Not-So-Typical Unique Catholic Baby Names

When my husband and I were expecting our first baby, we knew we wanted to give our baby a name from the tradition of our Faith. Of course, choosing a name for our little one comprised many of our conversations during the pregnancy (along with choosing godparents and planning for a meaningful Baptism). We would toss ideas back and forth, making a mental list of each of our green lights, red lights, and maybes. And while there are countless Catholic baby names to choose from, we wanted something unique (but not too crazy) that also sheds some light on the importance of our Faith.

Unique Catholic Baby Names

All this brainstorming has resulted in a long list of names, and I'm a little sad we could only use one of them (for now). In the hopes that all my brainstorming Catholic baby names won’t go to waste, I'm sharing this list with you. Maybe you’ll find the perfect name for your own little one!

Catholic Baby Names for Boys

• Ambrose // St. Ambrose was a brilliant preacher who convinced St. Augustine that God exists.
• Asher // One of Jacob’s 12 sons.
• Beckett // After the martyr St. Thomas Beckett.
• Blaise // After St. Blaise (pronounced “Blaze”), who was both a bishop and a physician.
• Bosco // Rather than the typical and popular “John,” go with Bosco and assign your son the awesome patronage of St. John Bosco.
• Constantine // The emperor who legalized Christianity and stopped the persecutions of the early Church.
• Cyrus // After King Cyrus of Persia who frees the Israelites from the Babylonian exile and permits them to return to Jerusalem.
• Damien // After the science-minded St. Damien.
• Drexel // A male alternative under the patronage of St. Katherine Drexel.
• Fulton // After Fulton Sheen (this one is on my short list).
• Gerard // Most famous for his poem, “Dappled Things,” Gerard Manley Hopkins was also a Catholic priest.
• G.K. // Another personal favorite, you could name your son after the famous apologist G.K. Chesterton.
• Guy // After Guy Fawkes; though he isn’t a Saint, he did take a public stand when Catholicism was outlawed in England.
• Ignatius // Choose between Ignatius of Antioch or Ignatius of Loyola for his patron. Plus, “Iggy” is a fun nickname.
• Jerome // Without St. Jerome, Scripture may never have been translated from its original Greek.
• Judah or Jude // Another son of Jacob, or his patron could be Judah Maccabee, or the awesome St. Jude (or all three!).
• Louis // After St. Louis Martin, father of the Little Flower.
• Merton // Thomas Merton was an inspiring Catholic monk, writer, and mystic.
• Rex // The Latin meaning of this name is “king,” so your son’s namesake could be Christ the King.
• Shepherd // Not only would he have a classic Southern name, but he’d also have an incredible namesake: the Good Shepherd (and you could call him "Shep" for short).
• Simeon // Another son of Jacob, but also the prophet who foretells of Mary’s Sorrowful Heart.
• Solanus // After the recently-beatified Solanus Casey (a cute nickname is "Sully," or even "Casey"!).
• Titus // After the companion of St. Paul.
• Urban // There’s a plethora of Popes named Urban, and if you’re a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s a double whammy!
• Xavier // After the missionary St. Francis Xavier.

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Catholic Baby Names for Girls

• Angelica // After the choirs of Heaven, or the feisty founder of EWTN.
• Brielle // Shorten the traditional “Gabrielle” and still name your daughter after the archangel.
• Caeli // Pronounced “cha-lee,” it’s part of the Latin Marian antiphon, “Regina Caeli” or in English, “Queen of Heaven”.
• Charlotte // This may be a stretch, but Pope St. John Paul II’s given Polish name was Karol, which translates to "Charles" in English, the masculine form of "Charlotte".
• Colbie // After another polish Saint, Maximilian Kolbe.
• Dinah // Everyone remembers that Jacob had twelve sons, but Dinah was his only daughter.
• Dorothy // After the Saint, or Servant of God Dorothy Day (she could go by "Dot" or "Dottie").
• Edie // Name your daughter after St. Edith Stein without making her sound like an old woman.
• Faustina // A bit of a mouthful, but what a Saint she’d have as her patron (you could even call her “Tina” for short)!
• Felicity // After the new mom and early Christian martyr.
• Flannery // Flannery O’Connor was a brilliant writer and devout Catholic.
• Jael // (pronounced “jay-elle”) An Old Testament woman who kills an enemy general while he sleeps to help the Israelite army.
• Jordan // After the river in which Christ was baptized.
• Keturah // Pronounced “kah-tur-ah,” this is the name of the woman Abraham married after Sarah died.
• Lily // After one of the greatest Saints in heaven, St. Joseph.
• Leah // She may not have been loved by her husband Jacob, but Scripture says that God favored her.
• Philomena // For the young Greek princess who was martyred for refusing to marry a Roman official (you could call her “Mena” for short).
• Phoebe // This was the name of St. Paul’s friend who delivered his letter to the Romans.
• Rosary // A different take for anyone with a devotion to Our Lady (you could call her "Rosie").
• Sarai // Sarah’s name before God changed it.
• Siena // “Catherine” is pretty common, but "Siena" is more unique and specific to this Doctor of the Church.
• Stella // Another Marian name, after Our Lady, Star of the Sea.
• Talitha // Hebrew for “little girl,” Jesus uses this phrase when he resurrects the daughter of Jaris (“Tali” would be a cute nickname).
• Verity // Derived from “veritas” which is Latin for “truth,” this name was made popular by the Puritans, but it reminds me of Pontius Pilate’s struggle to see what is true.
• Zelie // Canonized very recently, St. Zelie was the mother of St. Therese.

More Catholic Baby Names!

• This book is full of various Marian names for both boys and girls. If you're looking for a name to honor Our Lady, this is a great resource!
• With over 10,000 Catholic baby name suggestions, this book is a must-have for the Catholic expectant mama!
• If you want a name from the Bible for your babe, check out this post full of unique Biblical baby names!

Do you have any ideas of your own for unique, Catholic baby names? Comment below!

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About Grace Bellon

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Grace is a regular contributor to the BIS Blog. She had planned to be a nurse until an encounter with Christ in Confession ignited a spark that resulted in an ongoing career as a high school Theology teacher. Though a cradle Catholic, she continues to be amazed at the depth of peace and joy that can be found within the Faith and can’t help but share that passion with others as a teacher, writer, and speaker. Outside of ministry, she dabbles in a bit of everything, excels in almost nothing, and like most moms, cannot survive without at least one cup of coffee a day. Grace resides in Charleston, SC with her hunky husband and their daughter who looks just like him. You can find out more about her here. Read all of Grace's posts here.