Powerful patrons

Birth announcement: Gemma Clare!

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I posted a consultation for Jaclyn and her husband back in February, and Jaclyn’s let me know her new little girl has been born and given the beeauuutiful name … Gemma Clare!

Jaclyn writes,

“Our daughter was born on May 1 (her due date!) and is happy and healthy. We decided to name her…Gemma Clare!!

We so enjoyed the ideas and suggestions from you and your readers, and hope you like the final decision ;)”

If you remember from the consultation, Jaclyn and her husband really wanted a name of “a saint (or derivative) or otherwise Catholic in nature…we want someone to hear her name and just know she’s Catholic” — I’d say they did pretty darn well with Gemma Clare!! It’s so full of faithy significance!!

Congratulations to the proud parents and big sibs Lillian, Olivia, and Henry, and happy birthday Baby Gemma!!

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Gemma Clare

Birth announcement: Moira Elizabeth Charlotte!

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Happy Mother’s Day!! I gave you a little spiritual something yesterday, and today I have two (and possibly three!) birth announcements for you! What a wonderful day!! 😀 ❤ ❤ ❤

I posted a consultation for Genie at Barefoot Abbey back in January, and she’s let me know that her little girl has arrived and has been given the gooorgeous name … Moira Elizabeth Charlotte!

Genie writes,

“Our little Ladybird was born at home the evening of February 16th. At 7 pounds 12 ounces, she is a runt compared to her brothers. Deo Gratias!! Henry, our son born right before her, was 10 pounds!

Now onto the fun stuff!

Her name is Moira Elizabeth Charlotte.

As you can see, we were won over by the boys’ lobbying and did indeed name her after a spider. They were so excited for her arrival that it just felt right we should honor them in that regard. The patrons of St. JP2 and Bl. Charlotte of the Resurrection aren’t too bad either.

In the end (5 days after she was born!) we had the first name narrowed down to Moira, Genevieve, or Josephine. We had liked Moira with Immaculée Clare, however the final theme we chose changed that. We decided to give each potential daughter a Marian name so we saved Immaculée … We’re still running through nicknames and are open to suggestions, with the exception of ‘Mo’. Our sons call her variations from Ladybird to Mosy-Posy, since she was drawn from the water.”

I just love love love the name Moira, and I love Elizabeth and Charlotte as middle names for it — what a beautiful, meaningful combo!!

If any of you have ideas for nicknames for little Moira, please feel free to share! (My two ideas were Mori and Moira Beth.)

Congratulations to Genie and her husband and big brothers Malachi, Noah, Liam, and Henry, and happy birthday Baby Moira!!

Moira Elizabeth Charlotte and her brothers

Spotlight on: Elizabeth

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Grace asked for an Elizabeth spotlight a while ago, which is so great, because when I think of doing spotlights, I tend to think of names that are a little unusual or offbeat or have issues (like, what nickname? how does this name come across? does this name have any saintly connection?), and since I don’t consider Elizabeth to fall in any of those categories, I probably wouldn’t have thought to spotlight it.

But Elizabeth — I mean, come on. Is there any more impeccable name than Elizabeth? I love so many things about it, like:

It’s the name of Our Lady’s beloved cousin and mother of John the Baptist, known as St. Elizabeth of the Visitation (I love that!). Her Mystery of the Rosary is a tremendous pro-life witness and the first announcement to those other than Jesus’ parents that the Messiah had come.

It’s the name of a sainted queen (St. Elizabeth of Hungary) and an Irish martyr (Bl. Elizabeth Kearney) and two wives of men who lived Godless lives and converted and became priests after their wives’ deaths (SOG Elisabeth Leseur and Bl. Elisabetta Canori Mora) and a whole bunch of other holy women. One of them, Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, is set to be canonized this year, having had her second miracle recently approved.

It has about a thousand variations — not only Elizabeth, Elisabeth, and Elisabetta as mentioned above, but also:

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http://behindthename.com/name/elizabeth

So many cool options! Two really unusual ones (to me) that jumped out from this image are Zabel, which I’d actually suggested for this mom, and Elixabete, which Mary (skimac) had recently mentioned (I’ll leave it to her to tell us how to pronounce it!). In that same comment she also shared the diminutive Sabeth, which someone she knows gave to his daughter as a nod to Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, as her childhood nickname was Sabeth. I’ve also seen Zbeth in real life! Then there’s Elsa, Isabella, Lisbet, Bethan … all legit variants of Elizabeth.

And the nicknames!! Abby recently did an awesome post on unexpected nicknames for Elizabeth, which included one of my favorites, Tess (as I say, if Betty and Tetty are both traditional nicknames for Elizabeth (they are), and Bess is also, then Tess should certainly be!). I’d also add Eily (said EYE-lee, like the Irish variant Eilis [EYE-lish or AY-lish]) and we’ve discussed the possibility of Zelie as an Elizabeth nickname as well (it totally works! Two saints in one!). I also did a tiny post about Elizabeth nicknames here. But if you want your girl to go by her full name, Elizabeth is feminine and sophisticated, smart and distinguished. An Elizabeth can be a Supreme Court Judge, or an artist, or an engineer, or an opera singer, or an Olympic athlete.

Which is your favorite Elizabeth variant? How about nicknames? Do you know anyone named Elizabeth who goes by one of the nicknames not mentioned or linked to here?

Namespotting: Elizabeth Bauttista

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I saw in the credits of a show I was watching the other night the first+middle combo Elizabeth Bauttista and of course I was immediately like Joyful Mystery name!!!!!!!! Isn’t that awesome?? And so meaningful!! I mean, seriously — her parents must have had St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist in mind, right?

The spelling Bauttista isn’t one I’ve come across — I’ve only seen the similar Bautista, and every one of the Baptist names are listed as masculine on behindthename, but they all seem so perfect for girls that I was surprised their usage is given as exclusively masculine. Which made me all the happier to see Elizabeth Bauttista — I knew they must have feminine usage!

I’m totally dying over the idea of Elizabeth + a Baptist name — whenever I think of the Baptist names I think of pairing some form of John with it, but pairing a form of Elizabeth with it is so great! I started toying with other combos and loved how pretty and unexpected combos like Elsa Baptiste, Isabella Bautista, and Elisabetta Battista would be.

Do you know anyone with a form of Baptist in his or her name?

Birth announcement: Owen Michael!

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I posted a consultation for my brother and sister-in-law back in November, and I’m over-the-moon thrilled to announce that my baby nephew has been born and been given the amazing name of … Owen Michael!

A funny thing is that in my consultation, no mention was made of the name Owen, despite the fact that as long as I’ve known my SIL I’ve known that she loves that name (she herself was actually going to be named Owen if she had been a boy!)—she and my brother didn’t name their first son Owen (we all thought they would) and when it wasn’t included on the list of names she said they were considering for boy #2, I figured it had just kind of faded away, as so many once-favorite names have done for me and for so many of you, I’m sure.

But when little Owen was born and his name was announced, my immediate feeling was Of course! It feels so familiar to me to have a nephew named Owen! I really really love that the longtime favorite, which was thought to have slipped away, found its place in the end.

Congratulations to my brother and SIL and big brother Leo, and happy birthday to my sweet nephew, Baby Owen!!

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Owen Michael

Name signs for those who use American Sign Language

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Our reader Amy is deaf, and was recently sharing with me how name signs are bestowed, which I thought you’d all find as interesting as I do:

“In regards to naming practices for people who use American Sign Language*:

Culturally, a name sign should only be given to you by a Deaf person (you can’t just make up your own) and they are also not always bestowed right away. Sometimes it can takes months or longer while you wait for the right one to come along. Until then, names are typically just finger spelled. Sometimes short names (2 or 3 letters) are only finger spelled and that motion becomes their sign. But for the most part name signs are given based on a characteristic unique that person. Like Callie might walk with a specific sway in her hips, so hers might be a C hand shape near her hip that rocks back and forth. Rachel might be a person that is always happy and smiling so the sign for smile is done with the handshape for the letter R instead of the regular hand shape. Gavin might be a G on his upper arm because he is strong.

The first initial is not always used. I know an Anna who had chubby cheeks as a baby so her name sign is a finger flick on her cheek. Caleb might be a claw hand shape, finger tips almost tapping his chin. My co-worker Jill’s sign name is the same as the sign for flower because it relates to her maiden name. I have a friend who didn’t “name” her son until he was almost one, and then he was “named” after an eyebrow raise he would always do. The hand shape/movement mimics it.

In my own family we use the letters MK for my son Martin Kane, as a way of including his formal first name, even though we call him Kane. Also because we already use a K hand shape for my daughter Kristy (palm facing in, rising up from her ear because she would always make high squeaky sounds and she is hearing). My name (Amy) is just finger spelled, My husband Marty’s is an M making an arch down like the sign for kung fu because he is a black sash, an instructor and it’s where we met. Sometimes just generic signs are used. A good example of this might be when reading a story book. Instead of spelling the characters names over and over again or coming up with a characteristic name sign, you could just simply shake the first letter in the air or tap it on your jaw if the character is female, or on your temple if they are male (because this is where female/male signs are made). Fun stuff huh! Although, working in a deaf school, sometimes it gets confusing when students have the same name sign or ones very similar. But then again, regular school kids have this same problem. Common top 10 names usually end up going by their first name plus their last name initial. Emily C. or Emily K.?

*some names in this post have been changed to protect privacy“

So interesting, right? I always wondered how people got their name signs! I took Sign Language classes for years before and during college, which were taught by a hearing interpreter, so she knew a lot but she wasn’t deaf (I don’t know how much “insider” cultural info she had) and I didn’t know to ask about this (we all finger spelled our names) — this is all new to me!

I also really like how the name signs are tied to a characteristic that is particular to each individual, and how it “Sometimes it can takes months or longer while you wait for the right one to come along. ” It feels really affectionate to me because it requires observation of the person — you have to really *know* him or her.

Amy also told me, which I hadn’t known, that St. Francis de Sales is the patron of the deaf — such a cool thing to know! I love him! (He’s also a patron of writers, and I’ve long asked him for intercession for my writing efforts.) I looked him up, just to see if I could find an explanation for this particular patronage, and found this amazing tidbit:

“His simple, clear explanations of Catholic doctrine, and his gentle way with everyone, brought many back to the Roman Church. He even used sign language in order to bring the message to the deaf, leading to his patronage of deaf people.”

That.is.awesome. ❤

Do any of you know anyone with a name sign, and if so, what is it/how did they get it?

Thanks to Amy for writing this up for us!!

Birth announcement: Alastair James Lewis!

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It’s a two-birth-announcement day y’all!! 😀 ❤

I did a private consultation for a couple recently who were very near their due date and struggling with middle names. They let me know their son has arrived, with the incredibly handsome and distinguished name of … Alastair James Lewis!

The mama writes,

“Alastair James Lewis S__ was born on March 3rd 🙂 I’ve included a picture of our little family on Easter … We are calling him Alastair. Sometimes we call him Ally. And sometimes we call him Parm because it looks like God sprinkled Parmesan cheese all over his little nose 🙂 “

How darling and fabulous is that?! I happen to know that his names were heavily influenced by his parents’ love of philosophy, and I think they did a tremendous job picking a great, meaningful name for their little guy (all I really did was assure them that the names they liked the best were a-ok!)

Congratulations to the proud parents, and happy birthday Baby Alastair!!

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Alastair James Lewis and his Mom and Dad

Birth announcement: Marianna Josephine!

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I posted a consultation for Jessica and her husband in December, and Jessica’s let me know her baby has arrived — a little girl named … Marianna Josephine!

She writes,

“Marianna Josephine was born today at 1:00 pm. She is 7 lbs, 9 oz and 19.5 inches. Mom and baby are both doing well. She is named for two of her great-grandmothers with St. Mary, St. Anne, and St. Josephine Bakhita as her patrons.

Thank you for doing our consultation!“

What a gorgeous name!! I love Marianna, such a gorgeous Marian mashup and with St. Anne in there too! Woo! And I’ve been loving St. Josephine Bakhita recently, what a great middle name.

Congratulations to Jessica and her hubs and big sibs Stephen, Paul, and Theresa, and happy birthday Baby Marianna!!

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Marianna Josephine

Backing into a patron saint

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This topic is one of my very favorites,  because I frequently come across families who chose names they love for their children but later regretted not having figured out a patron saint connected to their names, whether because they hadn’t really thought about the saint thing or because they’d had a later conversion/reversion/strengthening of their faith. I’ve seen some real suffering because of this! And I really really love being able to put a mama’s mind at ease. I wrote about the idea of “backing into a patron saint” in my CatholicMom article “Finding your patron saint (or being found),” but I wanted to share with you a real-life example from one of you wonderful readers. She writes,

“I’m wondering if you can help me with a “reverse” consultation. I’m Catholic, but didn’t necessarily prioritize choosing a Saint’s name for my first two children. My Catholic faith has grown a lot recently and I’m a little sad that I didn’t intentionally give my son a Saint’s name. My first born daughter’s [middle name is] Marie. Marie is my middle name, and while that was the main reason we gave it to her, I’m happy that it also honors Mary. My son’s name is Flynn Carlson. Flynn is my husband’s grandmother’s maiden name and Carlson is my maiden name. My husband … loves anything and everything Irish. When we found the name Flynn in a baby name book he fell in love and had to have it. I’m one of four girls, so my maiden name will not be carried on by anyone in my family, so I really wanted to give my maiden name as a middle name to my son.

I’d love for my son to have a Saint that is associated with his name, if possible. I know that a patron Saint doesn’t have to be associated with a name and I realize that ideally the qualities of a Saint should inspire parents to choose a name rather than trying to match a Saint to a name after the fact. St. Patrick is an obvious choice for a patron Saint, as Flynn is an Irish surname, but my husband’s middle name is Patrick and we may end up using that name as a middle name for a future son if we are so blessed. I’ve also always had a connection to St. Francis, and have always sung the prayer of St. Francis to my son to put him to sleep. I would have had a hard time naming a boy Francis, so even though I’m inspired by him, the name didn’t really stand a chance. Is it horrible that I’ve told myself that since Flynn and Francis both start with F, I can make a case that St. Francis is his patron Saint?

Anyway, I thought I’d just propose a challenge to you to see if you could come up with any Saints that might be associated with his name (Flynn Carlson). I think you have more expertise in this area than I do, and it would be fun to see what you come up with (if anything – I’m prepared if this is too strange of a request).”

It’s not a strange request at all, and I’m so delighted to offer my thoughts.

Flynn Carlson is SUCH a handsome combo!! I looked up Flynn first, which behindthename.com said means “descendant of Flann,” so I looked up Flann and it’s said to mean “red.” Another of my resources, Dictionary of Patron Saints’ Names, picks up on this meaning in offering a patron for Flynn—it points to St. Rufus, which means “red haired,” of which there are many, as well as a person in the New Testament.

But my favorite idea for a patron for Flynn Carlson is based on his middle name. It means “son of Carl/Charles,” and there are some great Saints by that name! My personal favoriteis St. John Paul II, whose given name at birth was Karol—the Polish form of Charles/Carl. But I think this mama (who has German ancestry) might love Bl. Karl, Emperor of Austria. I know Austria doesn’t equal Germany, but they’re so close I’m hoping it might hit her just right! I read about him just recently after Theresa mentioned in a comment  and love him—he lived recently enough that there’s a photo of him, which I actually posted on my Instagram recently. There’s also St. Charles Borromeo, who’s awesome, and a few others, some of whom are known as Carl/Carlo. If my maiden name was Carlson, I would be so excited to use it for a son, knowing that it would have both family and saintly connections!

I also really love the connection this mama has already made between Flynn and Francis — I think that’s lovely, especially since she’s always sung the Prayer of St. Francis to him. It’s kind of like St. Francis chose Flynn!

If any of you are struggling with a similar issue, please feel free to email me! Every little one should have a patron saint! ❤

Birth announcement: Louisa Marie!

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I posted a consultation for Alyssa and her husband back in January in which I offered suggestions with a German sensibility for their little girl-on-the-way. Alyssa has let me know her Little Miss has arrived, and they gave her the beeeaauuutiful name of … Louisa Marie!

Alyssa writes,

“our little girl is here! She was born on Saturday, March 26 just in time for Easter. I loved reading your consultation and everyone’s suggestions and referred back to the post several times while we were making our final decisions. In the end we just couldn’t shake Louisa. I don’t remember if I told you or not but I grew up on a street called Louisa and my parents still live there, so the associations are strong. It also fit our German bill and as was kind of discussed in your post, it is a name from The Sound of Music, one of my favorite movies! And of course Marie is a tradition and honors not only our Blessed Mother but also several women in my family including my mom, both grandmothers and my cousin who passed away a few years ago. After researching the links you provided about saintly women with her name, St. Louise de Marillac jumped out to me as her patron when I realized her feast day was in March. Thank you so much for all of your help and good information! 

Right now we are calling her Louisa, Lou, LouLou and Louie/Louie Marie. So many fun nicknames! Big brother Konrad Wolfgang is having a blast with her so far!“

How wonderful!! I just loved that Alyssa said that they “referred back to the post several times while we were making our final decisions” and that “in the end we just couldn’t shake Louisa.” That, to me, is evidence that Louisa is and always has been the name for this beautiful baby! I looooove the nicknames too, so so sweet!

Congratulations to Mom and Dad and big brother Konrad, and happy birthday Baby Louisa!!

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Louisa Marie