Rosary names

Baby name consultation: Easter/rosary name ideas for a baby boy

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Sara and her husband are expecting their fourth baby, a little boy! This little guy joins big sibs:

Adelaide Karen Noel (“Goes by Adelaide. Adelaide for St Adelaide, Karen is husband’s mother,my sister, and a nod to my mother and great grandmother, and she was born Dec 22. I also like that Noel is a mystery of the rosary and a long time friend of mine“)

(In heaven) Frances Xavier Fiat (“for Mother Cabrini, Mary, and the Rosary“)

Benedict Stanley Thomas (“Goes by Benny, Benedetto, and Detto. Benedict for St. Benedict of Nursia, Stanley is my father and Stanley Rother is cool, Thomas for multiple grandfathers and also Thomas More. Also born December. I like to think that Benedict is connected to the rosary because it means Blessed“)

Sara’s children’s names are absolutely stunning! I could imagine parents finding names like Karen and Stanley somewhat challenging to incorporate into the names of children born today (though I have seen Stanley popping up here and there — Bl. Stanley Rother has done wonders for the name, and my husband and I considered it ourselves), but both Adelaide Karen Noel and Benedict Stanley Thomas are amazing — both of the full combos done in such a way that the more dated names are given a new sparkle and create a pleasantly unexpected part of the whole. I’m terribly impressed! And Frances Xavier Fiat, oh my. What a perfect name for a baby in heaven. It’s not often that I’m surprised by names, but I found an element of surprise in all three of Sara’s babies’ names — such a joy for name lovers!

Sara writes,

“Hello! I have been a fan of your blog for a few years now but I think we may need some extra help with baby #4. Nothing we have come up with has stuck 100%, and so I feel like we are reverting to second-favorite names and it would be cool to have a name we are sold on! Maybe we could grow into loving a name, but I’d like to pick your brain! I am also due in the Easter octave so running out of time for us to come up with something on our own.

Constraints: 

  • [Our last name] totally sounds like a first name. People never get my husband’s name right, since his first name is actually a surname … and it has led to his being mislabeled in college applications, background checks, and even the ER. So if we can pick a boy name that really sounds like a first name that would help. 
  • I was Sara in the 90’s and it always seemed that I wasn’t the Sarah someone was yelling for. So I’d like to avoid super popular names, and if they’re obvious to spell that’s also a bonus (I tell people I respond to both Sara and Sarah xp)
  • My family has a tradition of 2 middle names, so that gives us both more options and more decisions to make!
  • We accidentally have a bit of an ABC theme? So if we lean into that, a C or D name would be cool. Or now is our chance to break out of it!
  • We like nickname options and also having cool long names that we can just use. 
  • Husband is adamant that first name must be a saint. Fictional saints or heroes do not count (couldn’t sell him on Caspian).”

Additionally,

“Mary and Joseph are our confirmation saints, thusly our family patron is the Holy Family. 

We are pretty much American mutts, but have a bit of Norwegian and Irish Heritage. My suggestions to use some French names have not met with any success. 

Here’s our short list and top picks currently that just don’t seem to be landing 100%:

  • Joseph (“amazingly, no one else has used this in our parish. We do have one friend in our community due at the same time who will have a Joseph James IV. Neither of us really love Joey, but Jojo or Joe would be ok. Have felt like St Joseph has been stalking me so he definitely needs to be honored somehow, and husband has a strong devotion to him. Worried this might be too common“)
  • Mark (“must be one of the middle names for husband’s late father“)
  • Vincent (“for Easter. Would love more Easter options“)
  • Abraham (“can a baby pull that off?“)
  • Dominic (“rosary connection but not a current devotion to St Dominic“)
  • Isaiah (“maybe too common“)
  • Theodore (“maybe too common“)

So we have been bouncing between Dominic Mark Joseph or Joseph Mark Vincent. Neither one feels like a home run. Would love some thoughts and suggestions!“

So much of what Sara said resonated with me and I definitely tried to keep it all in mind: not wanting to feel like they’re “reverting to second-favorite names”; their last name sounding like a first name and her husband’s challenges with his own first name paired with his last name; Sara’s own “super popular” name; possibly wanting but maybe not wanting a C or D name; “cool long names” with nickname options; “Fictional saints or heroes do not count” (this one made me laugh! But I also get it. But I also love Caspian!); that they would “love more Easter options”; and the fact that all of their other kids have a connection to the rosary in their names.

I generally like to start by offering my thoughts on the names the parents are considering, in case they’re helpful:

  • Joseph (Joseph Mark Vincent): I have quite a few thoughts about Joseph as a first name for Sara’s baby! First, I love that he’s Dad’s Confirmation Saint and that he has a strong devotion to St. Joseph. Beautiful! Based only on that, I agree with Sara that “he definitely needs to be honored somehow,” and the addition of her feeling that St. Joseph “has been stalking” her seals the deal! All that said, I do feel like the style of the name Joseph isn’t quite where this couple’s style preferences lie, as Sara noted that she worried it “might be too common” and she feels like they’re “reverting to second-favorite names.” Sara mentioned issues with the nickname possibilities, which could be key. Jojo is adorable and Joe is as solid as they come; some other possibilities include Sepp, Seppel, and Zef, which are inspired by international variants and diminutives of Joseph. I’d also posted once about variants of Joseph from A Dictionary of English Surnames and loved that Jessop is one, which makes me think that Jess might be doable as a Joseph nickname (I looove Jess for a boy). They could also consider Jay, which is easy for any “J” name. Joseph Vincent Mark is a very handsome combo! I also think (similar to the thinking of the possibility that breaking their A, B theme now, instead of leaning into the alphabet with a C or D name) that breaking their current pattern of less-common names with a more-common, but equally faithy, name will help them have more options going forward rather than less.
  • Mark (middle name only): Great middle!
  • Vincent: Did you all know that until I read Sara’s email, I had never known nor looked into what Vincent means?! “To conquer” is a great, meaningful name for an Easter baby! Per Sara’s request for more Easter options, I included more below.
  • Abraham: I know of two little Abrahams — a five-year-old and an eight-year-old — so I can confidently say that, yes, a baby can pull it off! The five-year-old is “Catholic influencer” Grace Patton’s son, and he goes by Abe — I LOVE Abe!! The eight-year-old is a new friend of my own eight-year-old’s, and I’ve learned that he always went by Abe or the full Abraham, but never liked it because the kids at his old school would call him “Abraham Lincoln” (not sure why this is bad?? Kids!), so here at our school he goes by AJ (his full name is also Abraham James, like Abe Patton’s), which is also a possibility for Sara’s baby (Abraham Joseph Mark, maybe?).
  • Dominic: I love Dominic! Definitely a perfect name for the brother of Benedict! The rosary connection is spot-on, too. Not having a current devotion isn’t a dealbreaker, either! Sara and her hubby can cultivate one, and indeed I think sometimes Saints call to us through our taste in names.
  • Isaiah: Sara had mentioned popularity with Joseph, which I addressed above, so my thoughts are similar here — if they love it, use it! I did want to look at the rankings for the names that they like and those that they’ve used, to have an accurate overall view of the popularity of their ideas:

— Isaiah: 56

— Adelaide: 263

— Benedict: 991

— Joseph: 28

— Vincent: 117

— Abraham: 202

— Dominic: 99

— Theodore: 10

Indeed, the names that Sara worried might be too popular (Joseph, Isaiah, Theodore) are very popular (Theodore at number 10! These are the 2021 numbers, which are the most recent available from the Social Security Administration). Even Dominic is top 100, and Vincent not too far behind at 117. I get her hesitancy! But I’ll reiterate that I think they’ll be happier using a name they love, even if it’s popular. (I’m not forgetting that Sara said none of names that they’re considering are really feeling like “the one,” so I know popularity isn’t the only issue!)

  • Theodore: See my comments above re: Isaiah

While reading the list of names Sara and her husband are considering, I had several ideas that seemed “like” the ones they like, but just different enough that they might find them to be just right. I’ve never done an “Instead of … what about” list in a consultation before, but it seemed right to do so for this family! So:

  • Instead of Vincent, what about Victor? It has that great meaning that’s so perfect for Easter! And its SSA ranking is 209, which is closer to what they like than Vincent’s 117. My post on nicknames for Victor remains, to this day, one of my most popular.
  • Instead of Abraham, what about Abel? Popularity-wise, it’s a little *more* popular at no. 196, vs. Abraham’s 202, but might feel more baby-friendly to Sara? And can still take the fantastic Abe as a nickname! This mama has an Abel, if you’d like to read about one in real life (click on the link for the fifth baby’s birth announcement to see all her boys’ names).
  • Instead of Isaiah, what about Isaias? It’s the Latin form of Isaiah and far less popular at no. 489 vs. Isaiah’s 56. I also thought Tobiah/Tobias/Tobit or Elias (Latin form of Elijah, which blows my mind that it’s no. 4!) might scratch this itch. (Rankings: Tobiah’s not in the top 1000; Tobias 277; Tobit not in the top 1000; Elias 48.)
  • Instead of Theodore, what about Thaddeus? It’s thought they may be related, and can both take the nickname Ted(dy) (I know a Thaddeus who goes by Ted), but Thaddeus is no. 820 vs. Theodore’s 10. I wrote once about how there are some names that seem very similar but tend to be somewhat polarizing, with people pretty certainly preferring one over the other, and Theodore/Thaddeus was one of the pairs I included, but I thought I’d take the chance! Thaddeus has the nickname possibilities of Thad (I knew a Thaddeus called Thad once, and on “The Chosen” Thaddeus is called Thad sometimes), and also Tad/Taddy — I think Taddy is the most adorable name for a little guy!
  • Instead of Caspian, what about Campion? St. Edmund Campion is real, and amazing! Also, Campion means “champion,” so it can have that nice meaning for Easter that Vincent and Victor share. Cam and Cap are adorable nickname options, and Campion isn’t even in the top 1000, being given to only 5 baby boys in 2021! (** I realized after I sent the consultation to Sara that Campion breaks the rule of “no surnames as first names” but I’m leaving it here in case it’s helpful to any of you readers. **)

So those are five new ideas, but they felt a little bit like cheating, since I’m thinking of them as twists on the names they were already considering, so I came up with a bunch more. I did consult the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link), but leaned as much on trying to find Easter names, C or D names, and more uncommon Saintly names in general. These are my additional ideas:

(1) Paschal nn Pax

This was my very first idea for this family, which I scribbled down as I was reading Sara’s email the first time, before I had done any research. Paschal means “Easter” — so perfect for an Easter baby! It’s also a Papal name and Saintly name, and I really love that it can take the nickname Pax, which in and of itself is amazing because it’s Latin for “peace.” Gah! So fab!! (I also quite like Joseph Paschal Mark, and the possibility of the nickname JP, which gives it a St. John Paul II vibe as well!) Neither Paschal nor Pascal are in the top 1000.

(2) Clement

Clement seems like a great option for this family for a few reasons: it’s a C name; it means “merciful,” which is great for a baby born near Divine Mercy Sunday; it’s a great Papal and Saintly name (my favorite is my parish’s patron, St. Clement Mary Hofbauer); and the little Abraham I mentioned above (Grace Patton’s son) also has a brother named Clement (and a brother named Theodore!)! The only real nickname option is Clem, which is not to everyone’s taste; this family intended to call their Clement Joshua Samuel “CJ,” which is another option. Here’s another Clement-with-no-nickname. Clement isn’t in the top 1000.

(3) Cosmas

Thinking of Catholicky Catholic C- names, Cosmas came to mind! With the C names, I like that Sara’s son would share initials with his dad, and Cosmas doesn’t have that surname-as-first name thing, so it should be a little easier, right? Cosmas isn’t in the top 1000.

(4) Damian, Damien nn Danny or Denny

How could I suggest Cosmas without Damian? I actually think Damian is more their speed than Cosmas, and fits in nicely with Adelaide and Benedict. I love the spelling Damien too, and the different spellings bring different people to mind, for me: Damian is St. Damian, brother of St. Cosmas; Damien is St. Damien de Veuster (also known as St. Joseph de Veuster), the leper priest. Both wonderful! (Here are all the holy Damians/Damiens.) Damian is no. 113 and Damien is no. 280. These were on my own list and I thought Danny would work nicely as a nickname for Damian and Denny for Damien. Also, see this amazingly named sib set that includes a Damien!

(5) Gabriel

I’m writing this on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, so Gabriel is on my mind — which I also love for this family! An Annunciation name is great for a baby born near Easter (very “full circle” feeling), and I also consider Gabriel to be a rosary name, since the Annunciation is the First Joyful Mystery. Its nickname Gabe rhymes with Abraham’s Abe, too, which might mean that Sara and her hubby will like it! Gabriel is no. 38.

(6) Nicodemus

I started to venture farther afield for these last two ideas, and for this one — Nicodemus — I almost put it as an “Instead of Dominic, what about Nicodemus?” idea. I decided not to since Sara said that the appeal of Dominic was the rosary, which Nicodemus doesn’t have, but I’ve always loved the person of Nicodemus in the Bible (he’s considered a Saint too!) and I’ve always loved his name. And Nico is such a great nickname! (Dominic can take Nico as a nickname as well.) It’s really perfect for an Easter baby, too. Nicodemus isn’t in the top 1000.

(7) Joachim

My last idea is the name I could never convince my husband of, try as I might! I absolutely love the name Joachim, and since Sara said Norwegian is part of their family heritage, I thought I’d offer that I really leaned on its relative popularity in the Scandinavian countries when pitching to my husband, as he’s half Norwegian! (It didn’t work, alas.) Tradition holds that it’s the name of Our Lady’s dad, and while it can take the Joe nicknames (which I might normally suggest, except that St. Joseph is such a dear friend to Sara and her husband, so his name really needs to be used), I always wanted to use the nickname Jake (which *almost* convinced my husband, because he loves the nickname Jake too). I spotlighted the name here, which has a lot of great info. Joachim isn’t in the top 1000.

Besides these ideas, I also wanted to offer some names that are specifically tied to the rosary in case they’re helpful for this baby or in the future. I wrote a book of Marian names, and many of the entries were because of their connection to the rosary, including Leo (for Pope Leo XIII who has been called “The Pope of the Rosary”; Leo is also the name of many Saints); Louis and Montfort for St. Louis de Montfort who wrote The Secret of the Rosary (affiliate link) (Monty as a nickname for Montfort!); Peyton for Ven. Patrick Peyton, known as “The Rosary Priest”; and Pius, for Pope St. Pius V “who asked Christendom to pray for the Rosary for protection against the Muslims in the Battle of Lepanto” and then established the feast of Our Lady of Victory on Oct. 7 — which has become the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (another reason that Victor could be great!). (Pio is the Italian variant of Pius, which could add an extra great layer for St. Pio!)

I also looked through the posts I did on names for the Mysteries of the Rosary and though I didn’t include Pierce and Simeon in my post on the Joyful Mysteries, they’re connected to the Presentation of the Baby Jesus in the Temple (because it was then that Simeon prophesied that Mary’s heart would be pierced with a sword), so you they can be thought of as rosary names … and from my post on the Sorrowful Mysteries there’s Simon (from Simon of Cyrene), Dismas (the repentant thief), and Rex (meaning “king”) and are related to the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion, and the Crowning with Thorns, respectively. Not everyone likes to give names with sorrowful or difficult stories to their babies (I wrote more about that here), but others find spiritual comfort and power in doing so, so it made sense to include these, just in case! (Here are my posts on the Luminous Mysteries and the Glorious Mysteries as well; be sure to read the comments for more ideas!)

And those are all my ideas! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the little brother of siblings-on-earth Adelaide and Benedict?

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

For help with Marian names, my book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon (not affiliate links). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!

Baby name consultation: Lots of hopes and considerations for baby no. 3’s name

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Happy Monday, everyone! Today’s the feast of St. Colette, who is a great Saint for our Sancta Nomina community because she is, according to this source, patroness of women seeking to conceive, expectant mothers, and sick children; there’s a fuller account of her life here. And her name! 😍😍😍 I think Colette is just gorgeous, and while I would use it as is, I also love that she’s also known as Nicolette, which opens up more possibilities for parents who might like to name their daughter after her. Enjoy today’s consultation! And I hope you all have a great week!

Zoey and her husband are expecting their third baby — a little green bean (gender unknown)! 🌱 This little babe joins big brothers:

Austin Thomas (“Austin is my husband’s middle name and Thomas was a family name from both of our paternal grandfathers. We’ve also given him Thomas Aquinas as his patron (until he wants to choose his own) because he is SO inquisitive especially about the faith. His nickname is Austino/Stino which happened totally organically as I was initially opposed to nicknames but it turns out we are indeed a nickname kind of family, they’re so fun.”)

Elijah James (“This was so easy to pick. I just knew my next boy would be Eli and we loved having a long and short form option + power house project. James because as a convert I loveeeeee the book of James, did you know at the reformation the Calvinists tried to remove the book of James? It’s VERY Catholic and was huge in my conversion. He goes by both Elijah and Eli.”)

I love Austin and Elijah/Eli as brothers, and I love the explanation behind each one! (Also: “I was initially opposed to nicknames but it turns out we are indeed a nickname kind of family, they’re so fun” — sing it, sister!! 😂)

Zoey writes,

“So this time around we (should I say I) am struggling. I can Not turn my brain off and try ink of baby names all day… I need to clear this brain space! So far everything I’ve pitched my husband “likes” but nothing has been the one! I’ve been trying to narrow down what our “style” is and feel like the third baby really solidifies that so maybe that’s why I feel so strongly about the name we choose this time around. I’d like to say I don’t like “popular names” but then look at my boys names and I just stuck my foot in my mouth. But this time around I would like to go less common, which I find easier to do with girls than boys for some reason. I don’t love super traditional names and don’t feel like they have to have a direct saint association… but do like to have a meaning behind the name.”

Names they’re considering for girls include:

Hallie Josephine — “Hallie as a namesake for ‘Harold’ from its nn Hal. Harold is strong in both our families and Josephine was my husband’s great grandmothers middles name + St. Joseph. And I love the double barrel nickname of Hallie Jo.”

Blythe Emily — “Emily was first name of aforementioned grandmother. And Blythe.. not totally sure how I came about this but I like that it’s fairly uncommon and feminine without all the frills. I originally liked Blair but this feels softer especially with our last name.”

Helena (heh-LAY-na) — “my husband actually through this one out so I’ve got to cling to that! I also really like nn Laina. Maybe Helena Zoe or Audrey Helena (my name is Audrey Zoe, and mamas should get juniors too!).”

Scarlett nn Scottie — “but my husband isn’t too keen. Also I’m due 4/25 so technically after the Easter octave but would consider eater-ish names) like Scarlett referring to the precious blood or paschal for boy… you get my drift. We like a good name story, strong association to give the kids some roots as they grow up!“

Miriam — “my husband will only offer Miriam as a girls name… he keeps coming back to it no matter what I suggest. I honestly hate it. Is there a compromise in there from the style of names I like and Miriam? I feel Like they couldn’t be more different!“

And names for boys: 

John Luke — “would be first and middle but I’d really like to call him the full name. My husbands family is very Italian so he would likely get nicknamed the Italian form Gianluca. I love this but it also feels kind of plain… thoughts?“

Alexander Rhodes — “I am not sure how I found the name Rhodes but I have not been able to put it down! … I love that subtle nod to the rosary… sending our prayers up to Mary to be presented to Jesus as a beautiful rose bouquet. Finding a first name with it has been a little hard but I’m loving the idea of Alexander (nn Xander) and that his name would, in a way, make the chi(X)Rho Symbol as a dedication to Christ.”

And — “Other names we’ve thrown around for first or middle are Ambrose, Matthew, Montfort (nn Monte), Xavier, Adam…” 

Middle names are important to Zoey as well:

“For middle name considerations, we like anything biblical (as you can tell!) my husband loves the rosary (I’m working on it!) and divine mercy. His confirmation Saint is Francis, mine is Zelie Martin although I’m not sure I’d like to use that name at all since I’d prefer to use Zoe. (Z-oh pronunciation). Some other middle names we like if not a saint/biblical name would be Soliven (our dear priest friend who just moved parishes! He married us, confirmed me, and baptized both our kids), Rhodes as I mentioned, Woodrow/Woodruff/woods (my husband’s dad’s name). For girls, as mentioned Emily, Josephine, Audrey, Zoe (Z-oh), Laree, Naomi, Amaris, Lea, Marriott (yes like the hotel, my grandmother’s maiden name, pronounced Mary-et like Chariot) or Therese (I don’t love the full version but would consider a variant, maybe Reese? It’s a mix of my husband’s mom’s name Renee Therese).” 

Names they can’t use (including variants):

William 

Louis/Louie 

Andrew 

Anthony 

Joseph 

Michael 

Nicolas 

Elizabeth 

K/Catherine

Finally, Zoey notes,

“The other challenge is we have A LOT of catholic friends with large families or growing families and a lot of the “mainstream” catholic names (think Benedict, Blaise, Kolbe, Caeli, etc) are “taken” by them so we are challenged to be a bit more creative, which is fun but can be hard.”

No surprise that I really enjoyed reading Zoey’s “dilemma” — I do enjoy the struggle of trying to narrow down a couple’s style and I tend to agree with her that “the third baby really solidifies that” … that said, though, I hate for anyone to feel like “rules” like that are binding and you can never wriggle out from under them. You know? Baby naming should be fun! And if losing some rules helps it to feel more fun, I’m all for that! But of course, I do like stylistic consistency! I have some thoughts on what I think Zoey’s boy style is, which I’ll include in my list of “official” suggestions below. Also, how she said she’d like to go “less common” this time and that she finds it easier to do with girls than for boys is very, very common, so I encouraged her not to worry! I also love her criteria of “not super traditional” plus “don’t feel like they have to have a direct saint association” plus “meaning behind the name.” Those are great! Also that she thinks they’d like a nickname option. Oh, also no forms of Therese/a or Mary/Maria (not wrong at all!); no names ending in -ana; no cutesy names — must age well. Also prefer not repeating initials. Whew!

Okay, before getting into my list of official suggestions, I thought I’d offer my thoughts on the names they’re currently considering, in case they’re helpful (some are not mentioned above because they were included in subsequent emails):

  • Hallie Josephine: Hallie is such a great way to honor a Harold! I also know someone who named her son Hap (just Hap) because it’s also a nickname for Harold — maybe Hap would work for this family for a boy?
  • Blythe Emily: I never, ever see Blythe on parents’ lists — so fun to see it here!
  • Blair: I like Blair, too!
  • Marriott: I LOVE this as a middle name!! It’s in my book because it derives from Mary!! I personally love it for both a girl and a boy, so cool!
  • Helena nn Laina: A beautiful option! A nice connection here is that St. Faustina (of Divine Mercy fame) was named Helena at birth! Zoey included the Divine Mercy as a devotion that’s important to her and her husband, so this would be very meaningful from that perspective.
  • Audrey and Zoe as first names or middle names: I’m absolutely with Zoey that mamas should get juniors!! I like both Helena Zoe and Audrey Helena.
  • Scarlett nn Scottie: ah-MAZ-ing!! I love love the name Scarlett but could never figure out a great nickname — Zoey has totally done it! Scottie is adorable! And Scarlett for the Precious Blood is just wonderful.
  • Naomi: When I saw Naomi as a possible middle name, my first thought was that I’d love that as a first name option for this family — and then Zoey included it in a later email as a first name contender! It has a very “Miriam” feel to me without, of course, being Miriam — this might do the trick!
  • Jules for a girl: An interesting option! This actually makes me think of their boy style a lot — I wonder if they would consider it for a boy?
  • Julia Reese: Julia Reese is a stunning combo! Zoey worries that Julia sounds a lot like Elijah, which I can definitely see.
  • John Luke: I love John Luke, but I do know what Zoey means about it feeling plain. I think calling him by both names would “solve” that — John Luke as a combo makes both John and Luke feel less plain. I know a little Gianluca who is called the full Gianluca all the time, so this feels natural to me!
  • Alexander Rhodes: I love all their meaning behind this!! Another name they might like to consider is the male name Royce, which actually means “rose” (I included it in my book!) — I really like Royce for them in place of Rhodes, if they want to have a more explicitly “rose” name for the rosary.
  • Ambrose, Matthew, Montfort (Monte), Xavier, Adam: I love all these! Monte is really fun, I think that’s my favorite of these for this family.
  • Lucas Gabriel: Love this, yes! Luke and Lucas both feel like a really good first name option as a brother to Austin and Elijah. And Gabriel is one of my favorite names ever!
  • Conrad Jude (Thaddeus): LOVE this too!! My husband and I considered Conrad with Cord as a nickname (how cool is that?? AND they could think of it as a rosary connection if they wanted, since the string part of the rosary is often referred to as a cord!). And I had Jude on my list of official suggestions for this baby before even seeing that they had Jude on their list! I would love to see them consider it as a first name!

Regarding Zoey’s husband’s love of Miriam: I wonder if they’ve considered Marriott as a first name? Miriam and Marriott sound very similar to my ear when I say them out loud, and they both are variants of Mary … maybe Hubby would be okay with that? Especially if they pair it with a super Old Testament middle name, like Marriott Zipporah or Marriott Keziah or Marriot Esther? They could even use Miri as a nickname for Marriott? Or Mimi! Another idea I had was Marriott Emilia — I love the rhythm; Emilia can be for Grandma Emily and can also be sort of a Divine Mercy name in the sense that Emilia was the name of Pope John Paul II’s mom and he was huge into Divine Mercy (his mom’s cause for canonization is open!).

Now on to my new ideas! I tried really hard to stick to all their rules, but I’m pretty sure one or two of the girl names might strike Zoey as possibly too cutesy, but I wanted to leave them on in case I’m wrong, and/or in case they might like to consider them as a middle name for Marriott as a first (if Zoey can bring herself and her hubby around to that idea). I went through the Baby Name Wizard book (affiliate link) as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity, and I looked at past posts I did on names for Divine Mercy and Easter (Sorrowful Mysteries and Glorious Mysteries) and the Sacred Heart (because of Zoey’s comment about Scarlett and the Precious Blood), and some gut-feeling ideas as well — based on all that, these are my ideas:

Girl

(1) Faith

Their boy name style has a “country/western” feel to me, and Scarlett fits into that as well, and Faith is listed in the BNW as fitting into that vibe as well — I love the name Faith! It’s simple and obviously faith-y, uncommon and sweet. I knew a Faith when I was growing up, and I always loved her name, as well as the nickname Faithy. Faith Marriott works beautifully!

(2) Greer

As soon as I read that Zoey likes both Blythe and Blair, I immediately thought of Brynn! Unfortunately there isn’t any obvious faithy connection (despite their being a St. Brynoth and a St. Brynach), but it made me think of Greer because I know a Brynn who has a sister named Greer, and Greer struck me as a great suggestion! It derives from the name Gregory, which is where the faith connection can come (either a St. Gregory, or St. Maria Goretti, since Goretti also derives from Gregory), and I think it sound fine with Marriott!

(3) Rebecca/Rebekah nn Ruby (also Romy?)

I thought quite a bit about how to work with Zoey’s husband’s love of Miriam and marry it with Zoey’s taste, and I thought Rebecca/Rebekah with the nickname Ruby might do the trick. Like Miriam, Rebecca is an Old Testament name (which the spelling Rebekah really hammers home), and years ago I saw a birth announcement for a baby Rebecca nicknamed Ruby and I felt like my whole life was made — I LOVED that so much!! I think Ruby is just darling, and it can have the Precious Blood connection Zoey mentioned with Scarlett as well. (I actually spotlighted Ruby here, with some other ideas of how to get to it.) Thinking about Rebecca/Rebekah Marriott, though, also made me kind of love the idea of Romy as a nickname for that combo — the R part from Rebecca/Rebekah, the M part from Marriott — maybe they’d like that better? Romy is sweet too.

(4) Ivy

When I’m looking up names in the BNW, I always pay attention to names that are listed as style matches for more than one of the names on the parents’ list, and Ivy was a big one! It’s listed as similar to Eli and Zoe, as well as Scarlett and Xavier! It’s an entry in my book because of its Marian connection, and Ivy Marriott sounds pretty amazing.

(5) Willow/Willa

I looked through the Country/Western section of the BNW for inspiration, and was interested to see Willodean in there — because Zoey had mentioned Easter as a possible inspiration for this baby’s name because of her due date, I’d already been thinking of Easter-related names, and Willow and Willa are two of them! More specifically, they refer to Palm Sunday, but I think that’s close enough for what they’re thinking? I spotlighted them both and explained the connection here.

Some other girl names that came up in my research that intrigued me but I didn’t end up putting in my “official” list of first name ideas (but wanted to include here just in case, and/or also as middle name ideas) include Mercedes (it means “mercies” and can take Sadie as a nickname, which I thought was perfect for this family!), Mercy itself (I know a couple little girls named Mercy!), and Chesed (Old Testament term referring to “mercy” — read more in this comment. Amazing!).

Boy

(1) Caleb

As mentioned earlier, I felt like their boy name style can have a country/western feel, and taking into account their affinity for biblical names as well, I thought Caleb was perfect! The nickname Cal is one of my favorites, I love it. Kobe and Colby were listed as similar to names Zoey likes, which made me want to suggest Kolbe, but then she’d specifically mentioned Kolbe as one they can’t use! But Caleb has similar sounds and rhythm, so I do quite like it for this baby.

(2) Casey

I looove Casey!! Casey was in the list of Country/Western names, and Bl. Solanus Casey is one of my favorites, Casey + Bl. Solanus made me think Casey Soliven would be a cool name for this baby! There was also a family I did a consultation for who loved Bl. Solanus but preferred Case instead of the full Casey, so that was the given name they went with — I could see that working for this family too.

(3) Becket

Funny enough, I got to Becket from Bennett, since Bennett is a medieval short form of Benedict like Austin is a medieval short form of Augustine, so they always make me think of each other, but I didn’t think Bennett was quite their style (and also that might have seemed a little matchy?) but then Bennett also makes me think of Becket and I thought yes! Becket! St. Thomas a Becket is an awesome patron.

(4) Garrett

I think Garrett is such a great name — I think it definitely fits with their boys, and can also derive from Gerard, which gives it an awesome faith connection.

(5) Hardy

I’ve suggested Hardy a few times to families over the years and no one’s bitten, so maybe I’m out of touch regarding this name, but I think it’s awesome! It can be a sort of virtue-esque name in the sense of “bold, brave” and also “healthy” AND it can be related to Gerard! (Check it out here and here.) It was the name of a boy in a movie I saw when I was little and I always loved it. (I would also consider it to be an excellent nickname for Gerard, but I don’t think Gerard is this family’s style. Also, there’s this birth announcement I posted for a little Gerhardt [German form of Gerard] who goes by the nickname Hart — I love that too!!)

(6) Jessop

I’ll be interested to see what Zoey and her hubs think of this idea! It’s a variant of Joseph based on pronunciation of the name from mid-sixteenth-century England, and it definitely feels sort of country/western, so I love that it takes Austin’s medieval connection and Eli’s biblical connection (and both of their possibly country/western feel) and adds an authentic St. Joseph connection! I also love the nickname Jess for a boy (love love!). I think this could be amazing! (I included it in my post on names for St. Joseph.)

Some other boy ideas I had included Jasper (one of the Three Kings has traditionally been known by the Casper name family, which includes Gaspar and Jasper), Paxton (inspired by Xander and Xavier and also “pax” means “peace” in Latin — an awesome, faithy connection!), and Jesse (country/western + biblical), but I liked my other ideas better. But I wanted to mention these just in case!

And those are all my ideas for this family! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the little brother or sister of Austin and Elijah/Eli?

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

For help with Marian names, my book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon (not affiliate links). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!

Baby name consultation: Name needed for rosary-loving family’s baby boy!

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Happy New Year, everyone!! Don’t miss my Year In Review post that I put up the other day!

Julia and her husband are expecting their sixth living baby — their second boy! He joins big siblings:

Alice Katharine (“My maternal grandmother’s name was Alice, my mother is Katharine.”)

+Rose Francis (miscarriage) (“Wanted to name Rose due to St. Therese novena answer to prayer and Francis [male version due to St. Francis de Sales feast day that day, and not knowing baby’s gender].”)

+John Paul (miscarriage) (“Was thinking of the name Henry before we learned of baby’s death, but it was the Nativity of John the Baptist and we liked the name John anyway [John the Evangelist too!], as well as JPII, Hubby’s brother is Paul and the paternal grandfather.”)

Annemarie Elizabeth (“I liked Marian names and Hubby liked Ann. My middle name is Elizabeth.”)

Charles Anthony (“He is adopted.  His birth mom named him Charlie, we changed it to Charles officially but call him Charlie.  Anthony is Hubby’s dad’s name and Hubby’s middle name.”)

Veronica Leigh (“We just like St. Veronica, have a friend Veronica who’s awesome, My grandfather was Vernon [kind of a stretch], My dad’s middle name is Lee.”)

Clare Susan (“St. Clare/devotion to the Eucharist during Covid, great simple name, Hubby’s mother is Susan.”)

Such great names, right?? I really love all the family connections — each of the combinations they chose is lovely, and I love that their Charlie’s name fits in so nicely and that he has Julia’s hubby’s middle name and Grandpa’s first name. I also think Veronica as a nod to Vernon isn’t a stretch at all! Very clever!!

Julia writes,

“This is a baby boy!  We are liking Dominic, Michael, Joseph (but only for a middle name) … And… We love the rosary 🥰”

They also like Nicholas, but can’t use it.

I love their list for a boy! Dominic, Michael, Joseph, and Nicholas are all wonderful, strong names, and Julia’s added comment about loving the rosary is just perfect — Dominic and Michael particularly make me think of the rosary because of St. Dominic’s connection (tradition holds that Our Lady gave him the rosary and charged him with its promulgation) and because the Prayer of St. Michael is often said at the end of it. I’m glad she included that Joseph is only in consideration for a middle name, and that they like Nicholas but can’t use it — they both give me an extra sense of the kinds of names they like.

In terms of coming up with new ideas for this family, I found their love of the rosary to be particularly helpful — it sent me right to the book of Marian names I wrote, as many of the names I included were because of particular connections to the rosary. I also looked up the names Julia and her husband have already used and those they like in the Baby Name Wizard (affiliate link) as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. It’s increasingly becoming out of date and the author doesn’t show signs of doing a new edition, but I did actually find it helpful in cross checking the ideas I had for this family. I also couldn’t help but notice that Dominic, Michael, and Nicholas all have a strong CK sound and Dominic and Nicholas both specifically contain “Nic” — that all gives me a sense of the sounds that might appeal to Julia and her hubby in a name. Based on all that, these are my ideas for this baby boy:

(1) Patrick

My first and favorite idea for this family is Patrick. I think it’s a great fit with their other kids’ names, it has the strong CK sound they seem to like, and Ven. Patrick Peyton is referred to as “The Rosary Priest” in Fr. Calloway’s book Champions of the Rosary (affiliate link). As I wrote in my book, “He started the Family Rosary Crusade in the 1940s, which was an international Rosary apostolate, and ‘organized rosary events in more than 40 countries, gathering over 28 million people to pray the rosary’ — all stemming from his love for Our Lady.” Patrick seems to tick all their boxes! Pat and Paddy are traditional nicknames (I know a little Paddy and it’s the darlingest nickname on a little guy!), I love Pack and Packy (I’m a big fan of offbeat nicknames!), and I’ve even seen Trick and Rick/Ricky.

(2) Benedict

Benedict is mostly inspired by Dominic, which I admit is a name I was a little surprised to see on their list (except for the rosary connection) — Dominic has a heavier feel to me than their other kids’ names (with the exception of Veronica — Veronica and Dominic are quite well matched in my mind). Benedict has a similar feel to Dominic and Veronica, and has the great, friendly nickname Ben that mimics the great, friendly feel of Charlie (and I think they could even use Nick/Nicky as a nickname for Benedict if they wanted to!). And it’s got a rosary connection! As I wrote in my book, “Mary is called benedicta in the Latin form of the Hail Mary. Additionally, Fr. Calloway called Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI ‘The Theologian of the Rosary’ in his book Champions of the Rosary.”

(3) Leo

Leo diverges from the sounds of Dominic/Michael/Nicholas/Patrick/Benedict that I think they really like, but I can see it being a natural fit with their children nonetheless, and, of course, it’s got a rosary connection! Pope Leo XIII is called “The Pope of the Rosary” in Fr. Calloway’s book because he dedicated October to the rosary and inserted the title “Queen of the Mostly Holy Rosary” into the Litany of Loreto, among other rosary-focused things.

(Bonus) Zechariah or Zachary

I put these names in the “bonus” spot since I don’t think they fit this family’s style as well as Patrick, Benedict, and Leo (either the more biblical feeling Zechariah nor its more familiar variant Zachary), but they *do* fit into the sounds Julia and her husband seem to like (the strong “CK” thing) and they bring to mind, for me, the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary — The Visitation, because of Zechariah’s role in naming John the Baptist, which provides a nice rosary connection. So I wanted to include it just in case!

And those are my ideas for this family! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for the baby brother of Alice, Annemarie, Charles, Veronica, and Clare?

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

For help with Marian names, my book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon (not affiliate links). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!

Sorrowful Mystery Names

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This week is the perfect week to check out my post on names for the Sorrowful Mysteries — I so often find that the names of our faith provide a wonderful meditation on holy things. As with the Joyful and Luminous Mysteries posts, be sure to check out the comments as well.

I’m signing off until next week, when I’ll have some birth announcements to post and other namey things! I hope you all have a very holy Holy Week and a wonderful Easter!

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

Names for the Luminous Mysteries

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Happy Friday everyone! I hope you’re all doing well!

I posted names for the Joyful Mysteries last week; here’s a link to my post on names for the Luminous Mysteries. I’m working on a name spotlight that I hope to have up tomorrow too! Stay tuned! TGIF!

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

Joyful Mystery Names

sanctanomina Naming nitty gritty

Happy feast of the Annunciation, one of my favorites!!

It seems a perfect day to share again my list of names inspired by the Joy Mysteries of the Rosary! Not only are there a bunch of names in my post, but the comments!! Definitely be sure to read them — the Santa Nomina readers are amazing!!

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

Holy Week, Notre Dame, Sorrowful Mystery names

sanctanomina Prayer Intentions

Oh my, what a Holy Week it’s been. Did it not feel like the Notre Dame fire was just a bit too much to handle after this very Lenty Lent? Seeing the pictures of the people camped out by it, singing and praying, made me think about the apostles and how lost they must have felt when Jesus died. What a blessing that the damage wasn’t too bad, and that the sacred relics and the Holy Eucharist were saved.

If I could beg some prayers for my own little community: in the last few days we’ve suffered the death of one of my brother’s good friends from high school, who is also the son of one of my boy’s fourth grade teacher, who is also the uncle of one of my boy’s classmates, who is also the uncle of the children my best friend from childhood nannies for, who was also the best man at the wedding of the funeral director’s son. That’s the kind of community I’m blessed to live in. ❤ He was only 36, with a two-year-old son; he had a heart attack and died in his sleep. Oh my, our whole community is so so sad. Today’s school Mass was offered for him, and the number of his high school classmates who came home for today’s wake and tomorrow’s funeral (including my brother, who flew across the country) is truly moving.

Then, only a couple days after he died, we found out that the dad of a schoolmate of my older boys had also died, also unexpectedly, also of a heart attack. My family doesn’t know theirs quite as well, but the school community as a whole is heartbroken.

What a Holy Week.

I looked back on the post I’d done a few years ago on Sorrowful Mystery names and thought it would be appropriate to link to it again. Holy names are sometimes a good meditation for me, maybe they will be for you too.

I look forward to next week, when we’ll be celebrating! I hope you all have a holy rest of Holy Week, and a very Happy Easter!

 

Birth announcement: Michael Dominic!

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I posted a consultation for Vanessa and her husband two years ago this month, when they were hoping to add to their family via adoption. Vanessa let me know that they were able to bring home a long-hoped-for baby this past summer — a boy! They gave him the saintly, handsome name … Michael Dominic!

Vanessa writes,

“This email is a long time coming…I don’t know where the last few months have gone! On July 6, our sweet Michael Dominic came home to us. We are grateful and overjoyed to have a new baby in the house — thanks be to God! So how did we decide on the name?

We ended up throwing out some of our ‘rules’ as his name seemed to ‘just happen.’ Rule #1 — a name that cannot nickname easily — Michael almost immediately becomes Mike at some point in life to most Michael’s but we’ll just call him Michael within the family and hope we can keep it going. As he gets older, I guess he’ll decide! We loved the link to St. Michael the Archangel and we pray that prayer daily. It turns out St. Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of the sick and we learned that AFTER we decided on his name. This seemed appropriate & affirmed the name to us because Michael was born with a significant kidney issue that will need to be followed and could potentially lead to a kidney transplant. For now, Michael is doing well and we’re grateful for that but any prayers your readers could spare would be greatly appreciated!

Also, Michael was a name that originally we’d only considered as a middle name, if at all. But for some reason for THIS child, Michael was the first name that came into my mind when I got the first call from our social worker. When I told my husband about the call, he immediately said, “Maybe this baby should be Michael David” (his name is David!). After a few days of thinking about that name, he suggested Michael Dominic — since we love the rosary and St. Dominic was entrusted with the rosary by Our Lady… it seemed to just fit. Plus as my husband said, “I think he should have his own name.”

I also thought Michael flowed well with Nicholas, John, Mark and Mary. I especially love that the last three children begin with M! Not sure why, but it fits for me!!

So it stuck. Once we thought about it a few days (and this seems to happen to us with each child), we couldn’t get excited about any other name. And we only had 10 days from that first call until the day he came home! Our other children were absolutely thrilled to have a new baby. We waited to tell them until the night before and they nearly didn’t go to sleep! We all drove together to pick him up and it was a beautiful and memorable day.

On another note, our 4 other children loved the name Dominic and even called him Dominic for the first week or two. It was funny because many of our friends and neighbors were confused about what his name was! When they’d speak to our children, they’d refer to him as Dominic! We didn’t correct the children and we knew they’d eventually get it right — of course they did! I wonder if you or any of your readers have had any situations like that!“

I loved every detail of this story! Doesn’t Vanessa’s joy just flow out of her email? I love the combo Michael Dominic and all the significance it has for Vanessa and her hubs!

I’m interested, too, in Vanessa’s question: whether or not any of you have had the experience of your other children calling the baby by a different name than the intended call name? The only experience we had that was sort of similar is when we intended the baby to be called exclusively by a nickname, but the older boys called him by his first name for a while after birth. I’d love to hear about your experiences with this!

Please also keep Michael in your prayers, in regards to his kidney issue.

Congratulations to Mom and Dad and big siblings Nicholas, John, Mark, and Mary, and happy birthday Baby Michael!!

(Some of these photos are from Michael’s homecoming day! ❤ )

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Michael Dominic with his family ❤

Baby name consultation: Post-conversion baby needs a saintly name!

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Why don’t we kick off the weekend with a baby name consultation?! Hooray! 😄🎉

Arenda and her husband are expecting their fourth baby, a little green bean! (=gender unknown) 🌱 He or she joins big sibs:

James Elias (“we both just loved the name James, and we thought it was neat it was the name of one of the apostles. We’re drawn to classic names paired with more adventurous middle names, and we both liked the way the names James and Elias flowed together“)

June Adelle (“while we were on our honeymoon road-tripping across the USA, Jeremy and I read Johnny Cash’s autobiography aloud to each other. We both loved the name of Johnny Cash’s wife, June. She was known as a woman of great hospitality – so we agreed then that if we ever had a baby girl we’d name her June after June Carter. Plus, my birthday happens to be in June, so that’s a nice little connection, too. We both liked the way June + Adelle flowed together“)

Alice Genevieve (“we both really like simple, classic names. Alice is a sweet and feminine name — and our daughter totally fits her name that way! We both liked the flair/heft that Genevieve adds to Alice, and it turns out there’s a Saint Genevieve, which is lovely. Both Adelle and Genevieve sound French, which is funny seeing as my husband and I are both Dutch [though our heritage doesn’t factor heavily in our naming]“)

Gorgeous names, right?? I love each one!

Arenda writes,

“My name is Arenda, and my husband Jeremy and I are expecting a baby in March. We’d love your input on naming this little one! A little bit about us: we’ve been married for nine years, have three kids, and are both major book nerds. 🙂 Jeremy and I grew up Protestant and just joined the Catholic Church this past April. He was attending seminary to become a Protestant pastor when we both felt the call to the Church. (Super lengthy blog post detailing our conversion here [by Arenda; this one‘s by Jeremy)].)

(I just want to jump in and say how much I love reading conversion stories, and how much regard I have for those who have to leave behind a whole network of friends and sometimes family members in order to enter the Church.)

When we were naming our children, we mostly chose names that appealed to us on an aesthetic level. But I do love that our kids ended up with names that have saintly connections, even if we didn’t intend it that way at the time! 

With this little one, we’d love to name him/her in a meaningful way after a saint or two, or to choose a name based on its meaning. My husband is really drawn to older names like Charles, Henry and George … I like classic names, too, but I find those a little much! He also loves the name Mary, while I find it rather plain. I love the idea of having a Marian name of some sort, though … and more specifically, a name associated with Our Lady of the Rosary.

Some names we’ve considered or are considering:

Boys
– Joseph ([my hubs] found a job after praying a novena to Saint Joseph)
– Matthias (maybe)
– Ambrose (too much?)
– Andrew (kinda plain)
– Xavier (I like the Zavier pronunciation better, but don’t want to have an unusual spelling)
– Patrick
– John Paul
– Pierce (I really like your suggestion of naming a boy Pierce because of Mary’s heart being pierce with a sword; also, Peter Kreeft’s books were integral in our conversion, and it seems like a neat way to honour that without actually using the name Peter. Could also use the name Simon …)

Girls
– Rosa (simple and sweet; quite love this!)
– Rosemary (I like this name, but don’t really like the herb, lol)
– Marigold (I really like this name, and it also reminds me of my grandma who always had lots of marigolds planted around her home – but it sort of seems like a name for a blonde baby? and we’re both brunettes)
– Rosetta (this was on our list when I was pregnant with Alice and I still really like it)
– Roma (to honour our joining the Church … except it always makes me think of Roma tomatoes)
– Gemma (but also has the J sound — too much having a James, June and Gemma?)
– I also quite like the name Francesca, but more as a middle name
– Catherine (I’m reading Sigrid Undset’s biography of Catherine of Siena and her life was one of such devotion to Christ! But, I tend to prefer softer names for girls)
– Dorothea (means ‘gift of God’, which is lovely)
– Josephine (love this name, but June has a doll named Josefina — maybe as a middle name?)
– my husband also really likes Gianna, and I find her story very compelling, but find the name a bit of a mouthful. And it’s a bit rhymey with our last name.

We haven’t had much time yet to get acquainted with the saints, but here are a handful who are meaningful to us…
– St. Thomas Aquinas (Jeremy’s a theology teacher and loves the writing of St. Thomas)
– St. Augustine (ditto)
– St. Catherine of Siena (so devoted to Christ)
– St. John Paul II (holy man)
– St. Joseph
– St. Anne
– Mary

We have quite a long list of names to avoid because we both come from bigger families and would like to avoid duplicates. For girls: Amber, Charlotte, Eden, Emerson, Everly, Georgia, Heidi, Ivy, Kelsey, Kim, Kristi, Leighton, Leila, London, Mackenzie, Michelle, Renae, Sadie, Skye, Tanya, Zara. And for boys: Aaron, Anthony, Austin, Brian, Calvin, Colin, Edward, Gabriel, Jake, Jonathon, Duane, Jaxon, Lucas, Matthew, Peter, Ron, Sawyer, Stan, Terry, Thomas, Timothy.

And we have a couple name requirements, too! One is that it be a name that’s recognizable and not going to be mispronounced. My name is Arenda (a Dutch name that rhymes with agenda) and people are often confused when I introduce myself. We also prefer classic spelling of names, names without awkward nicknames, names that aren’t super trendy, and names that are clearly boy/girl names. Also, [no names that rhyme with Anne, as they would also rhyme with their last name] (I quite adore the name Anne, for St. Anne and for Anne of Green Gables, but I just can’t do it!). I do quite like repeating initials in names — like Ruby Rosetta. So cute! And we don’t care for names that are rather a mouthful (Thaddeus, for example).”

Alrighty! So I laughed out loud when I read that names like Charles, Henry, and George are “a little much” for Arenda — according to the Baby Name Wizard (which, as you all know, I always use in my consultations, as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity) they’re exactly this couple’s style! Henry especially is one I would have suggested to them if Arenda hadn’t said she doesn’t care for it.

Many Catholics find Mary too plain, but there are a million ways to honor her using different names! My first thought was, maybe a Mary double would be a nice compromise between Arenda’s hubs liking it and Arenda thinking it’s too plain? Mary doubles are a very Catholic naming tradition! If the second name was more adventurous, maybe that would appeal to her? Something like Mary Aquinas, for example. Or Mary Corinne, Mary Seraphina, Mary Sabine, Mary Paloma, Mary Esther, or Mary Fiona (I’m pulling all these ideas from style matches from some of the more unusual names on their list, like Adelle, Rosa, Matthias, Ambrose, Xavier, and Pierce). Or, because Arenda said she likes alliteration, Mary Margaret, which might be one of the quintessential Catholic combos! Or perhaps she’d prefer them to be first+middle combos, rather than double first names? Either way, they could do nicknames that come from the first and second names together, like Marin for Mary Corinne, Maisie for Mary Seraphina or Mary Sabine, Maple (to get really interesting!) from Mary Paloma, Missy from Mary Esther, or Mina from Mary Fiona. Mary Margaret could be Mimi. Or they could use the second name as the call name, which is also a very Catholic tradition! St. Therese and all her sisters and her mom had Marie as their first name, but they all went by their second names. My dad has four first cousins named Mary ___ and they go by their middle names; his mom was Mary Loretta and she went by Loretta. So lots of ways to work with Mary, if they wanted to try to figure something out that would appeal to both of them!

I was also interested to see that, according to the BNW, Mariana is a style match for Elias, Marian for June, and Marion for Adelle, so maybe they’d like to consider one of those as a nod to Our Lady?

In terms of Our Lady of the Rosary, any of the Rose names on their list can honor her, as Rosary arose as a term for a figurative “crown of roses” for Mary. Arenda also said she loves Rosa, which would totally do the trick, as would Rosemary and Rosetta. I also wondered what they’d think of Rosary itself? I did a consultation and birth announcement a while ago for a mama who wondered if it would be weird to name her baby Rosary as a first name; she ended up doing so, and I just love it. I subsequently discovered that Rosary is not uncommon as a given name in Louisiana!

Another possibility in regard to honoring OL of the Rosary is that she was formerly called Our Lady of Victory, since devotion to her in this way is due to her intercession in the battle of Lepanto, so Victoria (or Victor for a boy) could be a nod to her. (I think this wiki entry is pretty accurate.)

Regarding the names they’re considering:

  • They can’t go wrong with Joseph! (But too many J’s?)
  • I love Matthias
  • Ambrose is a heavy name from the sense that it’s not popular and might also be totally unfamiliar to some people. My husband and I have considered it for a few of our boys, and really like the ideas of Sam and Bram as nicknames for it. One caution is that one of my readers has an Ambrose, and she said doctors’ offices and such are constantly mistaking him for a girl (Amber Rose) (but her son loves his name)
  • Regarding Andrew, something that might help is that Fr. Andrew Apostoli was a great priest who recently passed away, and I remember when I heard him speak once he referred to Andrew the Apostle as his patron, which is such a no-brainer but it really struck a chord with me — I’ve never known anyone named Andrew who’d really connected with any of the Sts. Andrew. So I thought that was pretty cool
  • They can totally do the Zavier pronunciation with the Xavier spelling! Both ZAY-vyer and ek-SAY-vyer are acceptable and traditional pronunciations! I wrote about the pronunciations of Xavier here (and got a little uppity!)
  • Patrick and John Paul are great, solid, saintly names
  • I love Pierce for them! And Simon too!
  • Rosa is lovely
  • Regarding Rosemary, since the herb association is problematic, I wonder if the variant Rosemarie would strike Arenda as a better fit? Roma could be a nickname for either Rosemary or Rosemarie, which would allow them to use two of the names on their list!
  • I don’t think Marigold is only for blondies! My friend recently named her baby Marigold, and all of her kids have darker hair
  • Rosetta’s such an unexpected Rose name, really pretty
  • Roma I love … maybe also Roman for a boy?
  • I can see what Arenda means about James, June, and Gemma. Another consideration is that Gemma is sometimes used as a feminine form of James
  • I think I agree with Arenda about Francesca being better as a middle name
  • St. Catherine of Siena is great! If not Catherine, maybe Siena as an unusual middle? She was also called Euphrosyne as a child — Greek for “joy” — so maybe Joy as a middle name? (Or Euphrosyne!)
  • I do love the meaning of Dorothea
  • Being the mom of boys, I’ve never had to worry about baby doll names interfering with naming my babies! Josephine would be lovely in the middle
  • St. Gianna is pretty awesome … her name is the Italian form of Joanna/Joan/Jean/Jane, so any of those could work in her honor, though Jane is too close to James and Joanna has the “Ann” problem with their last name, bummer

Regarding their list of saints, I had two thoughts I’d like to add: One is that the Charles family of names is often used to honor JP2, since his birth name was Karol, which is the Polish form of Charles. I know Arenda said her husband likes Charles and she doesn’t; maybe she’d like to consider Carl/Karl? I also know several boys with Karol as a first or middle — one is Joseph Karol, which would be nice since they have Joseph on their list (though, that’s a lot of J’s!). I’ve even seen a Lolek or two! Lolek was his childhood nickname, which is a Polish diminutive of Karol. For girls, I know little Charlottes (which I know they can’t use), Carolines, Karolines, and Karolinas named in his honor.

The second idea I had, re: St. Anne, is that I’ve thought that Stanislaus could work because of the first four letters being the same first four letters of “St. Anne.” Arenda said she’s drawn to classic names paired with more adventurous middles, so maybe Stanislaus could qualify? Another neat thing about Stanislaus is that I think it could honor JP2 too, because he had a devotion to him. I relate an awesome story about the connection between JP2 and St. Stanislaus here, and I did a spotlight of the name here.

Alrighty, so I’ve already offered a bunch of ideas based off of the names Arenda and her hubs are considering, but I have a few more. These are based on my research in the Baby Name Wizard, as well as ideas I had that just felt like good suggestions (very scientific, I know! Haha!). I tried to make sure I didn’t list any names that were on the list of names they can’t duplicate, and also that the names are recognizable and not likely to be mispronounced, and that don’t sound weird with their last name. These are my ideas:

Girl

(1) Molly
I scribbled this down on my list for them before I even cracked open the BNW! I was initially inspired by St. Gianna — I’ve seen people use Molly in her honor, since her name is Gianna Beretta Molla. Additionally, Molly is a Mary variant — in fact, its origin is as a nickname for Mary, though it’s come to be a name in its own right. They could still use it as a nickname — maybe even for Mary Gianna, where Molly works as both a nickname for Mary and a nod to St. Gianna? I like it both ways for them: as a nickname, or as a given name.

(2) Clare, Clara (Chiara?)
I think my favorite here for them is Clara, but Clare (or Claire) is certainly lovely. St. Clare of Assisi is a wonderful patron, and actually, her name was really Chiara, which is the Italian form of Clare, and I love the idea of Mary Chiara for this family! I also know several little Chiaras named for Bl. Chiara Luce Badano. But I wonder if this family of names is similar to Catherine for them in being not soft enough?

(3) Lucy
I know of a little Lucy June (she goes by both, SO CUTE!), so I actually already had Lucy in mind for this family when I saw they have a June, and then my research revealed that Lucy’s a match for their style. I love it! And the Ruby Rosetta that Arenda mentioned loving (as do I!) made me think of Lucy Loretta — Loretta’s a Marian name by virtue of the fact that it’s generally considered by Catholics to be a variant of Loreto, as in the Holy House of Loreto.

(4) Nora
I’ve seen Nora used as a nickname for Eleanor, Honora, and Annora (which is technically an Honora variant but could be a cool way to name a baby after St. Anne), but it’s also a name on its own, and has that same classic, sweet feel of James, June, and Alice. There’s a Ven. Honora Nagle, and they could also connect it to St. Helena via Eleanor, and also (a closer fit, I think) to Bl. Archangela Girlani, whose birth name is rendered as both Eleanor and Elanor. And actually, Elanor is fun for two “major book nerds” as it’s a Tolkien character name! I know a little girl named Elanor for that reason.

(5) Beatrice
I felt really good about Molly, Clara, Lucy, and Nora for this family, but I’m less sure about Beatrice — if it hadn’t been listed as a style match for Alice, Genevieve, and Dorothea, I probably wouldn’t think to mention it. But Bea is a fantastic nickname, and Beatrice can actually be considered Marian, as its “mother” name, Beatrix, means “she who blesses, makes happy, delights” in Latin, which points to the Marian title Causa Nostrae Laetitiae (Cause of Our Joy).

Boy

(1) Leo
I was far less confident in my ideas for boys than for girls! Leo’s the one that I think Arenda and her hubs might be most likely to like. Pope St. Leo the Great is a, ahem, great patron 😊; I have a nephew Leo — I love hearing it on him, such a great name!

(2) Owen, Oliver, Oscar
My favorite of these for this family is Oliver, after St. Oliver Plunkett — I love how James, June, Alice, and Oliver sound together! But I listed Owen first because my nephew Leo’s little brother is Owen! St. Nicholas Owen is one of my very favorite saints, so courageous! And Oscar’s a style match for Alice, Josephine, and Rosa; Bl. Oscar Romero would be patron.

(3) Dominic
Not only is Dominic a style match for Elias, Genevieve, Matthias, and Gianna, and a great saint in my humble and unbiased opinion 😊, but I also think Dominic can honor Our Lady of the Rosary — tradition holds that Our Lady gave the rosary to St. Dominic and asked him to promulgate it. I have this lovely image of Our Lady, Baby Jesus, St. Dominic, and St. Catherine on a medal I wear always. Also, since they love OL of the Rosary, they’d probably love Fr. Calloway’s Champions of the Rosary (Marian Press, 2016) — it’s an amazing historical and faith-filled account of the history of the rosary, and the Dominicans are HUGE in it — in fact, in the beginning are pages and pages of endorsements from top Dominicans all around the world.

(4) Louis
Speaking of Dominicans and Our Lady, St. Louise de Montfort is one of the most Marian saints, and his name is a style match for Adelle, Alice, Catherine, and Rosa, and Louie is the most darling nickname!

(5) Benedict, Bennett
I was going to end with Theodore, but since it’s the same name as Dorothea (but masculine, and with the elements reversed), I thought I’d end with Benedict and its variant Bennett. Benedict’s a style match for Genevieve, Matthias, and Dorothea, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is so so wonderful. St. Benedict of Nursia is also the father of western monasticism. And I think Benedict can also be considered Marian because of its meaning, “blessed.” But I wonder if Benedict is too much of a mouthful like it’s style match Thaddeus? In which case, maybe Bennett would suit their taste better? It’s a medieval variant of Benedict.

And those are my ideas for this family! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for the little brother or sister of James, June, and Alice?

Birth announcement: Claire Rose!

sanctanomina Birth announcement , , , ,

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! It’s live until midnight tomorrow night!

Many of you might know that Katrina, whose shop formerly known as HatchPrints (I know so many of you are fans!) is now Rose Harrington (Instagram, web site and Etsy), had her fourth baby last month (do you remember the epic May the Fourth be with you post??), a sweet little girl given the gorgeous name … Claire Rose!

Katrina posted Claire’s name story over on her blog, and it’s amazing. Just amazing! Goose-bump inducing! Such a meaningful name, with such great patrons!

Congratulations to Katrina and her hubs and big sibs Ryan, Conor, and Elise (I love that Katrina posts name stories!!), and happy birthday Baby Claire!! (Check out this beautiful mama with her beautiful babies!)