Spanish names

Baby name consultation: Third baby boy needs meaningful name that works in Spanish/Portuguese/English

sanctanomina Baby name consultant , , ,

Elizabeth and her husband are expecting their third baby—and third son! This little guy joins big brothers:

Adriano Luis
Mateo Luis

I love both names—not only are they handsome and masculine, but they’re really meaningful too—read what Elizabeth says about them:

“It took my husband, Luis, and I many years to conceive. Our first son was named after my beloved grandfather, Adriano, whom my husband and I were always very fond of. We call him “Adri” (Ay-dree) sometimes. Not knowing if we would be blessed a second time, we decided on Mateo (which means gift from God) when we found out I was expecting our second gift.”

What a wonderful story! And now they’re expecting again! Elizabeth writes,

“Now, after five years I am blessed a third time!

I am of Spanish descent and my husband is of Brazilian/Portuguese descent. We would like a name that is pronounceable in Spanish/Portuguese and of course English.

I have tossed around the idea of Tiago — Portuguese biblical name referring to St. James: St. James being the patron saint of Spain. But, I’ve heard mixed things about Tiago not being a proper translation or it being part of the full name Santiago. And there is confusion as to whether Santiago is Saint James or just James…I wonder if you would shed some light on this? And if you would help with other possible name suggestions? … our third will also carry dad’s name as a middle: ________ Luis.”

Additionally,

“I prayed for St. Rita’s intercession for the conception and healthy arrival of my children. Had this baby been a girl I was thinking of naming her Antonia Pearl — I was born on St. Anthony’s feast day, my husband is Luis Anthony. And we have MANY Antonios and Antonias in our family tree. And Pearl for the significance of Margarita.

I am an older mom.  As I stated before, it took my husband and I years to conceive. I was 38 when my first was born. I then had Mateo at 40. We continued trying for more and my doctor told me about a year ago that it was very unlikely I would conceive again. And here I am!  I’ve been blessed at 45 with another precious child!  This is also why I feel it’s so important to find the perfect name for him. ”

What an inspiring, hopeful story!! I’m so glad Elizabeth was okay with me sharing it with all of you. ❤

Also, all Chris- names are off the table.

Okay, first off—I LOVE Tiago. Love love love. What a cool name! And it’s got a great saintly connection—to answer Elizabeth’s question, it is a name that refers to St. James. One of the cool things about it is that it refers *specifically* to St. James, not to just James generically, as Tiago is a truncation of Santiago, which means St. James (Santo Iago, where Iago is a variant of James, has become Santiago; see both Behind the Name and the DMNES, both of which are trustworthy sources). Tiago is a Portuguese variant, and with St. James being patron of Spain, I think Elizabeth’s done an amazing job of combining her Spanish heritage with her husband’s Portuguese heritage. Well done!

I also want to loop in St. Rita here as well—she is such an amazing saint, and this isn’t the first story I’ve heard firsthand of her intercession leading to a baby! It would be amazing to find a name that could work for a boy that honors St. Rita—I have loved and shared many times the story julianamama told of the family she knew who named their son Garrett after St. Margaret, and that would work for St. Rita as well, since her given name was Margherita (the Italian Margaret). Unfortunately, I don’t think it would work in this case as Garrett doesn’t translate into Spanish or Portuguese except that it derives from Gerard, so Gerardo would work—but that seems a bit far from Rita, don’t you think? BUT, I did some research on her life, looking for any inspiration, and I discovered that one of her sons was named Giangiacomo, which is a combination of two names—Gian (a short form of Giovanni=John) and Giacomo (James). Additionally, when her cause for canonization was being pursued, her story was compiled by an Augustinian priest named Fr. Jacob Carelicci—and Jacob is a variant of James! So Tiago, being connected to James/Jacob, can also be a nod to St. Rita.

Are you feeling what I’m feeling? I’m feeling like Tiago is the perfect name for Elizabeth’s baby boy. Awesome name, perfect significance.

Of course I have more ideas though! If Elizabeth and her Mister just can’t get comfortable with Tiago, I wonder what they would think of:

(1) Antonio
Antonia was their girl name—a nod to the feast day on which Elizabeth was born and her husband’s middle name, as well as many family members with a variant of the name—Antonio seems a natural contender for a boy! Antonio Luis would be his dad’s name in reverse, which is a way of “junioring without junioring” that I’ve seen other people use (you can read allllll about “junioring” a non-firstborn here). In addition, St. Rita’s dad’s name was Antonio!

(2) Samuel (or Isaac)
When I read Elizabeth’s story, my first thought was Samuel! The story of Hannah and Samuel is one that often resonates with those who have hoped and struggled to conceive. Samuel is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the name, so it should work nicely for them. I wanted to suggest Isaac too, for the same reason, but I can’t tell if it’s usable in Spanish/Portuguese or if it has a Spanish/Portuguese variant?

(3) Nico or Nicolas
This goes back again to St. Rita, as she had three patron saints, one of which was St. Nicholas of Tolentino. I think the Portuguese Nicolau would be difficult for English-speakers, but either Nico or Nicolas would be great I think, especially since St. Nicholas of Tolentino’s parents were childless until they prayed at a shrine of St. Nicholas of Myra (the St. Nicholas we all know) and named their son after him in gratitude. He was an Augustinian, like St. Rita. Also, I looked up Adrian (there isn’t an entry for Adriano), Mateo, and Antonia in The Baby Name Wizard, which I usually do at the beginning of a consultation, as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity, and Nico was a style match for Mateo and Nicholas for Antonia.

(4) Rafael
My last idea is totally inspired by the BNW as it lists Rafael as a style match for both Adrian and Mateo, which I thought was pretty amazing. Though I looked and looked for a holy Raphael that could connect to Elizabeth’s story in some way, all I could find were several that were martyred in the Spanish Civil War, and I don’t know if that connection would be meaningful to Elizabeth or not. The name itself means “God has healed,” which could nod to their suffering in their hopes to conceive and the answers to their prayers.

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for Adriano and Mateo’s little brother, taking into account all the details Elizabeth shared?

Baby name consultation: Boy no. 2 (difficult last name and eclectic name taste)

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It’s springtime, which apparently means alllll the babiessss!!! 💐💃💐💃💐💃 Buckle up, cause we’re in for a couple of weeks of a lot of consultation posts! Woo!! I have two or three scheduled to post every week until the end of May, and they’re each just as fun and fabulous as the next.

Today’s is for Nury and her husband — they’re expecting their second baby, and second boy! He joins big brother:

Alec Michael

Which I love. So handsome.

Nury writes,

“Choosing the name of our first child was difficult, to say the least. Our last name … is long and difficult. All of the boys names in my husband’s family tend to be short and not too exotic (Michael, George, Steven, David, Daniel, Richard). My husband’s name is Sean and we do not want to use that. We also definitely do not want to use Michael. There are a large number of Michaels in both of our families, including Sean’s father and brother. We are open to relatively uncommon names, but they should be easy to say — we want him to have a name that people can recognize and say easily since [our last name] causes so much confusion!

We chose Alec as the first name for our son after months and months of discussion and debate. At the very end, we were nearly set on Thomas Michael (Thomas is the name of a dear friend and mentor to Sean and also two of my favorite saints). We settled on Alec after we met him and decided it would stand as a tribute to my grandfather (whose middle name was Alejandro). Michael was chosen as the middle name in honor of Sean’s father who passed in 2011.

The only name we have seriously considered for this new baby is Thomas again. But I also like the following names: Victor, Becket, George, Patrick, James, and Eric. We are also considering using my father’s name, Marcelo, as a middle name. He passed away last July, a month before we conceived this baby. However, that’s not a requirement.”

I was really impressed both with Alec’s name and with the names on Nury’s list of those they’re considering—they all fit perfectly into her desire to have a name “that people can recognize and say easily” despite being all different styles! Nice job! I also love the idea of Thomas Marcelo, it sounds like it’s full of meaning for them.

I’m going to guess that one of the reasons they had a hard time coming up with a name for their first son is exactly because their taste in names is all over the place—and I say that in a good way! I love eclectic namers—those who don’t fit into any one obvious style. It does make it hard to nail down name ideas though, since there’s no real “place” to go look for more, you know? Like, if a couple loved last-names-as-first-names, then I would know where to look for more. If they loved Irish names, I would know where to find those. You know? On the list of names Nury and her husband have used (Alec) and are considering (Thomas, Victor, Becket, George, Patrick, and Eric) I can see separating them out into the following categories: Scottish/English/Celtic (Alec, Becket, George, Patrick), traditional saintly (Thomas, Victor, George, Patrick), Spanish (Victor, Eric), last name (Becket), and Scandinavian (Eric). But even though I could see grouping a couple/few of them into categories, there was zero overlap in the suggested names in the Baby Name Wizard when I looked up all their names! (You all know that I almost always start a consultation by looking up the names the parents have used/like/are considering in the BNW as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity.) This is so unusual, and extra challenging!

I don’t want any of you to think that any of this is bad though! And it seriously increases the fun for me, I love love a good challenge!! 😊 One thing I did notice in terms of a theme or style that, once I noticed, became really obvious to me, is that they really like names that have the K sound in them: Alec, Victor, Becket, Patrick, and Eric. Even Alec’s middle name, Michael. Out of the eight names that they’ve chosen or like, six have the K sound in them! I think that’s more than coincidence, and I used that idea to come up with a few names that I thought might fit into the various categories their names fall into:

(1) Dominic
Dominic has that K sound at the end, and can take nicknames that include it too, like Nick and Nico. It’s saintly, and I think it works well in Spanish as well as across all the European countries, including Ireland, the UK, and the Scandinavian countries.

(2) Nico
Speaking of Nico as a nickname for Dominic, why not Nico as a given name? It’s one of my favorites—short and snappy and masculine, and I like that it has four letters like Alec. I think it’s easy to say in various languages, and St. Nicholas can be patron.

(3) Nic(h)olas
And speaking of Nicholas, I wonder if they would consider it as a first name? I like both the Nicholas and Nicolas spellings, and I think most people think it’s easy to say.

(4) Cole or Colin
Still (unintentionally) continuing with the Nicholas theme, Cole is a traditional nickname for it, and it can also stand on its own as its own name. My husband and I actually considered it for one of our boys! Colin is also a traditional diminutive for Nicholas, though it’s most well known as a name in its own right. It was actually listed as a style match for Alec in the BNW, though I’m not sure it fits Nury’s “easy to say” criteria well enough? Most people I know say COLL-in, but others are more familiar with Colin Powell’s pronunciation: COLE-in.

(5) Kolbe
And jumping off of Cole, Kolbe is also inspired by Becket on their list in that it’s a saintly last name (St. Maximilian Kolbe). I’m just not sure if it’s as easy to say as they’d like? I mean, I don’t know if most people who see it know it’s said KOLE-bee right away?

(6) Mark, Marc, Marco, Marcus
I wondered if they’d be interested in using a variant of Nury’s dad’s name as their son’s first name, similar to how they did with Alejandro –> Alec? According to behindthename.com, Marcelo is a variant of Marcellus, which was originally a diminutive of Marcus. In light of that, any of the Marcus variants seem like they could work to honor Nury’s dad, if she felt like they were close enough to her dad’s name. And changing from Marcelo to Mark/Marc/Marco/Marcus pulls in that K sound that they seem to like. Marc was also listed as a style match for Eric.

(7) Kevin
Kevin was listed as a style match for Eric, but I would also say it’s similar to Patrick because of being an Irish name, which also makes it fit in well with the UK/Celtic feel of Alec, Becket, and George. It’s a saint’s name as well.

(8) Cooper
This is another one, like Kolbe, that was inspired by Becket—it was actually listed as a style match for it in the BNW. One of you readers knows a little Cupertino, for St. Joseph of Cupertino, and he goes by Cooper—I think that’s so clever!

Those are all my suggestions based on the idea that Nury and her husband might prefer names with a K sound in them, but don’t worry, I have some other ideas too! Like:

(8) Andrew or just Drew
Though behindthename says Alec is an English short form of Alexander, babynamewizard and others say it’s the Scottish form of Alex(ander), which is definitely the vibe I get from it (not the only vibe—Alec works well with lots of different kinds of names I think). James on their list is another name that can have a Scottish feel to it, and I’m not really sure why—maybe because of King James?—but I have a friend who married a Scot and they named one of their boys James, which made so much sense to me. Anyway, all that to say, Andrew is another name that has a similar feel. St. Andrew is actually the patron of Scotland, and there’s St. Andrews University there, near the town of St. Andrews. If they didn’t like the full Andrew, I think its nickname Drew can stand on its own, and pairs really nicely with Alec.

(9) Charles, Carl(o)(s), Karl
Charles is a style match for Thomas, George, and James, and it’s one of those names that works in all different languages and cultures. Carlo is a nice option as well, as is Carlos (which was a style match for Victor), and Karl has that Scandinavian feel that I get from Eric. A nice bonus is that all these names can take St. John Paul for patron, since his birth name was Karol, which is the Polish form of Charles. (There are also lots of other Sts. Charles, if they want to go a non-JP2 route.)

(10) Miles or Milo
If you’ve been reading my blog long, you’ll likely know that I love the name Miles and push it on lots of parents! 😁 It’s used in Ireland as an anglicization of the Irish name Maolmhuire, which means “servant of the Virgin Mary”—so Miles is a Marian name! It’s also a style match for Alec, and is similarly nickname-proof. If they don’t love how the S in Miles runs into the S of their last name, but they like the idea of Miles, maybe they’d prefer Milo? It also has use as an anglicization of Maolmhuire (if that’s important to them). If they didn’t care for the double M of Miles Marcelo or Milo Marcelo, I quite like Miles Thomas and Milo Thomas.

And those are all my ideas for this family! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for Alec’s little brother?

Baby name consultation: “Nursing home,” Spanish, and saint/New Testament boy names for born baby no. 3

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Mandi, who blogs at A Blog About Miscarriage and sells Lilla Rose hair accessories, is one of our longest, most devoted readers! I posted a consultation for her when she was expecting her second born baby, and then a birth announcement when the baby was born, and I frequently look to her for resources for families who have lost a baby to miscarriage and input on naming miscarried babies (here and here). I loved her pregnancy announcement and her coining of the term “golden baby” for a baby born after a rainbow baby. She, who lost four babies of her own, is such a great resource for anyone mourning a little one, and I’m thrilled she’s part of our community.

I’m also thrilled to post another consultation for her today!! She and her husband are expecting their third born baby, who joins big sibs on earth:

Lucia Rose
David Newton, Jr. (Davey)

And in heaven:

Francis Michael
Julian Gabriel
Adrienne Rafael
Christian Michael

Though they don’t know the baby’s gender, they’re all set with a girl’s name, so they’re just hoping for help with a boy’s. Mandi writes,

“In terms of boy baby names, I feel like we are starting from scratch. I knew before I even met David that I wanted my eldest son to be a Junior. It worked out perfectly that David was a family name already. His name was kind of the obvious choice and we didn’t think about any others.

It’s kind of hard to know what names my husband will like or reject, so I’ll mostly just tell you my thought process and likes and then he’ll just have to approve or veto ideas. He did at one point say he liked men’s names like “Ralph” – kind of old fashioned, I guess? I am not a fan of Ralph specifically but not opposed to names you would generally associate with the nursing home crowd (if that was even what my husband meant, hard to tell).

We would want familiar, traditional boys names, along the lines of David. A few names we like but wouldn’t use (at least at this time) are John, Michael, Robert, and Francis. Other names I like are Joseph, Peter, and Thomas. I have always loved the name Guillermo but it’s a no-go for my husband as are other more strongly ethnic names (I generally love Spanish names, hence Lucia) though he at one point mentioned liking Joaquin.

Another important consideration is that we would want the name to be directly connected to a well known Saint (or biblical figure, though despite my son named David, I am more strongly drawn to New Testament names). Added bonus if we have a strong connection to the Saint, but obviously you would have no way of knowing that and it’s not necessary – we can always develop a devotion after the fact. We would most likely use a family name for the middle – probably Alan or Milo after my grandfather or David’s.”

Can I just say that what Mandi said about her husband (“It’s kind of hard to know what names my husband will like or reject” and “if that was even what my husband meant, hard to tell”) is so familiar! In my own marriage and many of yours, husbands’ name tastes can be so mysterious, no matter what ideas they offer!

Anyway, this was a really interesting consultation to work on—between Mandi’s husband maybe liking names like “Ralph” and her loving Spanish names, and having a desire for “familiar, traditional boys names” + “directly connected to a well known Saint/biblical figure” I was interested to see what I’d come up with! I’m kind of digging my list of suggestions—I’m eager to see what you all think!

First though, I wondered what Mandi and her hubs would think of considering Alan as a first name? She said it’s a middle name contender, in honor of her grandfather, but it totally has the feeling of Ralph to me … although, looking at the SSA stats, I can see that Ralph was far more popular in the early part of the twentieth century, dropping out of the top 100 in the early 60s while Alan peaked in the 50s/60s before settling into the top 200 and staying there even til today. Ralph and Alan were similar in popularity in the 50s though, and that mid-century overlap is actually really similar to David’s popularity arc (top ten from 1937 to 1991, peaking at no. 1 in 1960—right around when my three Uncle Davids were born! Remarkably, from 1957 to 1971, it was one of the top three names). Anyway, I think Alan would be an interesting name for them to consider for a first name, given that Ralph is already sort of in the mix, and I know that I’m totally being influenced by the fact that I’m currently reading Fr. Calloway’s Champions of the Rosary and Bl. Alan de la Roche was a total rockstar (also a Dominican, and I’m a lay Dominican, woot!). Alan Milo has a really cool ring to it.

As for other ideas, as always I started by looking up Lucia and David in the Baby Name Wizard, as well as Cecilia, Ralph, John, Michael, Robert, Francis, Joseph, Peter, Thomas, and Joseph. (And, for what it’s worth, Peter and Thomas are my favorites for them from the list of those they’re considering—I even had Peter on my own list of ideas for them until I remembered it was already on their list!) I also took a look through the list of Latino names in the back of the book for inspiration. Based on all that, and my own thoughts as well, these are my ideas for Mandi’s baby (if a boy):

(1) Stephen
This was my very first idea, before even cracking open the BNW. It’s the name of a well known saint AND a New Testament figure, and also one of my boys’ best friends is Stephen, and his brother is David, and there’s a pair of brothers in my family named Stephen and David! So to me, David and Stephen go together like peas and carrots. 😁 I like Stephen Milo a lot.

(2) William
This is totally inspired by Mandi’s love of Guillermo, and is the first of several ideas I have connected to her love of Spanish names. I was thinking that she could totally just call her son by the Spanish equivalent of his name—even if it’s just a fun, home-only nickname, maybe even just something she calls him from time to time. It may help satisfy her Spanish-name love without being too foreign for her husband, you know? So William is the English equivalent of Guillermo, and it’s also a style match for John, Joseph, and Thomas. William Alan and William Milo are both fine, imo.

(3) Henry
Henry is another that I liked for this family in part because it has a Spanish equivalent that would be easy enough for Mandi to whisper to her boy from time to time (Enrique), and also because it’s a match for Lucy (similar to Lucia) and Joseph. I quite like it as a brother for David/Davey! Henry Alan and Henry Milo are great.

(4) Gerard
When I was looking through the list of Latino names, Gerardo jumped out at me and I thought, “Huh. Gerard would be great.” It has a similar old-man feel to me as Ralph, and in fact peaked in 1956, so it fits in well with the mid-century peak of Alan and David. St. Gerard Majella is such a great patron for all oms, and especially for moms who have previously lost babies, as he’s the patron of pregnant women, unborn children, childbirth, mothers, and motherhood! Gerard Alan and Gerard Milo are equally fine I think.

(5) Charles
Charles matched up with Lucia (via the Spanish variant Carlo), Cecilia, John, and Joseph, and there are so many great patrons associated with the name—St. Charles Borromeo, Bl. Karl of Austria, and St. JP2 are the three that I always think of first. Charles Alan and Charles Milo both sound fine, and Charles Alan has a particularly nice feel to me.

(6) Edward
Edward is similar in style to Robert and Joseph and has even more of the nursing home feel, just based on its popularity arc—it was a top ten name until 1931 and has slowly decreased ever since. It’s a lovely, gentlemanly name, and I love St. Edward the Confessor. Like with Charles, Edward Alan and Edward Milo are fine, with the former having a particular sparkle to me.

(7) Martin
Martin was only listed as a style match for Peter, but as soon as I saw it I thought it was a great suggestion for Mandi and her Mister. St. Martin de Porres’ father was Spanish, and I love that Martin can have that Spanish connection without being strongly ethnic. Brothers Davey and Marty are super cute too! Martin Alan doesn’t flow as well, and I don’t mind the alliteration of Martin Milo, though I know some people don’t care for that kind of thing.

(8) Victor
Finally, Victor, which was a last-minute addition to my list! I was thumbing through the BNW recently, just for fun, and was reading the Victor entry where I was reminded that, as it says in the BNW, “Like Hector, Victor is currently most popular with Latino parents,” which of course made me think of Mandi! It’s papal and saintly, a great name! I did a post about nicknames for Victor, which continues to be one of the posts that draws the most people here from internet searches (a lot of people are searching for good nicknames for Victor!), and an article at CatholicMom, and I’m particularly loving the Spanish nicknames Vicho and Victo for them. Victor Alan and Victor Milo are both great.

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What other ideas can you offer Mandi and her husband for a boy baby?

Baby name consultation: Spanish middles and Mexican saint names for baby no. 5 if a boy

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I know Lina in semi-real life — we “met” online and have mutual real-life friends; she also runs F&P Birth and Breastfeeding Services: Women Serving Women (FB page here) (F&P stands for Felicity and Perpetua! 😍), which I know many of you might be interested in knowing about — so I’m delighted today to post this consultation for her fifth baby, a little green bean (gender unknown)! 🌱

This little one joins big sibs:

John Diego García (“named for the obvious saint, as well as my deceased FIL, John“)

Joseph Sebastián García (“named for both my husband’s grandfathers and my husband has a devotion to St. Sebastian and didn’t want it for a first name. I wanted to keep all middle names spanish, so its “Sebastián” instead“)

Rita Maureen García (“My middle name is also Maureen, after my grandmother, who is now deceased. Rita is … b/c she paid for our wedding 😉 “) (St. Rita is amazing! She’s one of the patrons of lost causes and I personally know of a couple other examples where she came through big time! Lina’s referring here to her prayers for St. Rita’s intercession in paying for their wedding.)

Michael Agustín García (“for [Bl. Miguel Agustín Pro] … Augustine was [also] my great great grandfather married to Lina, for whom I am named“)

Note that Garcia is Lina’s maiden name, not the family surname (which has more of an English/Irish feel) — I LOVE how she’s worked her heritage via Spanish names (accents and all!) and her maiden name into her kiddos’ names, and I just love the whole set together — they go by Johnny, Joey, Rita, and Mikey — sooooo cute!!

Even though they don’t know if this baby is a boy or a girl, they only need help with boy names (their girl name is Evangelina Claire García). Lina writes,

“Since two of my boys have Mexican saints for names) … i would LOVE to find another mexican saint to use for a boy name.  Nothing has struck me … In the past, we’ve tossed around Ignatius (call him Nate), Gabriel, Lawrence Rey called Larry [Lina’s dad’s name is Larry King; Rey is Spanish for king] and…. who knows.  Seriously, we’re stumped … Oh and obviously our kids have 2 middle names since Garcia is my maiden, so it should flow with that.  and we don’t really want James b/c no more J names.

so tl;dr – boy name help, middle must be spanish, fantasy is mexican saint for the name.  thanks!!! 😀 😀 “

This was such a great consultation to work on! You all know I love when there are “rules,” and trying to come up with great combos that work in Spanish names and Mexican holies was fuuuuun!

So first off, I just have to say that I love the idea of Lawrence Rey for Lina’s dad! I wondered if finding a different nickname for Lawrence (or none at all — know a little Lawrence in my son’s class at school! He goes by the full Lawrence always, which cracks me up—such a big name for a little guy!) might help? I did some research on nicknames that are used for Lawrence, and thought of some that *could* be used (even if I didn’t find any evidence of them already in use), and I suspect that Lina and her hubs aren’t really offbeat in their taste in names/nicknames BUT Larry is pretty offbeat right now so what about:

— Lenny: I love this idea … I think it (because of Leonard) has the feel of Larry/Lawrence, but is a bit more “with it” right now, what with Leonard on Big Bang helping to pave the way for those kinds of names.

— Enzo: I know Lina’s hubs isn’t into Spanishy Spanish first names, but Enzo can be a nickname for Lorenzo, which of course is the Spanish Lawrence, so I thought they could do Lawrence nicknamed Enzo if they wanted to, which would be a fun way to work in Lina’s heritage in an everyday sort of way (and Enzo is so cool).

— Lance: I’m not sure what they’d think of this? But I saw it listed somewhere as a possible nickname for Lawrence, being that it’s like a contraction of Lawrence … I could see it being really cute on a little guy.

— Laddy: This is my own idea, inspired by Taddy for Thaddeus, Matty for Matthew, etc. Could be cute, no?

— Laz, Lon, Ren: My guess is that none of these are quite Lina’s taste but I could be totally wrong, so I thought I should list them here. There are some more nickname ideas for Lawrence here.

Also, regarding their idea of Gabriel, there’s Bl. Gabriel Escoto Ruiz, who was born in Mexico (though he was martyred in the Spanish Civil War).

Alrighty, so you all know I use the Baby Name Wizard for almost every consultation, as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. I did use it when doing this consultation for Lina, but I actually didn’t start with it—rather, I googled “Mexican saints” and used these sites here and here, picking saints, blesseds, and venerables who had names I thought Lina and her hubs would like. I then cross-checked my ideas against the names the BNW said they’d like based on John, Joseph, Rita, Michael, Evangeline (no entry for Evangelina), Gabriel, and Lawrence (no entries for Ignatius or Nate). Based on all that, these are my ideas:

(1) Philip
I think Philip is my #1 idea for Lina and her hubs—one of my own personal favorites, with the great Mexican patron St. Felipe de Jesús. The nickname Phil has a similar feel to me as Larry, but it’s also the reason a lot of families don’t choose the name—if they love Phil, great! If they don’t, there’s also Pip (perfect for a little guy! And he can just be Philip as he grows up), Flip (I worked with a Philip called Flip, kinda cool … it also echoes the original Felipe), and Finn (especially with an N middle name … I loved the idea of Philip Neri nn Finn but couldn’t get my hubs on board).

(2) David
There are three Mexican martyrs that can work here: St. David Galván-Bermudez, St. David Roldán-Lara, and St. David Uribe Valasco, each one is pretty amazing. Davy/Davey’s a super cute nickname too, and I think David/Davey fits right in with Lina’s current and future kids’ names.

(3) Peter
Two Mexican martyrs here: St. Pedro Esqueda Ramírez and St. Pedro de Jesús Maldonado-Lucero. I’ve been digging Pete/Petey recently, so cute!

(4) Gregory
I love Gregory anyway—the BNW says, “Popes, saints, and Gregory Peck! Can a name get any more distinguished?” 😁—and there’s a Ven. Gregorio López who, though born in Spain, was a missionary in Mexico and is apparently much beloved there. This site calls him Blessed but as far as I can he’s still Venerable. Like Phil, I know some families are turned off of Gregory because of Greg, but Rory can work as a nickname (though I already know Lina doesn’t care for Rory, but I’m leaving it here in case it’s helpful to any of you), as can Grey, and I think even Gus could work if Gregory was paired with an S middle name.

(5) Paul
Ven. Pablo de Anda Padilla is the inspiration here—and he had a brother José and a sister María Rita! I know a couple little Pauls who go by Paulie, so cute!

(6) Louis
St. Luis Batiz Sainz is another Mexican martyr (what holy ground is there in Mexico, with all the martyrs’ blood!), and Louie is an adorable nickname!

And those are my main ideas for first names with Mexican patronage, based on what I perceive to be Lina and her hubs’ taste. There are a few others that I considered including in the above list and ultimately decided against for various reasons, but thought I’d list them here just in case: Matthew (for St. Mateo Correa Magallanes), Anthony (Bl. Antonio, Child Martyr of Tlaxcala; Bl. Antonio Pérez Lários), and Andrew (Bl. Andrés Solá Molist).

Some other names that I thought might make good middle names include Salvador, both for Jesus and for St. Salvador Lara Puente; Manuel, both for Jesus and for St. Manuel Moralez or Ven. Manuel Martín del Campo (I also love the nickname Manny, so cute!); and Rafael for St. Rafael Guízar y Valencia.

If they wanted to get a little crazy, I also love the ideas of Guadalupe (traditionally used for both boys and girls) and Tepeyac for middle names—so unexpected and Mexican! Or Cruz, which can refer to both Jesus and Mary. Or Mario, which has traditionally been used to honor Our Lady, even though etymologically it’s not related.

I also love the idea of Lorenzo as a middle name, for Lina’s dad!

And if they decided to go off the Mexican-Saint first-name idea (and doing a Mexican Saint in the middle could preserve their Mexican-Saint-name theme without pigeonholing them), Thomas and Francis are two that seem like perfect brothers to their crew (Tommy and Frankie!).

So if I were going to put together some full name ideas, I like:

Philip de Jesús García (I loooove the idea of “de Jesús” in the middle!)
Philip Lorenzo García
David Manuel García
David Salvaldor García
David Lorenzo García
Peter de Jesús García
Peter Lorenzo García
Gregory López García
Gregory Lorenzo García
Gregory Cruz García
Paul Salvador García
Paul Manuel García
Paul Rafael García
Paul Lorenzo García OR Paul Lorenzo Rey García, which I know is a lot of names, but Paul is so short, I think it totally works
Paul Guadalupe García (again a short, familiar name like Paul can take a longer, more exotic middle really well)
Louis Rafael García
Louis Guadalupe García
Thomas Lorenzo García
Thomas Gregorio García
Thomas Felipe García
Francis Lorenzo García
Francis Gregorio García
Francis Felipe García (I love the alliteration here)
Gabriel Salvador García
Ignatius Manuel García

I could go all day coming up with handsome combos, but I’ll stop there! Haha!

And those are all my ideas! What do you all think? What would you suggest for a little brother for John, Joseph, Rita, and Michael, taking into account two Spanish middles and a preference for Mexican saints/blesseds/venerables?

Birth announcement: Genevieve Guadalupe!

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Back on the Advent names post, reader Mary commented,

“I am due on the 10th and while we have names on our mind, I LOOOOVE the idea of incorporating Advent traditional themes into their names.🙂 So I will have to keep brainstorming, I guess.😉“

I always get so excited to hear of an upcoming birth! I told Mary I’d love to know what she ended up naming her baby, if she didn’t mind sharing. She didn’t mind! 🙌 She emailed me the other day to let me know her little one has arrived — a little girl who’s been given the gorgeous name … Genevieve Guadalupe!

Mary writes,

“Happy New Year! I hope this message finds you and your family well and blessed! A few weeks ago you shared a post on the blog on Advent Baby Names. I commented on the post that I was due December 10 with baby #2 (at the time gender was unknown) and that I loved the idea of an Advent-inspired name. We were blessed with the safe and quick(!) delivery of a baby girl on Tuesday, December 13th and chose to name her Genevieve Guadalupe. Genevieve after my husband’s late grandmother. We were already set on Genevieve as a first name for a girl, but were pretty unsure about middle names. During the last part of our pregnancy we did a 54 day rosary novena which just so happened to end on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and one of our intentions was for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery. We believe that Our Lady of Guadalupe definitely interceded for us (many blessings have been revealed during and after praying it) and wanted us to finish the novena before the baby was born! 🙂

What’s interesting is that the name was suggested by a couple family members, as a joke (we also joked that our baby’s name would depend on which saints’ feast day he/she was born on since there were so many that week!), but it really grew on us. Also, considering that we live in Texas, we felt that it was a perfect fit for our family and daughter!

Genevieve, nicknamed Gigi, joins big brother James Peter! 🙂 “

I looove Genevieve Guadalupe!! What a beautiful, meaningful combo!! I love how present Our Lady of Guadalupe was to Mary and her husband, and it’s so wonderful to memorialize her intercession in the very name of their baby girl. ❤ Also, I know Gigi can be a nickname for Genevieve anyway, but have G.G. initials makes it really fun!

Congratulations to the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Genevieve!!

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Genevieve Guadalupe

Namespotting: Diego Klattenhoff

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Do you know this actor?

1024px-the_blacklist_-_diego_klattenhoff
By Thibault (Flickr: The Blacklist — Panel) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
I loved him in Homeland (though I haven’t watched it in ages), and I’m currently watching The Blacklist, and he’s great in that as well. So I looked him up to find out more about him, googling “who plays Ressler in Blacklist” since I didn’t know his name, and was so surprised to find out that his name is Diego Klattenhoff.

Diego Klattenhoff!

Diego! And Klattenhoff! I’ve been rolling his name over in my head for days, I’m so intrigued by that combination! I’m dying to know his name story, or some hint as to why he was named Diego (of course you have to know Diego is all St. Juan Diego to me 😂) … Alas, there’s not much to find — I know he’s Canadian (from Nova Scotia), and that Klattenhoff is German, but I can’t find any info on his parents/heritage/religion. Or maybe it’s a pseudonym? Whether real or not, what an awesome name for an actor — so memorable in its unexpectedness!

Do any of you know anything more about him and how/why he was so named?  Do you find that combo as fascinating as I do?

UPDATE: Despite my sort of obsessive googling trying to find out more about Diego’s first name, I totally did not see at all this old article a friend just sent me after reading this post. It explains that Diego’s dad’s from Germany and his mom’s of Irish/Welsh descent — which explains his look and his last name — but as for Diego, it’s just a name his dad liked, maybe after a painter (his dad’s an artist). Mystery solved!

Birth announcement: Belén Marie-Guadalupe!

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I’ve been so eager to post today’s birth announcement! It’s the absolutely perfect one to post right before Christmas! 🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Our dear Lindsay from My Child I Love You, who so graciously agreed to be profiled back in August and shared her little ones’ name stories, has had her tenth born baby — a beautiful baby girl who has been given the most beautiful name … Belén Marie-Guadalupe!

(Belén is the Spanish form of “Bethlehem” [which , as my mom was just telling me recently, comes from the Hebrew for “house of bread,” and how perfect is that as the name of the place where Baby Jesus was born?!])

Lindsay writes,

“We weren’t even going to name her Belén. We had a completely different girl name, but when we saw her, we knew our original name wasn’t the one, but didn’t know what to name her.

After that first night, I mentioned to John the name Belén. He did some research and discovered its Spanish origins. That sealed the deal with her being born on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe — one of the dearest to my heart ♥♥

So, her name came very easily!!

What is funny about her name is that both John and I were convinced 99% she was a boy she we didn’t really need a baby girl name. God’s provisions always provide even at the very end. We both knew her name almost instantly after a moment of research.”

Is that just such a wonderful story, and an amazingly perfect name for this little girl, given the time of year she was born and the specific feast day?! (And how much are you all dying — like me — to know their previous girl name, as well as their boy name?! 😂 Maybe someday she’ll tell us!)

Congratulations to Lindsay and John and their other kiddos Dominic, Lillie, Rose, Zellie, Vianney, Clairvaux, Damaris, Kapaun, and Lourdes, and happy birthday Baby Belén!!

Belén Marie-Guadalupe

Birth announcement: Penelope Hannah!

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It’s so funny that we were talking about Penelope yesterday and today I’m thrilled to share that Maria, whose consultation I posted back in October, has let me know her little girl has arrived and been given the gorgeous name … Penelope Hannah!

She writes,

“Baby Penelope Hannah was born on November 23rd at 2:49am, a perfect way to start my Thanksgiving :). Thanks for the name recommendations! Penelope was never on my radar but we love it! Thanks!“

Isn’t Penelope Hannah an amazing name?! I love how it flows, just beautiful! She joins her big sibs:

Rose Gianna
Sofia Magdalena
Gemma Anastasia
Sebastian David
Thaddeus Jacob

Such an amazingly named family! Congratulations to the whole family, and happy birthday Baby Penelope!!

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Penelope Hannah

Baby name consultant: Unusual name needed for baby No. 7

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Happy feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Before I jump into today’s post, could I just ask you to keep my oldest son in your prayers? (And thank you to all of you who have been praying!) I posted a couple pics explaining the situation on Instagram this weekend — he and I have been in the hospital all weekend for a mysterious swelling on one side of his face that turned out to be an abscessed tooth. Lots of strong antibiotics have really done the trick — last night his face was finally starting to look normal-ish, 48 hours after it started, and this morning he looks wonderful. The doctor will be calling the dentist today and hopefully we can go home in a few hours!

Also, one of you readers emailed me with this very important prayer request:

“My acquaintance/new friend Anne Marie, unbeknownst to me, has a mental/spiritual imbalance that has caused her to be certain that Jesus has asked her to fast to her death. Apparently she has several times fled to distant 24-hr Adoration chapels to pray and await death.

A week ago she again fled the Portland area with nothing but cash, as I understand, leaving behind her new husband of just 15-ish months, and their small son Joseph, 4 months, whom she had been exclusively breastfeeding.

Anyway, since you have many devout readers around the nation, I thought perhaps someone would spot her. She is 5’8″, very thin, conservatively dressed, with long, somewhat greying wavy hair. She has a soft, deep voice, an intelligent demeanor and dry sense of humor. It is best to contact the authorities, rather than acknowledging that you know of her. They suspect she will follow her pattern of fasting until collapse, be hospitalized, and refuse to identify herself.”

This is a news story that tells more about her. Thank you all for being such great prayer warriors! One of the loveliest parts of our little community is how we can ask each other to pray. 🙏

Okay! On to today’s consultation! Cait and her husband are expecting their seventh baby and third girl! She joins big siblings:

Aquinas John Paul (Quin)
Gabriel Benedict
Magdalena Grace
Maksymilian Paul (“spelling due to husband’s bad association with a Max in grade school and finding a book written by St. Maksymilian Kolbe where they spelled his name that way — I think it’s the Polish way“)
Augustine Francis
Socorra Perpetua (often called Corra; named “after Our Lady of Perpetual Help (succour)“; my note: Nuestra Señora del Socorro is a Spanish title referring to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succor)

Aren’t those amazing names?? I love the nicknames and the alternate yet totally legitimate spellings and the all-around creativity. Great job, Mom and Dad!

Cait writes,

“I LOVE Penelope, but she seems to be a saint in the Eastern Church and not ours.  I’m having my husband research that, as it seems, from her story there, that we should grab her as a saint too.  I also had a dream the baby’s name should have something to do with peace… something we need in our family right now (who doesn’t?)!  That’s one way we found Saint Penelope- when she became a Christian she changed her name to Irene, so we’d likely do Penelope Irene, if only I can internally justify not using a Roman Catholic Saint as a first name … [then later I received this update from Cait] As for Penelope, we just found out it’s one of the top 40 names for last year so, sadly, it’s off our list.  While we do have a Gabriel, which is ever popular, we tend to shy away from top 100 (or minimally top 50) names.”

So I was shocked to discover that Penelope’s in the top 40! How did that happen! It had barely cracked the top 1000 in 2001, talk about a meteoric rise! I’m sorry that Cait and her hubs have to cross it off their list, I love it! (And there’s a new holy one to use as patron: Ven. Ersilia Penelope Frey!) In its place, I wonder what they’s think of Philomena — it’s similar to Penelope to me, being long and starting with a P, and it’s a really Catholicky Catholic name — it might make a good replacement?

I’m also really interested in Cait’s dream that the baby’s name should have something to do with peace — I did a quick search on behindthename for names that have “peace” in their meaning, and the only one I thought they might be interested besides Irene was Salome. It means “peace” (related to “shalom”) and I posted a really cool tidbit about the name a while ago, which connects the name to Christmas — nice for a baby born this time of year.

Otherwise, I took to my Baby Name Wizard as I always do, looking up the names Cait and her husband have used and those they like/are considering as you know it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. Based on that research and my own mental files, these are my ideas:

(1) Liesse, Lourdes
These are, of course, the names of two Marian apparition sites, and I love them both. Liesse is so pretty with such a feminine sound; it’s a bummer it’s not as well known but I really like how unexpected it is. Lourdes has more use (like Lindsay daughter from My Child I Love You), and has such lovely nickname options like Lulu and Lola.

(2) Archangela
Reader Lisa alerted me to Bl. Archangela Girlani a while ago as a way of having an authenticated saintly connection to Eleanor (because the Helen connection is problematic), and I immediately loved her religious name! Archangela has a familiar feel, because of the archangels and the name Angela, and yet I’d never heard of Archangela as a given name before finding out about Bl. Archangela — familiar yet uncommon is such a great combo!

(3) Anne-Catherine
One of the Sancta Nomina families has a little girl named Anne-Catherine after Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich — I love this idea for this family! Cait’s older kiddos have, on the whole, fairly unusual names, and double names have an immediate “more unusual” feel to them, even if the names themselves are fairly “normal.”

(4) Sidony/Sidonie
During one of the very first consultations I did, I came across the name Sidony/Sidonie and was blown away by what I read about it: “this name was formerly used by Roman Catholics for girls born about the date of the Feast of the Winding Sheet (i.e., of Christ), more formally alluded to as ‘the Sacred Sendon’. Sendon or Sindon (from Latin sindon … ‘fine cloth’, ‘linen’) was used in Middle English for a fine cloth, especially one used as a shroud. The Sacred Sendon is supposed to be preserved at Turn [Turin] … Sidonie is not uncommon in France, and the Irish Sidney is probably really Sidony” (from one of my favorite name books, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names by EG Withycombe). The feast of the Winding Sheet is/was celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, and as Ash Wednesday this year is March 1, the Sidonie feast is Feb. 28, and since Cait’s little one is due in February, I thought it might be perfect.

(5) Charis
There’s a section in the BNW called “Exotic Traditionals,” which I often like to peruse for families like Cait’s who have used names like Magdalena, Socorra, and Augustine, as they have a lot of old religious and/or saints’ names that aren’t used so much anymore. Charis is one of them — it means “grace, kindness” according to behindthename.com and “favor, grace, gratitude” according to Merriam Webster, and I actually read about a family who used the name because it’s contained within the word “Eucharist” (and that element of Eucharist is the “favor, grace, gratitude” meaning of Charis). So pretty!

(6) Jacinta
This is another Exotic Traditional, and one I just love—Jacinta’s one of my favorite favorite names, I totally wish it had more play! I have it on my own list, and love the nickname Jess for it.

(7) Rafaela/Raphaela
There wasn’t a huge amount of overlap in the names similar to the names Cait and her husband like, according to the BNW (which is likely just because the BNW doesn’t look at the world with Catholic-colored glasses like we do!), but Rafaela was listed as a style match for Benedict and Raphaela for Maximilian, so I felt like I definitely needed to suggest it! Such a pretty name, and not as matchy with Gabriel as if they used Raphael.

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What names would you suggest for the little sister of Aquinas, Gabriel, Magdalena, Maksymilian, Augustine, and Socorra?

Baby name consultant: Mom likes “weird,” meaningful names for no. 6

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Maria and her husband are expecting their sixth baby — a little girl! Little Miss joins big sibs:

Rose Gianna (“she’s named after my husbands grandmother, but St. Rose of Lima was the first saint of the America’s [thus first child] and I wanted her to be a strong woman and selfless, like St. Gianna. Her confirmation saint is St. Joan of Arc, again with a strong female Saint“)

Sofia Magdalena (“Sofia is wisdom and Magdalene was the Apostle to the Apostles and the penitent woman. I wanted her to be full of wisdom and be a voice to the world, and again she hast chosen St. Teresa of Calcutta for her confirmation Saint in a couple of years“)

Gemma Anastasia (“pronounced Hemma and the Spanish version of Anastasia, I’m Hispanic and the “G” is a “H” sound; St. Gemma Galgani was a beautiful girl and for my third daughter I wanted her name to be queenly and beautiful“)

Sebastian David (“he is the beautiful Roman soldier and boy king. He likes to be referred to as the King 🙂 “)

Thaddeus Jacob (“my grandmother has a devotion to St. Jude Thaddeus and literally translated Thaddeus is “to God” and then he is the beloved son, the second born“)

I love every single one of these combinations!! Such a great bunch of names, and so meaningful, each one!

Maria shared that she’s had trouble conceiving because of some health issues, but with this baby has this wonderful story:

“2 weeks before my positive pregnancy test, I sat in Adoration crying and asking God to please let me get better soon so I could have a baby. I read through 1 Samuel and the Canticle of Hannah and I made a silly promise that whenever He deemed it time for me to have another baby, the middle name would be Samuel or Hannah. Lo and behold 2 weeks later two lines show up. I feel like I’ve been given a miracle and when I announced it on FB I did so with this verse:

1 Samuel 1:15-20

15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman sorely troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD.
16 Do not regard your maidservant as a base woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”
17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have made to him.”
18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer sad.
19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ra’mah. And Elka’nah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her;
20 and in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the LORD.”“

So beautiful, right? I just love stories like this! And I don’t think it’s a silly promise at all — I think it’s lovely to thank God in such a beautiful way.

The two names that Maria and her hubs have talked about are:

Lorelei Hannah
Ruth Hannah

And if the baby had been a boy, they were considering Beckett Samuel.

Additionally,

“I like to have my children’s names to mean something or instill in them virtues through their patron saints … I have very romantic notions about names and I love to have stories behind them … I like weird names, last names (for boys mostly) Old Testament names or names with special meaning to the situation.”

“Weird names” are right up my alley, so you know I totally rubbed my hands together delightedly and my mind started clicking!

I did find Hannah somewhat challenging to work with in terms of pairing it with a first name in a pleasing combo, but I think I came up with some good ideas.

Lorelei and Ruth are both great ideas for a baby girl! I was pretty surprised by Lorelei, just because it doesn’t have a saintly connection and all Maria’s other kiddos’ first names do, but of course the first name doesn’t have to be a saint’s name. I really like the flow and sound of Lorelei Hannah. Ruth is so sweet, and Ruthie is one of my favorite nicknames, lovely! I did wonder if Rose and Ruth are too similar, being that they both start with R and have four letters? And their middle names both contain Anna? But with Rose at the beginning of a large family and Ruth at the end, it probably doesn’t matter much at all.

You all know that I almost always start a consultation by looking up the names the parents have used and those they like/are considering in the Baby Name Wizard as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity. Using that research and my own mental files, taking into account that Maria likes “weird” names 😀 , these are my ideas for this family:

(1) Araceli
As soon as Maria said she’s Hispanic I started thinking of the Spanish names I know that might suit, especially those that don’t end in -a (as I don’t think ends-in-a names have a great flow with Hannah), and Araceli is one of my favorites. It comes from the Latin for “altar” and “heaven” and refers to Our Lady as the Altar of Heaven. So beautiful, right? Marian names are my favorite! .

(2) Damaris
Damaris is actually a style match for Thaddeus, and it’s also on the list of Latina names in the BNW, so it seemed a spot-on suggestion. It’s the name of a woman in the New Testament who was converted by Paul, and Lindsay at the blog My Child I Love You and her family use it to mean “of/belonging to Mary,” which I just love. There’s a Food Network chef named Damaris Phillips who pronounces it da-MARE-is, but I know DAM-a-ris is also acceptable.

(3) Caeli
Caeli can be said CHAY-lee (which is how it’s said in Church Latin) or KAY-lee, and means “heaven” (same as in the “celi” part of Araceli); it’s most recognizable I think as part of the Marian title Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven).

(4) Penelope
Penelope is a style match for Lorelei, and I love how it sounds with Hannah. For a long time there wasn’t any faith connection, but in September 2015 Pope Francis made Ersilia Penelope Frey a Venerable!

(5) Ruby, Scarlett
I’m listing these two together because their faith connection is similar — I discussed Ruby here and both Ruby and Scarlett here and here. I love how Ruby Hannah and Scarlett Hannah sound, and Scarlett was also a style math for Beckett.

(6) Verity
Verity means “truth” and is an awesome name for a little Catholic girl. It also flows really well with Hannah.

(7) Felicity
I almost didn’t include Felicity because I didn’t think it was weird/unusual enough, but I ultimately decided to because of how well it goes with Hannah in my opinion. It means “happiness,” which is an awesome meaning for a little one, and it goes especially well with Maria’s conception story. St. Felicity is great too.

And those are my ideas! What do you all think? What name(s) would you suggest for Rose, Sofia, Gemma, Sebastian, and Thaddeus’ little sister?