Madison, Emma, Conner, and Aidan. A recent survey ranks them as the nation’s most popular girls’ and boys’ names. But among Catholic families, a new survey shows, that those names don’t even make the top ten. If you thought giving children the names of saints has gone out of fashion…think again. It seems Catholic parents still favor the names of the great men and women of their faith.
With five children, a fellow mom and member of our church, says the key consideration in naming her children was a good patron saint. It’s no surprise that her first two sons are named Joseph–in honor of St. Joseph–protector of families, and Damien–after Blessed Damien–the heroic Belgium priest who loved and served lepers on the island of Molokai.
Other Catholic parents choose to name their children based on a saints’ feast day. For example, my cousin Thomas was born on June 22nd, the Feast of St. Thomas More. His sister Brigid was born on February 1st, the Feast of St. Brigid of Ireland. And my daughter’s friend, Nicholas, yes, he was born on Christmas Day.
My father is one of ten children, eight boys and two girls. My grandmother used the names of the apostles as inspiration for naming her sons. While her two daughters were named Mary, after the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Anne, the traditional name of the mother of Mary.
While my daughter’s first name has no saintly origin, her middle name is Malia, which is Mary in Hawaiian. I was born and raised in Hawaii and many of my friends bear the Hawaiian names of saints, including, Kimo, Hawaiian for James.
But, Catholic parents are not restricted to naming their children after saints in order to pay homage to their faith. For example, my aunt and uncle named my cousin Miki after the first Japanese saint, St. Paul Miki, but chose Hokulani as her middle name. In Hawaiian, Hokulani translates into “star in the sky,” fitting since Miki was born on January 6th, the Epiphany of our Lord. And after five boys, my Aunt Sheila and Uncle Ron finally got their girl. They named her Kiyomi, Japanese for “holy” and “beautiful.”
So, what’s in a name? It seems you don’t have to look hard to find the answer.