At this time of year there are many projections about what will be popular in the year to come. And already there are lists of baby names that specialists in the baby-naming domain have drawn up as potentially popular choices for the newborns who will be arriving this year.
These names are often based on what’s going on in popular culture — such as characters in popular TV shows. However, we wanted to look at some major events that will be happening in 2022 — and the women behind these historic occasions — and perhaps encourage people to look to these names with a deeper meaning.
So here are 6 names we predict will be popular this year — and the reasons why Catholic parents may also want to use them for their little girls…
Elizabeth
The British sovereign will be celebrating her platinum jubilee this year. And after 70 years on the throne she has no doubt already been the inspiration behind a number of younger generations of Elizabeths. While we’ll no doubt see a spike in this name choice in the coming months, it is actually a great choice away from its regal connotations. Not only does it offer many cute diminutives, such as Lizzie, Betsy and Eliza, it’s also the name of some remarkable women in the Church, such as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
Teresa
This year marks the 25-year anniversary of the death of the much-loved sister. While it’s incredible to think that it’s already a quarter of a century since her death, it’s edifying to see how she continues to influence others all over the world. Since the name works in so many languages, many new parents across the world may honor the saint by naming their children after her.
Interestingly, this anniversary coincides with another significant event in Indian history: 2022 will be the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, so it seems fitting that a sister who had such an impact on the lives of the Indian people should be celebrated at the same time.
Diana
Another significant event this year is the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death — the same year as her unlikely friend, Mother Teresa. We’re expecting her name to pop up in the news a lot in the run up to her anniversary, and perhaps moms and dads will be inspired to name their child after the English princess.
If you like the name but are not sure of its connections to the Christian faith, there was a Dominican nun called Diana who founded a convent in the 13th century.
Victoria
It’s an incredible 500 years since the ship The Victoria was the first to successfully circumnavigate the world, offering the chance for discoveries beyond our imaginations. While you may not be overly impressed about naming a child after a ship, the story behind the naming of the vessel is rather meaningful.
The Victoria was given to the famous explorer Magellan by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Magellan swore allegiance to the king in the church of Santa Maria de la Victoria de Triana in Seville, hence the vessel’s name, Victoria.
Amelia
Ninety years ago this year, the intrepid pilot Amelia Earhart made her solo flight across the Atlantic. Her courage and determination was a fine example to many young women at the time, and the generations that followed, of what they could achieve.
However, to give a more religious signification to this pretty name, there was an 8th-century St. Amelia who lived in present-day Belgium. Like the daring Earhart, she had to be strong and stand her ground. The beautiful young woman denied the advances of the future King Charlemagne who had accidentally broken her arm. Miraculously, her arm healed by itself. And like Earhart, she accomplished a first in the transportation field — a legend says she crossed a river on the back of a large fish! This year happens to be the 1250th anniversary of her death so it really would be a fitting name for any girl born in 2022.
Rose
We couldn’t resist a slight nod to popular culture as it will be 25 years since millions of people across the world got to see the character Rose narrowly escape death on the Titanic in the famous movie. The movie was a blockbuster smash and the story of Rose moved many. Although fictional, she inspired us to never give up hope in the most perilous situations.
More importantly, however, this name is of great meaning to the faithful as it belongs to the most beautiful Rose of them all — St. Rose of Lima.
And today we celebrate...