Yesterday, the 14th of November, was the commemoration of Emperor Justinian, which brought particular delight (and a little amusement) to my six-year-old son who happens to be named for that great sixth-century emperor. He shouldn't have been making humorous expressions at his brothers during catechesis, as he heard his mother reading about all the things "Justinian" had done, nor making a shocked face when he heard the day of his death; but I'm glad he noticed.
I've named my children, in part, after many of the saints who have gone before us. Contrary to one rumor, this is not the reason that we have continued to have children, but that blessed gift of God has enabled me to use more than a few names. We'll continue the tradition with the naming of our youngest daughter when she is born, God-willing, in February 2009. I've previously indicated that she'll be Katharina (for the Blessed Martin's bride), and I guess I'll go ahead and say that I intend to name her fully: Katharina Marianna Regina Felicity (Marianna for the Blessed Virgin and St. Anna; and Felicity for St. Felicitas).
Anyway, with St. Justinian's day yesterday, I've been pondering the number of name days that we'll have altogether in the family with Katharina's arrival. Among other things, these names and days contribute to our collective knowledge and awareness of Church history. From time to time others have expressed interest in (and/or amusement at) the many names in our household. So, for what it's worth, here's the tally:
Wilhelm Löhe (2 January) — Frederick WILHELM David Thomas
Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa
(10 January) — Justinian Matthias GREGORY BASIL
Peter (18 January) — Zachary Richmond PETER
Agnes (21 January) — DoRena Christine Mary-AGNES
Anna (2 February) — Oly'ANNA Phillíppa Elizabeth Mary; and Katharina MariANNA Regina Felicity (d.v.)
Martin Luther (18 February) — Nicholai MARTIN Ignatius
Matthias (24 February) — Justinian MATTHIAS Gregory Basil
Felicitas (7 March) — Katharina Marianna Regina FELICITY (d.v.)
Philip (1 May) — Oly'anna PHILLÍPPA Elizabeth Mary
Frederick the Wise (5 May) — FREDERICK Wilhelm David Thomas
Job (9 May) — JOB (died in the womb in February 2008)
Olga (11/15 July) — OLY'Anna Phillíppa Elizabeth Mary
James the Elder (25 July) — Ariksander Robert JAMES Carl
Mary the Mother of God (15 August) — DoRena Christine MARY-Agnes; Monica Anastasia Rose-MARIE; Oly'anna Phillíppa Elizabeth MARY; and Katharina MARIanna Regina Felicity (d.v.)
Samuel (20 August) — SAMUEL Steven Wirgau (son-in-law)
Monica (27 August) — MONICA Anastasia Rose-Marie
Rebekah (30 August) — REBEKAH Louise (née Theiss) Stuckwisch (daughter-in-law)
Zacharias (5 September) — ZACHARY Richmond Peter
Elizabeth (5 September) — Oly'anna Phillíppa ELIZABETH Mary
Ignatius of Antioch (17 October) — Nicholai Martin IGNATIUS
Philipp Nicolai (26 October) — NICHOLAI Martin Ignatius
Paul Gerhardt (26 October) — GERHARDT Hezekiah Klement Ambrose
Martin Chemnitz (9 November) — Nicholai MARTIN Ignatius
Martin of Tours (11 November) — Nicholai MARTIN Ignatius
Justinian (14 November) — JUSTINIAN Matthias Gregory Basil
Clement of Rome (23 Nov) — Gerhardt Hezekiah KLEMENT Ambrose
Ambrose (7 December) — Gerhardt Hezekiah Klement AMBROSE
Katharina von Bora Luther (20 December) — KATHARINA Marianna Regina Felicity (d.v.)
Thomas (21 December) — Frederick Wilhelm David THOMAS
Stephen (26 December) — Samuel STEVEN Wirgau (son-in-law)
David (29 December) — Frederick Wilhelm DAVID Thomas
6 comments:
December 26 -- Sam's middle name.
Sure enough! Thank you, Susan. I hope I'm spelling his middle name correctly (help me out, Beanie).
Pr Stuckwisch
Once again I find solace on your blog! :) Of course, last time was for the very serious loss of a baby, this time is for my propensity to want to give my children more than the standard two names! :) Thank-you! We don't have much for name days (although I bet we do now that I think of it - all children's 1st names are a form of "John" and then we've got Thaddeus, Patrick, and Michael - I'm sure those are name days. :) But, after reading this blog entry I will happily give the next child (and yes, there is to be one in June) as many names as I want and enjoy the choosing of them! :)
Love your newest Baby's name! All of it!
In Christ
Jenn at Bull Run
Thanks, Jenn. I appreciate your kind words. Congratulations on your new little one. God bless both you and your baby.
If Katharina were a boy instead of a girl, he would be a Thaddeus, another name for St. Jude, who is commemorated with St. Simon on 28 October. St. Patrick, of course, is 17 March, and St. Michael is 29 September. You've got two Johns to choose from, and two different dates for St. John the Baptist; so y'all are doing well with Name Days in your family.
I love the name Katharina - but if I ever get blessed with a girl we'll name her Annalise - well, we'll call her that. Her name - in keeping with the "John's" will be Johanna Annalise Julia Marie
IF if get twin girls (which I've always wanted) then I really get to have fun b/c I've got to come up with another girl "John" name - probably Siobahn and use Kjirsten and a couple of middle names from grandmothers who are no longer here.
Hmmm, Siobahn Kjirsten Lillian and one of my husband's grandmother's middle names. I wanted to give all the boys lots of names too but I never found the right ones so they only have two. Thanks for the post! This is fun! I love playing with baby names - thus I name the chickens, ducks, and fish! ;)
A kindred spirit! You've made my day, Jenn. Thanks, ever so much.
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