this little guy, another V, who goes by Quint
Krista shared about a little guy she knows named Sixtus who goes by Six!
The Beckham’s little Harper Seven (after her dad’s jersey number and its “lucky number” status)
One of my college roommates mentored a little girl named Octavia and ages ago (like ten years ago) I’d read on the BabyCenter name forums of a little boy named Octavian who went by Tavian; also Octavius “Gus” on Cinderella
Eleven (sometimes called El) on Stranger Things — she was the catalyst for Abby’s tweet that I had to respond to

I pretty much love all of these! As I told Abby, I like number names, and really, as soon as they’re used as a name, they become really namey to me. It reminds me of something name expert Cleveland Kent Evans was quoted as saying in Joal Ryan’s 1999 book (one of my favorite favorites) Puffy, Xena, Quentin, Uma:

“Science fiction likes to tell the grim tale of a world so dehumanized that names are eschewed with numbers and serial codes [Stranger Things y’all!]. Cody, say hello to your new classmate: THX 1138.

Well, the future is here and the question is: Do baby names really stand a chance of becoming obsolete?

No, says Bellevue University psychology professor Cleveland Evans, a longtime student and chronicler of the history and trends of American given names.

‘People are never going to use their social security number as their name,’ Evans says. ‘I’m sure there may be some numbers that become names — I wouldn’t be surprised if I started hearing of Seven of Nines (after the Star Trek: Voyager TV character). But once you do that, it’s not a number — it becomes a name.'” (pp. 367-368)

“But once you do that, it’s not a number — it becomes a name.” Right! Like, in our world, Sixtus — popes and saints! (Actually, funny enough, apparently it doesn’t even mean “sixth”! Except that it does, through usage and intention.)

So what other number names/nicknames are there? This is a selection of what I found (I searched by meaning on Behind the Name — lots of names in unfamiliar languages that mean “seventh son” and so forth, so if you want something really unusual be sure to search!) or have heard/came up with:

One/First
Mona, Primo/Primus, Primrose, Proteus, Winona; Onesimus could also maybe work (because of “one” contained within, though it doesn’t mean one/first), or Una (also doesn’t mean one), any “I” name

Two/Second
Duet (my own idea — sounds pretty, right? Like any of the -ette names? Do you think it works?), Secundus/a

Three/Third
Hirune (Basque for trinity!), Tercero, Tertia (I like this one — reminds me a bit of Teresa), Tertius, Treasa (used as an Irish form of Teresa), Tri, Trey, Trip, Tripper, Trinity

Four/Fourth
Cuatro, Four (a la Divergent), Quattro, Ivy (because of IV)

Five/Fifth
Pompey/Pompeius, Pontius (yikes), Quint, Quintus, Quintella, Quinten, Quentin, Quincy, Quintillian, and other Quin- names that don’t actually have anything to do with five/fifth except in appearance: Quin(n), Quinlan, and V names (or the name Vee)

Six/Sixth
Six, Sixt, Sextus/Sixtus (I definitely think Sixtus is more wearable), and those that contain “six” but don’t mean six: Sixte, Sixten, Sixtine (I really love Sixten!), and VI initials

Seven/Seventh
September (yes! a sneaky seven, that!), Septimus/a, Seven

Eight/Eighth
Keightlyn/KVIIIlyn (!), Octavia/Tavia, Octavius, Octavian, Tavian

Nine/Ninth
Nona, Nonus, Nuno/a, November (see September!), and unrelated to nine: Nonie, Nonna

Ten/Tenth
December, Dixie, Declan (because of the dec- — I saw this somewhere once and thought it was so clever), Tennyson (because of the ten-), Decimus/a, any X- name (Xavier, Xenia)

Eleven/Eleventh
Eleven/El/Elle, XI initials

What do you all think of these? What else can you add? I’m especially interested to hear what else you’ve heard in real life!

Baby name consultant: Song-themed boy name needed

September 5, 2016September 5, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Biblical names, Catholic baby names, Nicknames, Song names

Happy Labor Day everyone!! And happy feast day of our new St. Teresa of Calcutta!! 😍😍😍 (I also discovered her religious name was actually Mary Teresa, and she was named for St. Therese!)

Ella and her husband are expecting their fourth baby, a little green bean (=gender unknown) 🌱! They have a really fun theme going that they’d like to continue with, which is where their dilemma comes in. Ella writes,

“I’m in need of baby name help! We didn’t really mean to name our kids after songs, but after the first two we had to keep going. Naming our third, a boy, was hard, but I love his name and it did come from a song. Now we’re having number four and can’t think of a boy name. We hope to be surprised, so we need a name for both genders. We have a girl name picked out … I’m not due till October, but I’ve never been this far without names. I’m even considering having the song part in the middle name.”

I LOVE themey naming! It’s so fun to come up with ideas that can fit in! Their other children are:

Daniel Thomas (“Oh Danny Boy,” also named after our dads and older brothers)
Layla Beverly (“Layla,” her middle name is my grandma’s name)
Carson Michael (“Runaway Car,” middle name after St. Michael the Archangel because my husband is a cop)

Such great names, right?? And very cool way the way they worked family names in with the song theme as well! I will say that I don’t think it’s so obvious to everyone else that their kids are named after songs—I know “Danny Boy” and “Layla,” but they’re such different kinds of music that I wouldn’t automatically think, “Huh. They’re doing a song theme.” And Carson coming from “Runaway Car” is kind of a stretch—a cool one for sure! But I kind of feel like if they wanted to break the song theme, the only ones who will really know are Ella and her husband and anyone else they’ve talked about this with.

All that said, there are a million songs with boys’ names in the titles! I perused this site for inspiration, and I also looked Daniel, Layla, and Carson up 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. So I really just tried to figure out what boys’ names I thought Ella and her hubs would like, and then see if there were any songs with that name in the title. I also looked at song titles and added names to the list of possibilities when I came across ones I thought they’d like. (I should also add that while I love music and know a lot of songs, I’m really bad at knowing artists, and a lot of the songs on this site were totally unfamiliar to me, so I haven’t screened any of them for objectionable lyrics or artists that might be horrifying, etc.)

So! All that said, these are my ideas for this wee babe if a boy (in alphabetical order, not in order of favorites):

(1) Adam
Adam’s biblical like Daniel, but I think holds up really well with Layla and Carson too. There are several songs I found with Adam in the title, including “Adam Raised a Cain” (Bruce Springsteen), “Adam’s Apple” (Aerosmith), and “Adam’s Song” (blink-182).

(2) Xander (Alexander)
I feel like the nickname Xander is more this family’s speed, and it can stand on its own as a given name if they prefer, but Alexander would be the patron saint and the patron song. 😄 “Alexander and His Clarinet” (Irving Berlin); “Alexander the Great” (Iron Maiden).

(3) Benjamin or Bennett
Ben was my inspiration here—I think Ben is easily a brother to Daniel, Layla, and Carson, and there’s “Ben’s Song” by Sarah MacLachlin. The biblical Benjamin’s a match for Daniel, while I feel like Bennett might be closer to the style of Layla and Carson (and it’s a medieval variant of Benedict, so they get their saint there too!). Either one’s great!

(4) Elias
Elias was actually listed in the BNW as a style match for Layla! It’s a variant of Elijah, so there’s the biblical connection, and Eli’s a great nickname. “Elias” (Dispatch).

(5) Evan
Evan was listed as a style match in the BNW for both Layla and Carson, so I was excited to find “Ballad of Tim Evans” by Ewan MacColl. Evan is a form of John, so any of the Sts. John can be patron.

(6) Jack
Jack is such a sturdy, studly name. It’s perfect as Daniel’s brother, and totally holds its own with Layla and Carson. It can work as a nickname for John, or it can stand on its own as a given name. Either way, John would be the patron, and there are the songs “Book of John” (Tim McGraw); “Captain Jack” (Billy Joel); “Hit the Road Jack” (Ray Charles).

(7) James or Dean
I like both James and Dean for them! “James Dean” (Eagles).

(8) Jesse
“Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield was actually the first song that came to mind when I first read Ella’s “dilemma.” I would definitely use the spelling Jesse, and I love it—it’s got the Old Testament vibe and a cowboy vibe as well, really cool.

(9) Joshua
I love Joshua—it’s biblical, and traditional but current, and Josh is a great nickname. “Song for Josh” (Frank Turner).

(6) Jude
I actually can’t decide if I think Ella and her hubs will like Jude or not. “Hey Jude” by the Beatles is the song reference, and St. Jude Thaddeus is the saint. I do think this name evokes thoughts of the song to many people, especially secularly, so if they really like the song theme, Jude’s a good one to pick.

(7) Sean or Flynn
As with James and Dean, I actually like both the first and last names of the title guy! Sean is a variant of John, so they can pick a St. John as patron; Flynn is kind of fun and Irishy and fits in well with their other kids in my opinion. “Sean Flynn” (The Clash).

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What boys names would you suggest that fit in with Daniel, Layla, and Carson’s song-themed names?

Baby name consultant: Slightly unusual+longer first name with easy nickname

August 29, 2016 sanctanomina Baby name consultant Catholic baby names, Mary, Nicknames

Today’s consultation is for a family expecting their fourth baby — third girl! — and they have a very cool theme going — they like to choose “slightly unusual, slightly longer full names that trim down to an easy nickname.” Right up my alley, right?! Except I didn’t get it quite right this time, so you all really need to bring the great ideas and suggestions (no pressure!). 😀

Their older kiddos are:

J@cks0n Ar+hur/Jack (“we didn’t realize how popular J@cks0n was at the time!“)
El0d!e M@rie/Ellie
Av!ana Th3r3s3/Ava

Such a handsome group, and I’m such a big fan of going all out with given names and using a friendly, accessible nickname for every day. The mama writes,

“We’d like to continue this trend, but so far [my hubs] says all my suggestions are ‘weird’ — which isn’t unusual … The first time around I was in love with Magnolia (Maggie) for a girl — now I wonder what I was thinking! This time around, Bronwyn and Anwyn (shortened to Winnie) have both been rejected and I’m feeling stuck — not even my Baby Name Wizard book is inspiring much, though Sophronia (Sophie) just popped out at me this morning.”

So you all know that I had a lot of fun working on this—I’m all about nicknames, and I love this family’s theme.

I personally love Magnolia, and I love both Maggie and Nola, both of which I’ve seen as nicknames for it. It also made me think of Marigold, which isn’t all that different from Magnolia (and probably the Mister would think it’s just as weird), but is little more mainstream because of the Downton Abbey character by that name, and Marigold’s a Marian name! A Marigold could be Mari or Goldie, and I think Maggie could also work … I think Molly could work as well, but maybe sisters Ellie and Molly are too similar?

Bronwyn and Anwyn nicknamed Winnie made me think of the consultation I posted recently in which the parents are considering Maewyn, which was St. Patrick’s birth name! Though it started as a male name, it’s got such a pretty feminine sound, and one of the readers suggested Winnie as a nickname for it, and I totally thought of this family! Maewyn nicked Winnie is sweet!

Sophronia nicked Sophie is adorable, I love it! Along that same line of thinking, I totally think Sophie could work for Seraphina (as could Sera, Phina/Fina, Phia/Fia), and Josephine as well (I love the idea of Sophie for Josephine! Though Josie is also adorable, and I’ve seen Posy too, which I loooove, and is similar to Magnolia flower-wise).

So I think they’re swirling around some really great ideas, even if they don’t think they’ve hit upon “the one” yet!

As I do, I looked up the names they’ve used and those they like in the Baby Name Wizard, which I know this mama’s also done, which is probably one of the reasons my ideas didn’t resonate — in addition to Marigold, Maewyn, Seraphina, and Josephine that I mentioned above, I also suggested:

(1) Rosemary nicked Romy (or Rory)
Rosie is the most common nickname for Rosemary I think, and I love it with sibs Jack, Ellie, and Ava, but Romy is also a traditional nickname for it, and it makes Rosemary—which is “slightly longer” but not really “slightly unusual”—have a more unusual edge, which might be a nice thing for this family moving forward, as it breaks them out of the “need to stick with longer unusual name with common nickname” pattern into “longer given name with shorter nickname, and one of those is ‘slightly unusual,’” which is a bit more freeing/offers more options. Rory is a nickname possibility that takes Rosemary even farther down the “slightly unusual” line—it’s spunky and tomboyish—but I’m not convinced that’s what they’re going for. I wanted to mention it anyway though, just in case (and here’s a sweet Rosemary nicked Rory.)

(2) Louisa nicked Lucy or Lulu
As with Rosemary, Louisa’s not terribly unusual, but I really like the idea of Lucy as a nickname for it, and that gives it a nice unusual twist, as well as two saints! If they didn’t care for Lucy for it, I’m totally loving Lulu recently—it’s a little bit hipster and a lot of chic, and so darling.

(3) Caroline nicked Caddy or Cassie (or Catherine)
Yes, another not-so-unusual given name idea, but I saw Caddy as a nickname for Caroline a while ago and thought it was brilliant. I love Callie too, but thought it was too close to Ellie. And Cassie’s one of my favorite nicknames for a girl, and I think it could work as a mashup nickname for Caroline and the right middle name, like … Caroline Sabeth (Sabeth is so cool! It’s an Elizabeth variant with a cool new patron), or Caroline Sabine, Caroline Sophia, Caroline Seton (for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) … I’ve also seen Cass(ie) as a nickname for Catherine, which I thought was sort of brilliant. If they went with something like Caroline or Catherine for a first name (or Louisa or Rosemary or any other name that might be a bit more “normal” than they’d prefer), an unusual middle is another awesome way (besides an unusual nickname) to jazz it up.

(4) Cassia or Cascia nicked Cass(ie)
The previous idea of Cass(ie) reminded me of Cassia, which is just so cool and pretty. You can say it CASS-ee-ah, or CASH-ah, and it’s a spice name! It’s a form of cinnamon! It’s also a form of Keziah, which is a biblical name—one of Job’s daughters. If they like the CASH-ah pronunciation, they might also be interested in Cascia, which is the name of the town in Italy St. Rita of Cascia came from, and I would consider it an honor name for her.

(5) Bernadette nicked Betsy
I have a friend who considered Bernadette nicked Betsy for her baby, and I thought it was so inspired! She ended up having a boy, but I’ve never forgotten her idea for a girl. St. Bernadette’s a great patron for a girl!

(6) Nickname Sadie (Mercedes, Sara-[something])
Sadie has a similar feel to me as Jack and Ellie especially, and it’s a style match for Maggie and Sophie, and I thought it could be great for this family as a nickname for the right formal name. Mercedes is one—I’ve seen Sadie as a nickname for it spelled S-a-d-i-e, but also Cede, which is pronounced the same way, but is far less obvious. I’d heartily suggest the Sadie spelling to this family, and Mercedes is a great name for a baby born during the Year of Mercy! If they didn’t care for Mercedes, Sadie is also a traditional nickname for Sara(h), and while I thought Sara(h) on its own would be a little too commonplace for them, I thought a hyphenated double might be awesome. Sara-Kate/Sara-Cate is my favorite (and one I’ve had on my list for a long time), but I also love Sara-Mae (or Sara-Maeve, if they’re into Irish names), Sara-Beth, Sara-Claire, Sara-Grace … I used the Sara spelling in these examples because I prefer it to Sarah, but of course Sarah is beautiful and the “h” points to its biblical roots; also, they could do a non-hyphenated double name, like Sara Kate (I prefer the hyphen because it makes it more obvious it’s one name and not a first and middle, but it’s totally a personal preference kind of thing). I think a double first name can make two otherwise “normal” names really sparkle—those two normal names become something unusual when put together.

(7) Beatrix or Beatrice nicked Bea, Trixie, Tris, Betty
Beatrice is a style match for Winnie, and when I saw it I thought I had to add it to my list of suggestions. Both Beatrice and Beatrix are lovely and underused, and I think Bea is an adorable nickname (and lends itself to honeybee decorations, which is so cute!), but there’s also Trixie for Beatrix, and Tris for Beatrice (though be warned that Tris is the name of the main character in the Divergent series [books and movies], and likely pretty associated with just her, since I’d never heard of Tris as a nickname for Beatrice until those books), and even Betty could work and be really cute and retro.

(8) Juniper nicked Junie (or Junia nicked Junie?)
St. Junipero Serra is newly canonized and long beloved, and though he was a man, the English variant of his name totally works for a girl. Juniper is a similar style to Magnolia and Marigold, and has the a-dorable nickname option of Junie, which I just die over. Junie makes me also think of Junia, which is a biblical name, so pretty.

(9) Nickname Pippa or Poppy (Josephine, Perpetua, Philippa)
Pippa and Poppy were striking me as a really cute addition to the other kiddos, and there are several ways to get to them that might appeal. The Posy-for-Josephine idea I suggested above made me think that something like Josephine Petra could totally take the nickname Poppy. How cute and floral! I’ve also seen Poppy for Perpetua, which totally fits their “longer and more unusual” criteria, and it’s super saintly. I’ve also seen Pippa for Perpetua, but more commonly for Philippa, which I also really like.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I received feedback from the mom that my suggestions weren’t quite right for them, and indeed, as I reviewed, I see that I offered a lot of unusual nicknames for “normal” names, which is the exact opposite of what they wanted! Some were okay — I still like Cascia, Mercedes, and Juniper (Cass, Sadie, and Junie) — but I took a quick look again at my notes and thought these might be worth mentioning, as they’re on the more unusual end with easy nicknames:

(1) Amelie
Amelie’s a style match for El0d!e, a French name that’s said AH-mel-lee. Amy could definitely work as a nickname, or Mel/Melly.

(2) Salome
Also a match for El0d!e, and Sally is a natural nickname for it.

(3) Ariadne
Ariadne was, surprisingly, a match for Bronwyn (via Rhiannon, which I also would have suggested if I could think of a good nickname for it … Ree maybe? Annie?), and I think something like Addy could work really well.

(4) Philomena
This one’s a match for Sophronia, and there are a lot of possible nicknames: Fia, Fila, Fina, Finn, Finna, Lola, Mena, Minnie, Pia, Pim, Pina, and Pippa. For the purposes of this consultation, I think maybe Lola, Mena, and Minnie might be the most appealing.

(5) Leocadia
Finally, going really far out, what about Leocadia? It’s another match for Sophronia and a saint’s name, and Cady is the greatest nickname for it! I wouldn’t be surprised if Leocadia is just too far out … but maybe not?

And those are my ideas! I’m dying to hear what you all think — please share your ideas for “slightly unusual, slightly longer full names that trim down to an easy nickname” for this baby girl!

Celebrity guest: Lindsay from My Child I Love You

August 9, 2016 sanctanomina Personal stories, Real-life naming Biblical names, Catholic surnames, French names, Mary, Men Who Love Mary, My Child I Love You, Nicknames

Happy feast of St. Edith Stein, aka St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross! The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist posted about her today on FB, and I thought this bit from their post was so beautiful:

“Teresa died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz in 1942 at the age of fifty-one … Out of the unspeakable human suffering caused by the Nazis in western Europe in the 1930’s and 1940’s, there blossomed the beautiful life of dedication, consecration, prayer, fasting, and penance of Saint Teresa. Even though her life was snuffed out by the satanic evil of genocide, her memory stands as a light undimmed in the midst of evil, darkness, and suffering.”

Evil will. not. win.

It’s also my second boy’s tenth birthday! He’s so excited about his birthday — he’s only been waiting for it for the last eleven months and three weeks — so we’re in full-on celebration mode here! 🎉🎈🎆 So it’s just the perfect day for this post, which I’m so excited about. First, an introduction:

Lindsay blogs at My Child I Love You about life with her husband and their beautiful children. Many many times my the-world-is-getting-me-down moments have been soothed by the sweetness and simplicity of her posts and photos, and I followed with desperate prayerfulness her youngest born baby’s pre-birth omphalocele diagnosis (here and here) and post-birth struggles (here and here), and Lindsay’s beloved mother’s battle with cancer (and her doctors-say-it’s-not-but-for-her-and-her-family-it-is miraculous healing!) and a recent (but not only) miscarriage.

Lindsay’s faith shines through every post and photo and word I’ve ever seen come from her, and it does so in another way as well: her children’s names. Oh her children’s names!! I admit they’re what caught my attention in the first place, when I first happened upon her blog when her No. 7 was a baby, and I eagerly awaited the revelation of the names of Nos. 8 and 9. I’ve learned from her so much more of what’s possible in bestowing names of our faith. I love how eclectic and outside-the-box her children’s names are while still being firmly and explicitly rooted in our faith, and I wouldn’t even know where to begin if I were to try to come up with ideas for her for her Baby No. 10 because, yes, she’s expecting a new little one this winter!! How wonderful!!

Despite the fact that I don’t know her in real life, I really craved a good name conversation with Lindsay, and so I was delighted when she agreed to do a guest post about “names” — just that! — I didn’t even want to narrow it down any further than that, because I wanted to hear everything! But of course a question-and-answer format is easier, so I asked all the questions I could think of, and she graciously and patiently answered each one. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did!

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Kate: Where do you look for name inspiration? (I don’t want to confuse the question and I’d love your gut-reaction answer, but this also might help: Do you draw exclusively from saints to whom you already have a devotion, or do you sometimes happen upon a name you like and then seek to cultivate a devotion to that saint?)

Lindsay: I look everywhere for name inspiration. Of course, saints are my surest go-to, but I also enjoy researching countries that have Catholic beginnings, Catholic places of worship, towns that the great and maybe hidden saints came from as to honor that wonderful place this saintly person walked in. It is wonderful to explain the origins of the name Clairvaux or Lourdes. I love how our faith infiltrates every piece of God’s wonderful land. California couldn’t scream CATHOLIC loud enough. San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino. We could go on an on. San Antonio, Texas. St. Augustine, Florida. St. Louis, Missouri. I love that God leaves His handprint everywhere.

Europe is separate story all by itself. The vastness of Catholicism is overwhelming to me when I think of Europe and its historical beauty. There are so many stories to be told. I love dissecting the French towns to discover their origins and what wonderful person once lived there.

I also love the “little” spiritual guys. I love their massive stories that God has not yet revealed in their fullness to the world quite yet because his timing is ALWAYS perfect and each story is destined for a specific point in history. I think of St. Thomas More. The grandness of his story didn’t surface until 500 years after his death. His virtue was actually forgotten for centuries. God wasn’t ready for him yet!

I love the stories of Titus Brandsma, Emil Kapaun, Frank Quinn, Marthe Robin, Luisa Piccaretta, Bl. Matt Talbot, Fr. Gereon Goldmann and Bl. Andre Bessette. The stories of these holy and brave men and women who lived their lives for Christ motivate me to constantly focus on why we were even created.

I take their names and take them apart like a scientist. I look up French versions of their names. I look up different nationalities and check to see how they pronounce certain names. I read about the towns they come from and how those towns or cities were established. This is where Catholicism is often discovered in the deepest crevices of our lives.

Biographies have always been my favorite genre of literature. I read about their devotions and try to fit that into the name. For example, Matt Talbot had a huge devotion to Our Lady. I was trying to work that into Lourdes’ name. He also loved St. Louis de Montfort. At one point, her name was going to be Talbotts Marie-Monfort. We went a different direction due to a small stirring of events, but I still love it. It fit everyone in the name we wanted to honor. St. Louis de Montfort’s 30-day consecration played a very pivotal role in John and I’s relationship. At one point, we were discerning if God was calling us not to the married vocation, but to the religious life. We prayed the consecration with open hearts and on one of the final days, a priest friend, Fr. John Heisler, visited unexpectedly and pointed us to marriage after much discussion. We promised to pray a Hail Mary for him everyday the rest of my life.

Kate: I’d love to hear your name story for each of your children, if you don’t mind sharing!

Lindsay: Here is the name story of each of our children:

Each of our children have some version of the name Mary in their name.

1. Dominic Savio Joseph Mary George Boever
Topping the charts of my favorite saints is St. John Bosco. He is the patron of our homeschool. As I child, I was so touched by his love of children and his desire that each child know they were wanted. I read anything I could find on him. One of his holiest students was St. Dominic Savio. We didn’t even hesitate to name our first son after this saintly little boy. He had such God-given wisdom at such a young age. Ironically, our Dominic is so much like his patron. St. Dominic Savio’s story has made an impression upon our Dominic’s soul. My mother described our Dominic so perfectly, “It is as if God has taken a hold of his soul.” Our sons have a a version of Mary and the name Joseph in their middle name. Dominic chose George as his Confirmation name.

2. Lillie Maria Goretti John Paul Boever
It is always funny to me how names come and go. Our girl name when I was pregnant with Dominic was Vianney. We had offered our marriage for an increase in priestly vocations and being that St. John Vianney is the patron of priests, we wanted to honor him in this way. PLUS, St. John Vianney is also one of my very favorite stories. He modeled the motto “Do small things well” so perfectly in the little town of Ars. He is a model for all those who think that their little hidden lives are not enough. During my pregnancy with Lillie, John mentioned the name of Lillie. I had carried 14 white lilies in my wedding bouquet to honor St. Maria Goretti and her willingness to die for the virtue of purity and chastity. For those not familiar with St. Maria Goretti’s story, she was stabbed 14 times by young Alessandro Serenelli who wanted her to do impure acts. What a wonderful patron for a young woman. She chose St. John Paul II for her Confirmation name.

*We lost our 3rd child Benedict Joseph Labre Mary Boever to miscarriage at 8 weeks.

4. Rose Marie-Therese Boever
John loved the name Rose. St. Therese is known for her love of roses. So going along with the theme of lilies corresponding with St. Maria Goretti, we gave Rose her name with the same intention. Rose was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen and with the sweetest temperament to match. As she has gotten older, Rose has developed such fondness for St. Rose of Lima. She is going to pick Ven. Solanus Casey for her Confirmation name.

*We lost our 5th child Margaret Mary Alacoque Boever to miscarriage at 6 weeks.

6. Zellie Marie-Guerin Boever
(pronounced Zellie like jelly with a Z)
We were slowly leaning into a French naming trend. We joked that the girls would love being known as their father’s beautiful bouquet as we had a Lillie, Rose, and now Zellie.

(St. Zelie Guerin’s real name is Azelie or Azalia after the flower azalea.) I read a few books about then Bl. Zelie Martin and admired her tender mothering ways. It is really cute as our Zellie LOVES her name.

*We lost our 7th child Francis Mary Xavier to miscarriage at 6 weeks.

8. Vianney Jean-Marie Boever
(pronounced Vee-on-ee)
Vianney has such an amazing story name to me. Like I mentioned above, we loved the name Vianney with our first pregnancy and then it faded to the background. During my pregnancy with her, God had not shown us a girl name. We had actually forgotten all about the name Vianney. I was driving home from bible study and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I called John, “If we have a girl, her name should be Vianney.” He couldn’t have agreed more. We didn’t know she was a girl until delivery, but I knew she was going to be a girl because her name was written on my heart. At her baptism, Monsignor Nemec asked us if we knew that Pope Benedict had just declared this coming year “The Year of Priests and St. John Vianney.” NO! We had no idea. He was a bit confused and asked again if we had any idea. We had no idea and it was so interesting to us that her name was revealed to us at that specific time for that year. I love her story so much.

9. Clairvaux Marie-Frances Boever
(pronounced Clare-vough: like hairbow)
We have mutual friends who have a daughter named Clairvaux. Keeping with my love of French sounding names, I knew we would have a Clairvaux. My uncle is a monk at the Clear Creek Monastery in Oklahoma. We lived in Oklahoma for four years while John was in medical school. We visited the monastery often and one monk stood out to me. His name was Fr. Francis Defeydo. Before entering the monastery in France, he was an accomplished and decorated French navy pilot. His parents were very upset with his decision to give his life to Christ. He was so handsome and given so many worldly gifts, yet he gave it all up for Christ. He had such a humble way about him that really intrigued us.

The year our Clairvaux was born, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died a very holy death. My mother and I visited his grave a couple months before Clairvaux was born so we knew we wanted to honor his heroic life in our new baby’s name. Hence, the Frances in her name.

10. Damaris Catherine-Mary Boever
(pronounced Duh-Mare-iss)
We were stumped with naming Damaris. She was nameless until the last few hours of our stay in the hospital. She was such a beautiful baby and we couldn’t find a name to match the face we were staring into. My mother’s name is Damaris which means “of Mary” and John’s mother’s name is Catherine. The name Damaris is mentioned by St. Paul in Acts and there is also a St. Damaris of Athens. After debating several names, her name came to us to honor all three of our mothers.

11. Kapaun Joseph Mary Boever
(pronounced K-pen)
We are still getting over the thrill of having another little boy. We love our girls so much and after six in a row, we pretty much knew we were going to have girls from here on out! When I heard the words, “It’s a BOY”, they might have well said, “It’s a unicorn!” What??? Let me see this mythical creature I heard of named “boys” yet have not seen for many years. It was so fun. I had read about Fr. Emil Kapaun during his pregnancy. His heroism and devotion to others had me at hello. I admired how he spent his hidden days in the camp scurrying from tent to tent tending to the wounded while HE HIMSELF was wounded. The prisoners were given one rice patty a day. They were starving. One day, four men were fighting over a rice patty and Fr. Kapaun stepped in and said, “Here! Have mine! I don’t want it.” Then, proceeded to cut his small rice patty into fourths. The men were taken aback by his humbleness. Although he is well-known for his selfless ways, he was fearless in his defense of the faith. He was such a meek and mild fellow, but if the guards mocked Our Lord, he called them out every time often taking terrible punishments for doing so. We loved him. I mentioned to John that if we would ever have another boy, we should name him Kapaun. Also, Fr. Emil Kapaun’s confirmation name is Joseph so that fit perfectly with putting Mary and Joseph in our son’s name. There is a shrine in Pilsen, Kansas to Fr. Emil Kapaun. We have not been, but someday we will take our Kapaun there to show him that wonderful man who loved Christ so much.

12. Lourdes Marie-Talbot Boever
(pronounced Loo-ahrds, not Loor-dees like the Spanish pronunciation)
Lourdes has a very long story. You can read about her story HERE. To sum up her name, she was going to be named many things during her pregnancy. About a month before delivery, the doctors decided to induce on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes due to her health concerns. My mom texted me later that week and said, “Lindsay, I know her name. Lourdes Marie-Talbot Boever. She is supposed to tell the world about Our Lady of Lourdes.” I called John and he, too, was convinced of her name.

Fast forward a few weeks, I was visiting my grandmother and she was casually telling me about her visit to Ireland several years back. We were discussing back and forth about Matt Talbot and his Irish ways and devotions. She loves Matt Talbot and I mentioned he was my confirmation name. My grandmother told me about finding his shrine in Ireland by mistake and it was at this one church, “Ummm, let me see. Our Lady of Lourdes. Matt had a huge devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes.” NO WAY!!! I had no idea. I screeched, “That is what we are naming this baby!! ” How did God do that? He tied everything together so perfectly.

The date she was being induced. The saint we had been praying to and HIS favorite devotion. All into one name! Crazy to us!

13. We lost our 13th child to miscarriage in early 2016. We have not named this baby yet. We are still waiting to discover the name.

14. I am due December 5th with our 14th child. We have a smashing boy’s name that we love. We have narrowed the girl’s name down to three possibilities.

Kate: What role does John play in naming our children? Do you each come up with ideas, or is it more like you suggest names and he says yes or no?

Lindsay: John and I share the exact same naming desires. He loves the deep meanings as much as I do. He loves the heroism of the saints like Fr. Emil Kapaun. I am probably the Sherlock Holmes and he is the Watson. I am constantly looking, reading, investigating, and telling him about someone new I read about. I would be lost without his Captain Obvious skills in pointing out the nicknames that might arise if certain names are given to our children. (i.e. Ben Boever [bend over] — probably shouldn’t name a child Ben. Although, we did name the baby we miscarried Benedict)

Kate: Do you take nicknames into account when you’re choosing first names? Like, maybe you like a nickname and back-fit into a first name from there (you like Beth so you choose Elizabeth)? Or you hate the nickname Sam so you cross off Samuel/Samson/Samantha from your list of considerations? Or do you just choose names you love and don’t mind the nicknames that arise naturally?

Lindsay: Nothing is off limits. Like I mentioned above, I feel like a scientist to the degree that I take apart names and dissect them like no other. I love discovering the deeper meaning and origins to each particular name all the way back to Greek and Latin roots. I love discovering who which saints had devotions to. I love knowing the saints’ confirmation name, their parents’ names, where they were born, which parish they attended, which convent or monastery they were apart of, which symbols are associated with them. I love discovering what they loved and honoring them in that way.

We have a terrible case of the nicknames. Our poor children. I don’t know how to break the habit. Everyone has so many nicknames that it really should bring into question why we spend so much time giving them their legal name. I love it though!

Kate: What are some of your ideas that you never got to use? Or that you’d love to see others use that might not be quite right for you?

Lindsay: My sister, Kristin, is married to man that immigrated from the Ukraine when he was 8-years-old. There are 16 children in his family. Their culture, families, and food are so fascinating. I LOVE all their names, but they certainly have a Russian tone. We aren’t Russian so they just don’t quite work. A few that stick out are Reuvum, Edict, Slavic, and Milana. I love so many Russian names, but they just don’t fit our Irish/German/French heritage.

I also love the idea of Irish names with their unique spellings and pronunciations.

Kate: I think I remember that you’re from a big family, is that right? And your husband as well? So you probably have a bunch of nieces and nephews—what do you think about cousins sharing names? Or even the children of a close circle of friends?

Lindsay: Yes! I am the second of ten children. John is the second of eight children. God has given our children many cousins on both sides which is so very wonderful. John’s parents have 40 grandchildren so far and my parents have 31 grandchildren so far. We both have siblings that are newly married and several unmarried. We look forward to each new birth like it is the first. There is no greater joy than baby days in our families. It truly is wonderful and celebrated each time.

Amongst our families, everybody is so wonderful about sharing names and actually, I think most would deem it an honor if someone used the name that you have already used. Ironically, we don’t have any doubles yet. I love the names everyone has chosen and some that stick out are Scholastica, Athanasius, Magnus, Avila, Abraham, Rome, Edith, and Marian. Although, I love all the names our siblings have picked out. Everyone is so thoughtful and intentional with their names.

Now amongst our friends, it is a different story in regards to repeating names. We live in Lincoln, Nebraska and Catholicism is certainly alive and well in this wonderful place. There are many repeats and it certainly seems that everyone just knows that LIFE is certainly in abundance in our parishes so names are going to be repeated. It truly is a wonderful problem to have. I love gatherings especially when there are 7 Georges present, 5 Peters and 3 Marias.

Kate: You told me you’ve helped some of your friends with their baby naming—would you mind sharing some of your favorite final results?

Lindsay: Oh Yes! I think my close friends know my love for beautiful names. I had a few friends ask what names I had discovered during their pregnancies.

1. My friend Kristi has five children. She loves traditional and family rooted names. With their 4th child (baby girl), they were stuck on what to name her. I woke up one morning, called her and said, “Her name should be Evelyn.” Kristi immediately went, “YES! That’s it!” Come to find out, it was a family name and worked out so perfect.

2. My friend Leah was pregnant with their 4th child. They had three boys and asked what baby girl names I had been cooking up. They specifically wanted a biblical name. They liked unique, yet shorter names. I suggested, “Lael.” She immediately said, “YES! That’s it.” ‘Lael’ means ‘one who belongs to God.’

3. My friend Emily and I were sitting one afternoon watching our girls during ballet practice. We were both due about the same time with our 8th babies. I was due a few weeks before her. We were talking names and mentioned they were stuck on what to name their baby boy. I said, “Here! Name him this! I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote ‘Campion’ for St. Edmund Campion.” I told her if we had a boy, which we probably won’t, but if we do, we will name him either Kapaun or Campion. She loved it and said her husband was just reading about St. Edmund Campion. Well, I DID have a boy and we named him Kapaun. When Kapaun was born, she texted me and asked if she could really use the name Campion. OF COURSE!!! Do it! So now we have Kapaun Boever and Campion Villa a few weeks apart. She told me she kept that piece of paper I wrote his name on and put it in his baby box. I love that story!

Wasn’t that just the most wonderful interview?! Aren’t you just as a-swoon with Lindsay’s naming sensibilities as I am? So very many thanks to Lindsay for giving us a peek inside the Boever Family Naming Process, and please all remember to pray for her and her baby and family!

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