We are expecting our third child, who is likely a boy. *Our first two are [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] and [name_f]Caterina[/name_f]. *We use their full names at home, or a variety of unrelated nicknames. *Out of the house they are [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] and [name_f]Cate[/name_f]. *Our last name is M4r14n1, and my husband is from [name_f]Italy[/name_f], but we live in the US, in the South, where people seem to struggle with foreign names much more than in [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m], where I’m from. *I like longer names with nickname potential, but that isn’t a requirement. *We are Catholic, and I want a saint’s name, but I am especially looking for a name which is meaningful to me. *I don’t know if I like any Italian boys names. *I prefer the English versions in general, and DH does too, but they also seem a little boring to be compared to my daighters’ names.
Other names I like, and family names we have considered:
[name_m]Alban[/name_m]
[name_m]Alexander[/name_m]/[name_m]Alessandro[/name_m]
[name_m]Edward[/name_m]
[name_m]George[/name_m]
[name_m]Gregory[/name_m]
[name_m]Hugo[/name_m]
[name_u]Theo[/name_u]/[name_m]Theodore[/name_m]
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f] and [name_f]Teresa[/name_f] are my favorite Catholic names. [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] not only because of the saint, but it’s meaning of “pure” and of course [name_f]Agnus[/name_f] [name_m]Dei[/name_m]. [name_f]Teresa[/name_f] is because of the saint, which I’m devoted to (her last name, [name_f]Avila[/name_f] could also be appealing to you). I also think [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_f]Maria[/name_f], [name_f]Virginia[/name_f], [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Angelina[/name_f] and [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] (another wonderful saint).
Edit: I’m sorry, I think I was still half-asleep when I answered, I hadn’t realized you wanted boy names!
From your list, my all-time favorite is Gabriel, but I also really am liking the sound of Benedict for you as it is very Catholic in a positive way. Bennett is great too as a more laid back and maybe less rigid version of Benedict. I will suggest Bento, though. Other names I loved: Theodore, George, Alexander and Alban.
With your surname and your daughters’ names in mind, I think my favourite from your “most meaningful” list is [name_u]Luca[/name_u]. [name_u]Luca[/name_u] M4r14n1 sounds great; [name_f]Sofia[/name_f], [name_f]Caterina[/name_f] and [name_u]Luca[/name_u] all clearly sound Italian but I wouldn’t think obscure to Americans. I like a lot of the names on both of your lists, honestly. If I had to narrow them down, I might worry that [name_m]Pietro[/name_m] and [name_m]Piero[/name_m] might be tricky to wear where you live, and [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] feels stylistically pretty far from your daughters’ names.
If I were you I would be tempted to use one name from each list - one as the first name and one as the middle. Maybe:
I like the idea of using the handsome and timeless [name_u]Luca[/name_u]. I also really like [name_m]Basil[/name_m], [name_m]Julian[/name_m] or [name_m]Julius[/name_m], [name_m]Lorenzo[/name_m]/[name_m]Enzo[/name_m]… and [name_m]Peter[/name_m] that you mentioned. I also am always conflicted on if I prefer [name_m]Piero[/name_m] or [name_m]Pietro[/name_m], but living the States I would go with [name_m]Peter[/name_m] and then at home or the Italian relatives can call him one thing or another.
I love your list of names! We just named our 7th [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m] though we debated it against [name_m]Peter[/name_m] till the end. I was wondering if [name_m]Leo[/name_m] might appeal to you. I also wanted to suggest a Catholic name blog to you that I really enjoy.
My favorites are [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m] & [name_m]Benedict[/name_m]. [name_f]Sofia[/name_f], [name_f]Caterina[/name_f] & [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m] and [name_f]Sofia[/name_f], [name_f]Caterina[/name_f] and [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] are both perfect! I also like [name_m]Alessandro[/name_m] & [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] ([name_u]Theo[/name_u]). I think my choice would be [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m]!
I like Luca a lot too. It has been our favorite at times, but I worry that the -a ending will seem too feminine in the US. It is a totally unheard on name here in VA. Should I be worried about this?
Gabriel seems like a favorite here, bit I hate the nickname Gabe, and dislike the Italian version. Anyway, DH has vetoed it.
I have it a lot of thought, and realised Thomas has the most meaning for me. I don’t think it will he the first name, but it will probably be the middle. So which first would you choose with Thomas as the middle?
With [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m] vetoed and [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] as the middle name my original thoughts change quite a bit. I don’t love [name_m]Benedict[/name_m], [name_m]Bennett[/name_m] or [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] with [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] because of the double Ts. I also really like [name_m]Matteo[/name_m] but not with [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] for the same reasons. [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_m]George[/name_m] and [name_m]Gregory[/name_m] seem too bland to me with [name_f]Caterina[/name_f] and [name_f]Sofia[/name_f]. My revised favorites would be:
[name_m]Rafael[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] (I like nn [name_u]Rafe[/name_u])
[name_m]Luke[/name_m] or [name_u]Luca[/name_u] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]
[name_m]Alessandro[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]
Second: [name_m]Piero[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] or [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]. I don’t love [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] personally but it sounds great with [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]!
I love the name [name_u]Luca[/name_u] but I don’t like how it’s become so trendy for people with no Italian heritage, which is obviously not a problem for you!
I think I would pick [name_m]Rafael[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]! Second [name_u]Luca[/name_u]. I still love [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m] but understand your concern with not liking [name_m]Gabe[/name_m].
I don’t have any suggestions, but I would highly recommend checking out the blog Sancta Nomina. I think you’ll find a lot of Catholic naming inspiration there!