Catholic Baby Name Trends

General Name Discussion
1

[name]Hi[/name] everyone,

I’m writing a piece about the decline of the name [name]Mary[/name] and Catholic baby name trends in general. I would love to hear from any Catholic parents and/or grade school teachers about what is happening on the ground with Catholics and their name choices. A few questions to ponder are: what is the legacy of the “saint’s name” rule? Is it still being followed? [name]Do[/name] people still feel compelled to stick a “proper” Catholic name in there (even as a middle) or has that fallen by the wayside? Are there any trends that can be noted? Please feel free to chime in! Thank you!

2

I’m not religious (I go to Church only twice a year because of family obligations) but I was raised Catholic, confirmed, went to Catholic school and everything. My family is VERY active in the church; I believe my grandmother is the oldest and longest-attending member of their Church (94, a member since the church was built when she was 5.)

The saint’s name rule was a thing in earlier generations, but by the time I was born it was definitely not a rule anymore. I don’t know the details. I’m not even sure if it was an international rule or determined by individual parishes. My grandparents had to do it in the 40s and 50s, but they picked very average names and mostly family names- [name]John[/name], [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Francis[/name], etc. There are so many saints you almost have to go out of your way to avoid them, and classic or popular choices are pretty much all completely safe. Only one of my aunts was actually named because of a [name]Saint[/name]. Without giving away too much, she’s named after the patron saint of mothers (I’m sure you can find who that is online) because my grandmother had a difficult pregnancy and had prayed to her throughout it.

My siblings, cousins, and I don’t all have saints names (some do, but it’s a coincidence) and we were all baptized without a problem. I think the rule might’ve changed after Vatican II, but I don’t know that for sure.

Around here, Catholic naming trends just reflect national and regional trends. There really isn’t any difference between Catholic names and non-Catholic names in my area. I don’t often hear [name]Mary[/name]-somethings, which is sort of the cliche Catholic name. Some families choose to name their child after a saint, but they’re definitely the exception- I only know of one family who did that, and their daughters are [name]Teresa[/name] (for Mother [name]Teresa[/name]) and [name]Jacinta[/name].

I do see religious names in Catholic immigrants more. There are a lot of central and south American immigrants in my area, including some of my family. They often have [name]Maria[/name] something combinations, but that’s a mixture of both culture and religion- I don’t see the trend as much with kids whose parents and grandparents were born in the states. Many [name]Maria[/name]-somethings go by their middle, and often the mother will be something like [name]Maria[/name] [name]Luz[/name] and the daughter will be [name]Luz[/name] [name]Maria[/name], but they’re both called [name]Luz[/name].

Confirmation names are much different from baby names. Confirmation names must be saint’s names, no exception. Different parishes have different rules about how to pick them, but most around me will pretty much let the kids pick whatever saint they want, even if it’s not for any good reason. A kid in my class picked [name]Elmo[/name] because he thought it was funny, and they didn’t object.

Sorry this was so long- hope that helped!

3

I’m from a Catholic family and honestly, not sure where the idea of using “religious” or “saint names” comes from since no one in my family has one. My dad is [name]Randall[/name] [name]Ken[/name], my mom is [name]Claire[/name] Juo Lan, my sister is [name]Melissa[/name] [name]Beth[/name] and I’m [name]Diana[/name] [name]Rose[/name]. My grandma is [name]Yvonne[/name] [name]Gertrude[/name] ([name]Gertrude[/name] is a saint I believe, but not the reason she got that as her middle name, it was her mother’s name) and my grandpa is [name]Donald[/name] [name]Gene[/name].

I’m sure there are Catholics that do have some tradition of using a religious or saint name, but it’s not a “law” or “proper.” It’s just personal decision. Some like to honor their faith that, but mostly I think it’s tradition, like in my grandma’s case, where the name just gets passed down. So it’s more so family tradition rather than “religious”

4

I’m from a Catholic family and honestly, not sure where the idea of using “religious” or “saint names” comes from since no one in my family has one.

From immigrants.
Seriously.

My parents come from one catholic country and they told me older generations (generations of my grandparents) used to name their children after saint. Nameday was so important that some people didn’t remember their birthday, but did know when was their nameday.

5

It’s the same here. However, some of my grandma’s sisters were [name]Mary[/name] [name]Agnes[/name], [name]Mary[/name] [name]Anne[/name] [name]Cecelia[/name] ([name]Cissy[/name]), [name]Grace[/name] [name]Anastasia[/name] ([name]Nancy[/name]) and [name]Eva[/name] [name]Mary[/name] [name]Margaret[/name]. So maybe it was more common in the past?

6

I work in a Catholic school in the UK and I can honestly majority of children do not have saint names or “proper” Catholic names.

7

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Here’s a purely theoretical question: as old-fashioned names like [name]Ruby[/name], [name]Lily[/name], [name]Abigail[/name] etc are popular, what about Catholics bringing back some of the old naming traditions like [name]Mary[/name] Middlename and lost classics like [name]Bernadette[/name], [name]Agnes[/name], [name]Veronica[/name], even [name]Patricia[/name]?

8

I come from a very Catholic family, and no one in this generation really has religious names. My sister has a made up name, my brother has a family name, and my name is from Greek mythology. My first cousins (who are also Catholic I think) have very trendy names as well, a long the lines of [name]Briana[/name], [name]Devin[/name], [name]Natalie[/name], and Faeril. I don’t know if it’s just my family, but it seems that if there are Catholics in the area, they don’t have traditional names. However, my great-aunts and uncles on my maternal grandmothers side were named for their saint day. Intersting.

  • [name]Athena[/name]
9

I know of plenty of people who still follow tradition of using a [name]Saint[/name]'s name, if not as a first then middle. I know of [name]Faustina[/name], Vianney, [name]Therese[/name], [name]Bernadette[/name], [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Anastasia[/name], [name]Maximilian[/name], [name]Regina[/name], [name]Magdalena[/name], [name]Cecilia[/name], [name]Thomas[/name], [name]Patrick[/name], etc. being used. I used [name]Isaac[/name], [name]Mary[/name], and [name]Lawrence[/name] for my little ones. I definitely don’t see it being discarded any time soon.

10

It probably has something to do with where we all live as well. Religion over here isn’t nearly as big as it once was.

11

We are in a catholic school and I would say that it is mixed. People tend to favor names from their own ethnic backgrounds, and a lot of those names are also saint names. There are about 3 [name]Anthony[/name]'s in every class. Lots of Michaels, Dominics, Giannas, Isabellas…(very Italian area). There are also lots of traditional names which are often saint names, but not many of the more interesting saint names…no one has a [name]Veronica[/name], [name]Bernadette[/name], or [name]Therese[/name] at all. Our family (catholic, obviously) picks very traditional family and saint names, but we have avoided the more out there names as well. Our taste just runs more plain. (We have a [name]John[/name], [name]Paul[/name], [name]Peter[/name], [name]Daniel[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name]…)

12

I come from an Irish Catholic family living in [name]America[/name]. My mom told me there was an unspoken rule that all of my cousins, siblings, and I had to either have saint names or Irish names- which we all do, most of us actually have a combination of the two as our first and middle names. Like the pp, my family stuck to the more traditional saint names- [name]Mary[/name], [name]Patrick[/name], [name]John[/name], [name]Margaret[/name], [name]William[/name], etc. Most of them actually serve to honor my older relatives, most of whom were named after saints, or just happened to work out and be saints names.

13

My dad’s family is Catholic as is most of my mom’s family. My dad was born Methodist and when his mom remarried owas baptized Catholic. Out of my Catholic cousins we have an [name]Andrew[/name], a [name]Matthew[/name], an [name]Austin[/name], a [name]Kayleigh[/name], a [name]Mason[/name], a [name]Peyton[/name] (g), a [name]Hunter[/name] and an [name]Aidan[/name].
I’m the only one who has a [name]Saint[/name] name and it s my middle because my grandmother named me. So I am [name]Erin[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name].
I’d say anything that used to be a rule is no longer required.

Side note: My boyfriend’s nickname is [name]Francis[/name] referring to [name]Saint[/name] [name]Francis[/name] of [name]Assisi[/name].

14

My family is Catholic and I can say most of my relatives have Saints names, a diminutive of a [name]Saint[/name]'s name. or a Biblical name from as far back as I know them. I also went to Catholic School and most of the students had a [name]Saint[/name]'s name somplace in their name. Also, at Confirmation time in the 11th grade, you have to choose a [name]Saint[/name]'s name for your additional Confirmation name.

Here are some of my relative’s names that have [name]Saint[/name]'s names included somewhere in their names.

[name]Thomas[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Mary[/name]
[name]Anthony[/name]
[name]Francis[/name]
[name]Anne[/name]
[name]Daniel[/name]
[name]Michael[/name]
[name]Bernard[/name]
[name]Christina[/name]
[name]Maria[/name]
[name]James[/name]
[name]Bernadette[/name]
[name]John[/name]
[name]Joseph[/name]
[name]Andrew[/name]
[name]Phillip[/name]
[name]Patrick[/name]
[name]Margaret[/name]

15

I am Catholic and teach at a Catholic high school… I think the former “rule” (which was really just a strong tradition, not a dogmatic requirement) is definitely relaxed and most Catholic children seem to be named similarly to mainstream trends. I do notice, however, among the subgroup that is actively trying to use a saint’s name, the trend has been toward more uncommon saints’ names or even saints’ surnames or the names of places associated with them. I know kids from Catholic families purposely named for saints:

Kateri
Kolbe (St Maximilian’s surname)
Sebastian
Lawrence
Jacinta
Francis
Gemma
Faustina
Vincent
Anastasia
Josephine
Isaiah
Tobias
Maximilian
Gianna
Pio
Helen
Lourdes (hometown of St Bernadette)
Malia (Hawaiian for Mary)
Cecelia
Therese
Martha
Agnes
Bernadette
Felicity
Ignatius
Athanasius (really…and he goes by the full thing, no nn!)
Normandie (region where Lisieux, birthplace of St Therese, is located)
Gabriel
Margaret

16

I grew up in Spain, in a small community centered around Catholic life and traditions. As far as I remember, everyone I knew growing up had a name which was connected to Catholic life.

Everyone I remember meeting as a child had a name that was chosen according to the Saints calendar, had [name]Mar[/name]ía, Jesús or [name]Jos[/name]é included on their name, or was connected to apparitions and qualities of the Virgin [name]Mary[/name].

My full name is [name]Bel[/name]én (Bethlehem) [name]Antonia[/name] de la [name]Caridad[/name] (last part after our lady of charity). Some of my siblings names are:
[name]Esperanza[/name] Sofía de la [name]Luz[/name] (of our lady of light)
[name]Pedro[/name] [name]Isaac[/name] de Jesús
[name]Juan[/name] [name]Bautista[/name] (basically [name]John[/name] the Baptist)
[name]Ana[/name] [name]Gabriela[/name] de las [name]Mercedes[/name] (of our lady of [name]Mercy[/name])
[name]Clara[/name] Anunciación
[name]Elena[/name] del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús ([name]Elena[/name] of the Sacred Heart of [name]Jesus[/name])

My family’s newest generation, which includes nephews, nieces and their children, still have pretty devoted names. Perhaps not as funky and elaborate as ours, but here are some:

[name]Mar[/name]ía Pía (she goes by Pía)
[name]Lucas[/name]
Sebastián
[name]Ana[/name] [name]Cecilia[/name]
[name]Rafael[/name]
[name]Clemente[/name]
[name]Juan[/name] [name]Pablo[/name]
Andrés
[name]Carmen[/name]
[name]Salvador[/name]
[name]Jos[/name]é [name]Cruz[/name]
[name]Mar[/name]ía [name]Paula[/name] (she goes by [name]Paula[/name])
[name]Mar[/name]ía [name]Ren[/name]é (we use both names for her)
[name]Mar[/name]ía del [name]Sol[/name] (we call her [name]Sol[/name])

These names are pretty common in Spain, and not every person who uses them is thinking about its [name]Christian[/name] connections, but my siblings definetely were when they chose them for their sons and daughters. We are the only part of the family who went rogue and didn’t use the Catholic angle when naming our children.

17

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I may inbox some of you with a request for a quote – don’t be alarmed! And feel free to say so. The saint-related names (thanks, nouvelle) such as Kolbe and Normandie are interesting twists but definitely in line with names like [name]Lourdes[/name]. Vivalabell, those are beautiful names, and I love all the [name]Mary[/name]-related names like [name]Pilar[/name] and [name]Dolores[/name] and [name]Concepcion[/name], etc. Remedios. [name]Belen[/name] is so lovely. Lots to think about here!

My confirmation name was [name]Veronica[/name], btw.

18

I always thought the American custom of “adding” a new name upon confirmation was a way of dealing with the less Catholic first names kids often get - so Catholics still can name kids [name]Kaylie[/name] [name]Madison[/name] or [name]Logan[/name] [name]Dane[/name] or whatever. In Catholic countires 90% of “normal” names are saints name anyways so they don’t need to do that.

The surname thing is pretty interesting and certainly has historical precedent, even in languages where “surnames” aren’t accepted as given names: [name]Xavier[/name] is the most famous example.

19

My Grandmother was the 8th child in rural [name]Ireland[/name] in 1910 and everyone had run out of naming enthusiasm by the time she came along so my great aunt [name]Bridget[/name] told her teacher ‘Mammy’s had the baby but we don’t know what to call her’, the nun said ‘call her this, it is a French saint’s name’ and wrote the name on a piece of paper. That is how my grandmother came to be named Leontia. As we have never found a St Leontia we assume it is a feminisation of [name]Leon[/name]. Granny’s siblings were:

[name]Lelia[/name]
Mininia
[name]Philomena[/name] (2 x, they named the next baby after one who died at 2 months old…)
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Patrick[/name]
[name]James[/name]
[name]Godfrey[/name]
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Ann[/name]

They also had neighbours called [name]Pius[/name] (who went by the nn ‘Pope’ and Aloysious)

We wanted my daughter to have a [name]Saint[/name]'s name and chose [name]Agnes[/name], I like the idea of [name]Felicity[/name] for her sibling if it is a girl to keep in the litany of the saints.

20

Whether it is trendy or not to stick with traditional [name_m]Christian[/name_m] names, as practicing Catholics, we all should. Paragraph 2156 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church asks for parents to name their children after a Biblical name, [name_m]Christian[/name_m] virtue or [name_m]Saint[/name_m]. Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 3 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 1 ARTICLE 2