50 Unique Catholic Girl Names – Choosing Catholic Names for Baby

In today’s world, the name that a girl carries with her can have a large impact on her life. When you are choosing the name for your baby girl, you have to remember that this same name will stick with her forever through the early years and up to adulthood and old age. Many names hold unwanted or negative meanings, so choosing a good name with proper meaning becomes important. Catholic girl names tend to have good meanings and usually don’t get associated with any ill will. Giving your baby girl a Catholic name is a nice way to make sure she will not run into bad situations in her life due to her name. Keep on reading to find our list with the 50 most unique Catholic Girl names for your baby.

A SHORT HISTORY OF CATHOLIC NAMES

It was written in the Canon of the Catholic Church that all babies baptized into the church had to have Christian names or the names of saints of the faith. If they were not given a Christian name or a saint’s name, the Priest of that Parish would add the name of a saint as another name for the child so that they could be allowed to be baptized into the church.

This happened before 1983, when Canon changed to become more relaxed about names of baptized babies. From that point, all names of the Bible heroes could be used for babies as well as any other name that did not bear any ill meaning for the Christian faith. This means that parents would be discouraged from using girl names like Jezebel, but could use other common names like Theresa.

TRENDS IN CATHOLIC BABY NAMES FOR GIRLS

Since the late 1900s, and especially after the 1983 change of the Canon, some of the most traditional and popular Catholic names have been losing popularity in the English speaking world. At this same time, other Catholic girl names are rising a bit in usage.

The best example of this decline in usage is the name Mary. This is one of the most honorably Catholic names for girl babies, and it stood as the most popular name in the US from 1880 (and probably before, however it was not recorded) until 1960. After 1960, there was a slow decline in the usage that lead to it being the 120^th most popular girl name in the US in 2014 and the 124^th  in 2015.

MOST POPULAR CATHOLIC GIRL NAMES FOR GIRLS

Most of the traditional Catholic names for baby girl are not holding high positions of popularity in the US today. Some of the current most popular are Sophia (ranked 3^rd in the US), Elizabeth (ranked 14^th in the US and 15^th in Canada), and Evelyn (ranked 20^th in Canada and 16^th in the US). The name Abigail was ranked the 8^th most popular in Canada as well as the US, but did not find a place within the top 10 in England & Wales.

In 2014, other Catholic names made it into the top 100 in one or more English speaking country, including Grace, Zoe, Anna, Leah, Sarah (these four names were within the top 50 in the US), Naomi, Faith, and Abigail.

CELEBRITIES THAT GAVE THEIR BABIES CATHOLIC GIRL NAMES

Sometimes celebrities surprise us with very crazy names for their babies, but many times they actually give their little ones perfectly ordinary names. Lots of celebs choose to give Catholic names for girl babies. Here are a few examples:

• Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford gave their daughter the name Evelyn Mumford.
• Sarah Michelle Geller and Freddie Prinze Jr. have a daughter together named Charlotte.
• Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham named their second daughter Grace Wahlberg.
• Paul Stanley from the band KISS named his daughter Sarah Stanley.
• Ewan McGregor and his wife Eve Mavrakis have a daughter named Esther McGregor.
• Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy gave their first daughter the name Sophia Grace and opted to give their second daughter the middle name Grace as well.
• Meryl Streep and Don Gummar have a daughter named Grace. Although she was not a baby around 2014, the name still proves as an example of a celebrity with a Catholic name for their baby.
• Keifer Sutherland and Camelia Kath have a daughter named Sarah Sutherland.
• Bette Midler named her only daughter Sophie Midler
• Sir Paul McCartney named one of his daughters Mary McCartney.

THE BEAUTIFUL MEANING OF CHOOSING A CATHOLIC NAME

Catholic names help to connect your baby girl to the Catholic faith and to God early on in their lives. If you are a member of the Catholic or Christian faiths, these names can be a beautiful connection for your child to have with the same religion. Catholic girl names show the strength, charity, and love of those from the past and give them as a legacy to your daughter for her future. These are names she can proudly share with many incredible women throughout history!

50 CATHOLIC BABY NAMES FOR GIRLS LIST

(Click on any name to find additional information and meaning, pronunciation, popularity and more)

1. Abigail (Father is rejoicing)
2. Adelaide (Nobility)
3. Anastasia (Who will rise again)
4. Anna (Grace)
5. Beatrice (Joy bringer)
6. Bertha (Shining one)
7. Brenda (Sword)
8. Bridget (Strength)
9. Camille (Virgin of unblemished character)
10. Catherine (Pure)
11. Christine (From Christ)
12. Celeste (Heavenly)
13. Delilah (Delicate)
14. Emily (Excelling)
15. Evangeline (From the four evangelists)
16. Felicity (Happiness)
17. Frieda (Peace)
18. Gloria (Glorious)
19. Gwendolyn (White)
20. Hazel (God sees)
21. Helen (Light)
22. Irene (Peace)
23. Josephine (Femine form of Joseph)
24. Judith (Praised)
25. June (Youthful)
26. Kristen (Follower of Christ)
27. Leah (Weary)
28. Lucile (Light)
29. Margaret (Pearl)
30. Mary (Beautiful)
31. Martha (Lady)
32. Mildred (Power)
33. Miranda (Wonderful)
34. Monica (Counselor)
35. Nadine (Hope)
36. Naomi (My delight)
37. Natalie (Birth)
38. Nora (Honor)
39. Ophelia (A help)
40. Philomena (Beloved)
41. Prudence (Prudent)
42. Rachel (Ewe)
43. Rebecca (Queen)
44. Rosemary (Sea-dew)
45. Ruth (Beauty)
46. Sarah (Princess)
47. Sophia (Wisdom)
48. Tabitha (Gazelle)
49. Valerie (To be strong)
50. Zoe (Life)

If this collection of names was not enough for you, you can check out our wide collection of Christian Names or some other categories of Saints Names and other Biblical Names. Read also our Most Popular Bible Baby Names and Cool Christian baby names.

See our wide list of Biblical names and meanings

If you’re not sure on your preferred name yet, check our wide list of Baby Name Categories