Saint name for our baby girl?

Girl Names
1

We have narrowed our top names to the following 6. Please provide thoughts/opinions and rankings of each name from 1-6?

[name_f]Gianna[/name_f] (pronounced [name_m]JAHN[/name_m]-na not [name_m]GEE[/name_m]-ona) - “God is gracious” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 4/28. Italian [name_m]Roman[/name_m] Catholic pediatrician. Molla refused both an abortion and a hysterectomy while pregnant with her fourth child despite knowing that continuing the refusal could result in her own death which later occurred.

[name_f]Abigail[/name_f] - “The Father’s joy” or “my father is joyful." Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 2/11. Recognized in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches for tending to the sick, her skills as a beekeeper and for protecting her village from the plague.

[name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] (eh-MEEL-ee-[name_f]ONA[/name_f]) - “To Strive Or Excel Or Rival.” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 12/24. St [name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] and her siblings encouraged each another to growth in holiness.

Avagrace (A)“life” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 4/29. She was cured of blindness by St. Rainfredis.
(G) “grace; god’s favor” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 6/1. She was tortured for her [name_m]Christian[/name_m] faith and was martyred in 1180.

[name_f]Gemma[/name_f]- “jewel” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 4/11. God favored her with mystical experiences, special graces and the stigmata. She was often ridiculed because many did not understand these gifts. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] accepted this suffering as a reparation, remembering that [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] had been misunderstood and ridiculed.

[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] - “blind” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 11/22. During her wedding ceremony she was said to have sung in her heart to God and before the consummation of her nuptials, she told her husband she had taken a vow of virginity and had an angel protecting her.

2
  1. “[name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] (eh-MEEL-ee-[name_f]ONA[/name_f]) - “To Strive Or Excel Or Rival.” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 12/24. St [name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] and her siblings encouraged each another to growth in holiness.”

I really like this one. Especially if she’ll have siblings/you plan on having more children.

  1. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f]- “jewel” Feast [name_u]Day[/name_u] 4/11.

An absolutely lovely name!

  1. [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] would be nice as well (imo). Bees are important, industrious and imo really fascinating animals (and they are so often over-looked…)

  2. [name_f]Gianna[/name_f]: the “wrong kind” of old-fashioned imo. Not adorably vintage…

Edit: I really don’t like Avagrace or Cecilia. They’re just not as strong and distinctive as your other options.

3

[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]: One of my favorites! It’s gorgeous and classy, but still has good nickname options. Definitely my pick from this list!

[name_f]Gemma[/name_f]: I really like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f], but to me, it’s a much more spunky, whimsical name. I don’t know if you have a preferred style, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Avagrace: I’ve never heard this before as one whole name, but I like it. It sounds a little Southern to me (much like a double-barreled name, but overall a nice name.

[name_f]Abigail[/name_f]: [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] is very classic, but is becoming very popular. Not my top choice, but still a lovely name.

[name_f]Emiliana[/name_f]: I’m not a fan of -ana names, so for me, [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] is definitely a win, but [name_f]Emiliana[/name_f]… not as much.

[name_f]Gianna[/name_f]: Again, not a huge fan of this name, but I think a bigger issue would be your preferred pronunciation. Is there another way to spell it to distinguish it from [name_m]GEE[/name_m]-ona? Maybe Jahna or [name_f]Johnna[/name_f]?

4
  1. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] - love this name. It’s simple yet unique. A real undiscovered gem :smiley:
  2. [name_f]Gianna[/name_f] - I would pronounce this “jee-[name_m]AH[/name_m]-nuh.” Ditto [name_f]Gemma[/name_f].
  3. [name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] - I would pronounce this “em-ih-lee-[name_m]AH[/name_m]-nah.” [name_u]Love[/name_u] the princess feel but it might be confusing with all the Emilys and Emmas around
  4. [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] - Great sounding name with a cute nn ([name_f]CeCe[/name_f]), but it sounds a little too soft and airy for my tastes (no hard consonants, really)
  5. Avagrace - Doesn’t sound bad together, but I know some people with smosh names like that who just end up going by one or the other. If you like [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and [name_f]Grace[/name_f] by themselves too, then feel free to go for it!
5

If the inspirational story matters to you, I would choose [name_f]Abigail[/name_f]. Sound-wise, I like [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] and [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] beset, but I also like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f].

6

My favorites from these are [name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f]! Both are lovely, and the stories are also admirable. I also don’t mind [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f].

[name_f]Abigail[/name_f] feels tired to me, and I think [name_f]Gianna[/name_f] would cause pronunciation issues. Least favorite is Avagrace, it just looks like a trendy combination of [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. Plus the saint’s story is very sad. I wouldn’t want to be named Avagrace.

8

My favs:

[name_f]Cecelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Abigail[/name_f]
[name_f]Gemma[/name_f]

9

I would rank them:
[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]
[name_f]Gemma[/name_f]
[name_f]Abigail[/name_f]
Avagrace
[name_f]Emiliana[/name_f]
[name_f]Gianna[/name_f]

10

[name_f]Abigail[/name_f]: I love this name. I love the meaning, especially if she happens to be a daddy’s girls. I also really admire the story of st. [name_f]Abigail[/name_f]. It is becoming quite popular, that would be my only concern about it.

[name_f]Gemma[/name_f]: I like the meaning of this name, it is quite pretty. I also like the story of the [name_m]Saint[/name_m] and the ‘mystical’ aspects of both the story and the name. I however don’t really care for this name. It is simply not my cup of tea, but that is just my opinion. If it speaks to you, wonderful, go for it!

[name_f]Gianna[/name_f]: the meaning God is gracious is lovely. However the story of the [name_m]Saint[/name_m] does not appeal to me by any means. I feel like millions of women through out history went through similar situations and ended up the same way as st [name_f]Gianna[/name_f]. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though she may have been a dedicated woman to her religion, her story just does not appeal to me. I feel like the story of st [name_f]Gianna[/name_f] would be looming over me through out my preganancy, and I would probably be a nervous wreck that the baby or myself would not make it. I also don’t really care for the name [name_f]Gianna[/name_f] in general.

Emilianna: I think is a lovely name. I am a fan of [name_f]Emma[/name_f]/[name_f]Emily[/name_f] and all its variations. so this name I think is wonderful, and would be bang on trend without being a top ten name. I do enjoy all the meanings you listed for this name. To excel, strive or rival all seem like appealing meanings especially in a religious sense. I see other children jealous and full of admiration to the child named emilianna. I also like the story behind the [name_m]Saint[/name_m]. What a wonderful story. I think everyone hopes that their children will be close and encourage each other to learn. I don’t think you can go wrong with this name.

Avagrace: an interesting name that I do like. I like the nickname potential of it. The story of st [name_f]Ava[/name_f] is great, and very inspiring. The meaning of [name_f]Ava[/name_f] is very nice, especially to bestow upon a new baby. As is the meaning of grace. Another nice name.

[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]: The name [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] has really grown on me recently. The meaning doesn’t really do anything for me, although it doesn’t discount the name either. I like the story of st [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]. Which I find to be rather nice, and innocent. So to bestow the name [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] on a baby with the saints story in mind, with its innocents, seem quite fitting. Especially if this baby grow up enjoying singing.

At the end of the day you can’t go wrong with any of your choices. You are picking nice names with lovely meanings, and wonderful stories of saints. The only names I don’t care for are [name_f]Gianna[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f], but that is just my opinion. It’s your baby, go with your gut.

11

My favourites are:

[name_f]Abigail[/name_f]
[name_f]Gemma[/name_f]
[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]

I don’t mind [name_f]Gianna[/name_f] but people will mispronounce it so it could be a pain. [name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] is too fussy for me and I find Avagrace unappealing. I like the meanings of [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] best.