John really likes the name Meghan. In fact, it was almost Katie's name, so we have been thinking of it for a long time as a favorite. Meghan is the Scottish diminutive of Margaret. It means "little Margaret."
Mary is John's mother's name, and we especially liked the Irish spelling, which we pronounce like the French, "Marie." It is also the name of our Blessed Mother, for whose intercession, as Our Lady of la Leche, we prayed throughout this pregnancy and delivery.
Margaret means "pearl," an appropriate name for a daughter born in Japan, we think :-)But there's a bit more to this choice, as well. Back when I was pregnant with Joseph, I began to learn about St. Margaret-Mary Alacoque and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through a religion project Tommy was doing for Kolbe Academy. The more I learned, the more I wished to name a child for her patronage. I prayed to her for a daughter during my pregnancy with Matthew, but God had other ideas that time. ;-)
Near the beginning of this pregnancy, I also prayed to St. Therese of Lisieux on her feast day, October 1st. By this time, my request had changed, and I asked her for a sister for Katie. Thinking of St. Therese's loving relationships with her sisters, I knew she would understand Katie's longing. All along, I have trusted that her prayers would bring a sister, but I was afraid to say it out loud. Katie and John were much more confident than I was. They have been calling this little one "she" from the very beginning. :-)To thank her and honor her for her prayers and to ask that she continue to pray for our little one, we chose Therese for a middle name.
4 comments:
She has a beautiful name - I love all the meaning behind it. And that is such a great photo of the two sisters!
"Margaret" has more history than you probably know. My grandmother Katherine always was known as Katherine Margaret. My father always thought his mother's name was Katherine Margaret. I assume that Aunt Nelle (the sibling who was around the longest) thought so, too, as she didn't tell them anything different. When Mother got into the genealogy, she and Daddy were totally surprised to find that her name on the birth/baptismal certificates was Katherine Elizabeth. So "Margaret" has an unofficial place in the Reardon family history. i love "Meghan." The whole name is beautiful.
we can't wait to see the recipient of such a lovely name. (AND her siblings!)
Also,your German great-grandmother Maude (Mary Helen Binkert) Moller--Gaga--was part Scots-Irish. Her mother's maiden name was Mary Ellen (Helen?) Beatty. Ulster is full of Beattys.
Margaret is a great name because she can choose from all sorts of derivations and variations to go by, whenever she feels like being a little different on any given day. Along with Meghan and Pearl, she can be Daisy (that's the flower called Marguerite/Margarita in more latinate languages).
Matthew has a great-aunt Daisy from Mexico whose christened name is Margarita. There's also a famous Middle English poem called "Pearl," about a little girl who teaches her father about heaven. She explains to him that every girl in heaven is a princess equal to the others. Even though Mary is Queen of Heaven, every lady in heaven is equally the best-beloved of Christ and is blessed, happy, and perfect to the very highest degree, lacking nothing and lower than no one. The dad has trouble doing the math, but he keeps trying to understand. He calls himself a "jeweler" because his daughter is his "precious pearl without a price." It's a pretty poem, and nobody knows who wrote it, so they just say that it's by "the Pearl-poet."
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