Baby names

[Maggyie]

Since I was a little girl I enjoyed looking up name meanings and making lists of favorites. Ha, I'm sure the bookstore lady was concerned by the 11 year old buying a baby name book (and the bridal magazine too). 

What is your favorite baby name for a boy or girl? I have to admit I'm kind of snobby and pooh pooh invented names or spellings. However recently I am starting to love more adventurous stuff for MIDDLE names - like Mercy, Magnolia, Honor, Briallen (not made up, it's the Welsh word for primrose), Posey, Clover, Poet. Basically names that make me sound like an upper class British twit. 

Boy names, I like standard classics, pretty boring there, except for the Irish name Eamon which I think is so cool but confusing for Americans. And for a middle on a boy I like a saint's last name like Campion or Becket or Bellarmine.

What do you like?

Edited August 29, 2015 by Maggyie

[NadaTeTurbe]

I'm french, so here I am my favorite name. Some are bourgeois, other are hebrew. For the girls, I like very noble name, with a sense of history, or hebrew name that have a meaning. For boys, I like name that can goes for boys and girl. 

Girl : Philomène, Constance, Célestine, Violaine, Aliénor/Eleonore, Marie-Louise, or, Eliana, Eliora/Liora, Talia 
Boy : Siméon, Camille, Alix, Gaël, Benjamin, Ambroise, Charles. 

I could never choose a name for a baby. 

[Credo in Deum]

Boys: Lucian, Alexander, Dominic, Logan, Joseph, and Markus.

Girl: Jean, Serena, Sarah, Maria, Emily, and Khloé.

Nothing really extravagant or rare. Just very simple names.

[Archaeology cat]

Well, my kids are Kieran Anthony, Charlotte Claire, and Leo Vianney. This one's middle name will honor Bl Louis & Zélie Martin (so middle name will be Zélie or Martin). Sometimes I like the sound of a name first and then the Saint; sometimes I like the Saint and then want to use the name (thus my fascination with Flora, due to St Flora of Cordoba).

[Credo in Deum]

I figure if I have a boy/girl I will put a bunch of male/female saint names in a hat and then close my eyes and pick one.  This way if my kids ever get upset about their name I can tell them they can't blame me since God chose it for them.   Take that Jude Jr. 

[puellapaschalis]

A few weeks ago I finished reading a book of St Gertrude the Great's writings and am now admiring her awesomesauceness. The problem is that 'Gertrude' sounds so...Gertrude-ish. Foiled by Victorian female stereotypes! Curses! Stupid era making women wear harmful corsets and sullying a fantastic name.

[He is Risen!]

I have some good names in my family that I would consider if I had a baby, for a girl: Clare, Shirley, or Jane.  For a boy: Conrad or Theodore.

[Credo in Deum]

A few weeks ago I finished reading a book of St Gertrude the Great's writings and am now admiring her awesomesauceness. The problem is that 'Gertrude' sounds so...Gertrude-ish. Foiled by Victorian female stereotypes! Curses! Stupid era making women wear harmful corsets and sullying a fantastic name.

Sounds like a great name.  Other options could be: Mildred, Beatrice, and Winifred.

[Archaeology cat]

A few weeks ago I finished reading a book of St Gertrude the Great's writings and am now admiring her awesomesauceness. The problem is that 'Gertrude' sounds so...Gertrude-ish. Foiled by Victorian female stereotypes! Curses! Stupid era making women wear harmful corsets and sullying a fantastic name.

So bring back the name. Or choose a nice nickname from it.

[Spem in alium]

Esther, Roisin, Sylvia, Ineke, Grace, Majella (my mother's middle name) are nice to me.

For boys, Killian, Theodore, Xavier, Joseph. 

Also, Maggyie, I LOVE Eamon! I've known a couple of Eamons but not sure how much trouble they've had with people pronouncing the name (plus I'm in Australia and there's a definite Irish presence where I've lived). 

 

 

[Maggyie]

My husband loves Eleanor... And I love it too. But we already have a beautiful niece named Nora so I feel the names would be too similar!

Vianney is another great one... Although I would use it on a girl! I love our Catholic unisex tradition where girls can have boy saint names and boys can have Marie in there... St John Mary Vianney himself is a great example of this. Pretty progressive of us eh.

I adore the name Mary as a girl's first name, but worry people will think we didn't put any thought into it. But there are more girls named London nowadays than Mary. Plus it's a family name, a royal name, and a Jane Austen-y name, satisfying my need to be Britishy. 

My other favorite that I forgot to mention is Alice. It just sounds so fresh and beautiful!

My husband also likes Lucy and Amelia. Lucy is my childhood dog's name and Amelia is mega popular (not Sophia levels but worsening). So I'm trying to put the kibosh on that. 

[Archaeology cat]

My husband loves Eleanor... And I love it too. But we already have a beautiful niece named Nora so I feel the names would be too similar!

Vianney is another great one... Although I would use it on a girl! I love our Catholic unisex tradition where girls can have boy saint names and boys can have Marie in there... St John Mary Vianney himself is a great example of this. Pretty progressive of us eh.

I adore the name Mary as a girl's first name, but worry people will think we didn't put any thought into it. But there are more girls named London nowadays than Mary. Plus it's a family name, a royal name, and a Jane Austen-y name, satisfying my need to be Britishy. 

My other favorite that I forgot to mention is Alice. It just sounds so fresh and beautiful!

My husband also likes Lucy and Amelia. Lucy is my childhood dog's name and Amelia is mega popular (not Sophia levels but worsening). So I'm trying to put the kibosh on that. 

Great names. I love Alice! My cousin just took that one, though.

[NadaTeTurbe]

Marie-Alice/Mary Alice, is so lovely ! I love Alice, but it's so common here  

[Ancilla Domini]

I've always loved my grandmother's name - Evelyn. It sounds so elegant and feminine. If I ever have a daughter, I'll name her Evelyn. I also like the name Katherine (with a K).

Edited August 31, 2015 by Ancilla Domini

[hotpink]

My husband loves Eleanor... And I love it too. But we already have a beautiful niece named Nora so I feel the names would be too similar!

Vianney is another great one... Although I would use it on a girl! I love our Catholic unisex tradition where girls can have boy saint names and boys can have Marie in there... St John Mary Vianney himself is a great example of this. Pretty progressive of us eh.

I adore the name Mary as a girl's first name, but worry people will think we didn't put any thought into it. But there are more girls named London nowadays than Mary. Plus it's a family name, a royal name, and a Jane Austen-y name, satisfying my need to be Britishy. 

My other favorite that I forgot to mention is Alice. It just sounds so fresh and beautiful!

My husband also likes Lucy and Amelia. Lucy is my childhood dog's name and Amelia is mega popular (not Sophia levels but worsening). So I'm trying to put the kibosh on that. 

I don't think that Elenor (aka Ellie) and Nora are that close. 

I really like the name Lucy...it's a name I'd consider for future kids.  My aunt's dog is named that but who cares.  I had a dog named Sophie and now I have a relative named that.

It's funny you mention having a boy named Marie as being progressive.  In French Canada and parts of New England having a boy with the first name of Marie isn't unheard of.  Or a family who's 6 boys all had the first name of Joseph.  Joseph Francis, Joseph Maurice, Joseph Leonard, Joseph Thomas, Joseph...well you get the picture...and only the eldest went by Joseph...or sometimes none of them.  I know they had a (male) cousin Marie Anthony.  We're talking born in the early 1900's but still not *that* long ago and not *that* different.

[puellapaschalis]

It's certainly not too long ago that Dutch Catholic boys would have a string of names at Baptism (they don't take a new name at Confirmation), and one of them was invariably Maria.

[Peace]

Shadrach. Meshach. Abedngo.

[Peace]

DP

Edited August 31, 2015 by Peace

[DominicanHeart]

I only recently discovered that the name Elise means Consecrated to God. I love that. And if I were called to have children, I know my son would be Peter Anthony. Peter for my Parish and Anthony for my beloved Pastor. Girls, I have way too many options, just like I have too many options for Religious names.

Edited August 31, 2015 by DominicanHeart

[beatitude]

For girls:

Elizabeth. I like the meaning ('house of God') and she speaks some of the most beautiful words in the Bible: "Blessed is she who believed..."

Emmanuela, again for the meaning ('God-with-us'). It can be nicely shortened to Ella.

Olivia. This would probably be my first choice of name for a girl. I just think it's beautiful.

Richeldis. She is an eleventh-century saint who founded the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, known as 'England's Nazareth' - it has a fascinating history and is very special to me.

Mary. It is never lacking in thought to name someone for the Blessed Mother. It was also my much-loved grandma's name. I also like Miriam.

Judith (because a woman who carries her enemy's head home in a lunchbag is a very good patron to have should you ever encounter playground bullies).

Charlotte. It just sounds nice and I like the short form Lottie for children.

Rahma. This is an Arabic name meaning mercy. I like the sound of it, and it is also the name some of the children I worked with in the Middle East gave to me - they had special needs and couldn't remember my real name properly. One little boy said decisively, "I don't like it and it is difficult to say. You can be called Rahma." By the end even some of my colleagues were calling me that and I got attached to it.

Rosa, in honour of the Blessed Mother as Rosa Mystica.

I'm another fan of Eleanor.

For boys:

Joseph, for sure (assuming there were no girls in the family called Mary or Maria - that would just seem weird).

Christopher. I like the meaning, Christ-bearer, and it sounds good as a name.

John Paul. He had such an influence on me as a teenager and if I had a son he would probably get this for sure.

Peter. Who better than the first pope? Unfortunately I don't really like the short form Pete and it's pretty much inevitable that this gets used.

Julian, for Mother Julian of Norwich, and also the hero of a book that I really liked when I was little.

Charles (for Bl. Charles de Foucauld). I also like the short form Charlie.

Raphael, in honour of the angel. I'd probably choose this more as a middle name, though. I also really like Maggie's idea of Campion or Bellarmine as middle names.

Matthew, because he wrote the beatitudes, and phrased the first one, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" - as someone outcast he must have really known the meaning of that. I also like Matthias.

Finally, Martin for St Martin of Tours and Damien for St Damien of Molokai.

Edited August 31, 2015 by beatitude