Book-Notes-720-x-340-dark-gold-outline-and-medium-blue-pen-_-Notes-light-blue-702x336 New from Marian Press, CatholicMom.com contributor Katherine Morna Towne's Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady is a treasury of information presented in an easy-to-use and visually beautiful format. Choosing a Marian name for your baby, or helping your teen select a Confirmation name, just got easier. Kate Towne takes the guesswork out of the naming process, offering hundreds of names and nicknames that refer to Mary or are used in her honor. Complete with feast-day information, a bit of history, and plenty of variations and cross-referencing, this guide to names that honor the Blessed Mother is fascinating and full of surprises. You may be surprised, as I was, to learn how many boys' names honor Mary! One of my sons is named Luke (after Luke the Evangelist) and I learned quite a bit about that name's origin.
Though Luke looks as though it would be related to the Luc- names (Lucian, Lucy), which have to do with light and can refer to Our Lady of Light, it's actually unrelated, referring instead to a person from the southern Italian region of Lucania. Such was the meaning behind the name of St. Luke the Evangelist, and it's he who gives this name a Marian character. The Gospel of Luke is intensely Marian, containing the accounts of the Annunciation and the Visitation; the prophecy that Our Lady's heart would be pierced by a sword; the first half of the Hail Mary; and Our Lady's beautiful canticle of praise, the Magnificat. Nicknames: Lolek (suggested by one of my readers as a nickname for Luke that can also acknowledge St. John Paul, as it was his childhood nickname), Lou, Lucky, Lukey Variants: Luca (various), Lucas (various), Luka (various) Feast days: March 25 (Annunciation) May 31 (Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) September 15 (Our Lady of Sorrows) October 18 (St. Luke the Evangelist) See also: Addolorata (g), Angustias (g), Annunziata (g), Ave (g), Dolores (g), Elizabeth (g), Gabriel, Gabriela (g), John Paul, Magnificat (g), Nunzio, Piedad (g), Pierce, Pieta (g), Simeon, Visitación (g), Tristan
There's so much in there! For some names, you'll find fascinating inside stories. It's fun to just page through the book and look up the names of family members and friends to find the Marian connections behind them. Unlike many baby name books, this isn't simply an index of names with short notes about their meanings. Because I definitely judge a book by its cover (and its interior), I can't help but note how the design of Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys complements the content. The cover art, done in sweet pastels, contains plenty of references to the Blessed Mother but definitely calls to mind a baby blanket. Each page of the book is embellished with designs at the top and the bottom, surrounding the page number; these aren't distracting at all -- they're beautiful touches. This lovely book is a pleasure to read and would make a wonderful gift for expectant parents.

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Copyright 2018 Barb Szyszkiewicz, OFS This article contains Amazon affiliate links; your purchases through these links benefit the author.

About the Author

Barb Szyszkiewicz

Barb Szyszkiewicz

Barb Szyszkiewicz, senior editor at CatholicMom.com, is a wife, mom of 3 young adults, and a Secular Franciscan. Barb enjoys writing, cooking, and reading, and is a music minister at her parish. Find her blog at FranciscanMom and her family’s favorite recipes with nutrition information at Cook and Count. Barb is the author of The Handy Little Guide to Prayer and The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours, available from Our Sunday Visitor.