Use this list of saint names for girls, their meanings, their Feast Days, and information about their lives, for naming babies, or choosing a Confirmation Saint. This is a supplement to Terry Modica’s book Daily Prayers with the Saints, which is available for download in an ebook from Catholic Digital Resources.

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Abigail, Abbie, Abby, Gail, Gale

Meaning: the Father is happy

Abba is the Hebrew word for “Daddy” and is scripture’s endearing term for God the Father. He is our Abba, our Daddy. Your patron is Daddy-God!

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Ada

Meaning: happy

Saint Ada was the abbess of a convent in France and dedicated to keeping herself pure for Jesus. She is noted in France as patroness of religious women.
☆ Feast Day: December 4

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Adele, Adalie, Adela, Adelaide, Adelina, Adeline, Aline, Della

Meaning: noble

Saint Adele‘s first vocation was as a wife and mother. She served God well by taking care of her family, praying, and doing works of mercy. When her husband died, she became a nun and founded a convent. As its first abbess, she ruled with great compassion and holiness.
☆ Feast Day: December 24
🙏 Prayer

Saint Adelaide was arrested for being a Christian and kept in near-solitary confinement. A priest rescued her by digging an underground tunnel to her cell. He hid her in the woods and brought her food and clothing. Though she had opportunity, she took no revenge upon her enemies.
☆ Feast Day: December 16
🙏 Prayer

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Adrienne, Adria, Adriana

Meaning: brave

Saint Adrian of Canterbury was a highly successful missionary in pagan England. He was also a great teacher of Bible study.
☆ Feast Day: January 9
🙏 Prayer

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Agatha, Agathe, Agathy

Meaning: good

While Saint Agatha was being tortured for her faith, God interrupted her agonies with an earthquake. She thanked Him for bringing an end to her pain and passed immediately into Heaven as a Blessed martyr.
☆ Feast Day: February 5
🙏 Prayer

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Agnes, Ines, Inez, Neysa, Nina, Ninete, Rachel

Meaning: pure

Saint Agnes of Rome was only a teenager when she had to decide between life and dying for Jesus. She had been ordered to sacrifice her virginity to pagan gods, and she sacrificed her life instead. She is the patron saint of engaged couples.
☆ Feast Day: January 21
🙏 Prayer

Saint Agnes of Prague was very wealthy, and she freely used this gift to help the poor. She financed a hospital, a Franciscan friary and a Poor Clare convent. She never considered herself as above others, and even after she became abbess, she cooked for the sisters and mended the clothes of lepers.
☆ Feast Day: March 2
🙏 Prayer

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Alba, Albina, Bianca, Blanche

Meaning: white

Saint Alban was converted by a priest whom he sheltered from persecutions and rescued by changing clothes with him. Patron saint of converts.
☆ Feast Day: June 20

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Alberta, Albertina

Meaning: illustrious

Saint Albert the Great was a bishop who introduced Greek and Arabic science to medieval Europe, raising understanding of botany, biology, physics, and other studies of nature. A scientist himself, he wrote many books on these subjects.
☆ Feast Day: November 15
🙏 Prayer

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Alessandra, Alex, Alexandra, Alexandrina, Alexis, Cassandra, Sandra

Meaning: people helper

Saint Alexander Sauli became a bishop in a diocese where faith had died. Clergy and laity knew little about scripture and Church teachings. With the help of three friends, he inspired the people to new faith, corrected abuses, rebuilt broken down churches, and founded colleges and seminaries.
☆ Feast Day: October 11
🙏 Prayer

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Alice, Alicia, Alisa, Alison, Alix, Alyce, Elissa, Elsie, Ilsa

Meaning: noble cheer

Saint Alice entered a Cistercian convent when seven years old. The community was inspired by her humility. However, she contracted leprosy and suffered greatly. Her greatest consolation came from receiving the Holy Eucharist, and she experienced visions and ecstasies.
☆ Feast Day: June 15

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Alma

Meaning: loving

Saint Almus was a Cistercian monk in England who became an abbot of a monastery in Scotland.
☆ Feast Day: June 28

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Amanda

Meaning: worthy of love

Saint Amand was a great missionary and a father of monasticism in ancient Belgium. Before he was ordained, he went to live in a small monastery, but his father threatened to disinherit him unless he came home. Amand cheerfully replied, “Christ is my only inheritance.”
☆ Feast Day: February 6

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Ambrosia

Meaning: immortal

Saint Ambrose of Milan was called “the honey-tongued doctor” because of his gift of preaching and his reputation as an expert on Church doctrine. Words were very important to him and he said, “Let no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning.”
☆ Feast Day: December 7
🙏 Prayer

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Amy, Amata, Aimee, Amata

Meaning: loved

When she was young, Saint Amata of Assisi rejected God and rebelled against morality. Eventually her aunt, Saint Clare of Assisi, converted her and brought the girl into her religious order.
☆ Feast Day: February 20
🙏 Prayer

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Anastasia, Stacey, Stasia

Meaning: who will rise again

Saint Anastasia‘s father was a pagan nobleman, but her mother was Christian and secretly raised her in Christian beliefs and ways of holiness. Anastasia’s husband was also pagan, and after he discovered she was a Christian, he stopped loving her and became a cruel tyrant, confining her to the house and treating her like a slave. Anastasia rejoiced that she could suffer for the love of Jesus Christ.
☆ Feast Day: December 25

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Andrea

Meaning: manly

Saint Andrew was the first Apostle. He enthusiastically led other people to You, starting with his brother, Saint Peter. Saint John Chrysostom said in a homily about these saints, “To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, loving kinship and sincere affection.”
☆ Feast Day: November 30
🙏 Prayer

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Angela, Angel, Angelica, Angelina, Angelique, Angelita

Meaning: angel

During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Saint Angela Merici experienced a major devastation; she became blind. Yet she insisted on continuing the pilgrimage with devotion and enthusiasm. God eventually restored Angela
☆ Feast Day: January 27
🙏 Prayer

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Ann, Anne, Anita, Anna, Annabel, Annabella, Annette, Hannah, Nan, Nancy, Nanette

Meaning: grace

Saint Ann was the mother of Mary and the grandmother of Jesus.
☆ Feast Day: July 26

Saint Anne Line converted to Catholicism at a time when people were arrested for this. She fearlessly helped others survive the persecutions, and her home became a rallying point for Catholics. Fully aware of the possible cost to her life, she hid a priest and held Mass in her home, but was arrested and hanged for it.
☆ Feast Day: February 27
🙏 Prayer

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Antonia, Antoinette, Antonina, Tanya, Toni, Tonia

Meaning: priceless

Saint Anthony of Padua was always a ready helper in time of need. Living as a hermit, he left his cave only to attend Mass and sweep the nearby monastery. When he filled in for a scheduled speaker who failed to keep his commitment, his reputation as a great preacher spread widely. Patron saint for finding lost articles.
☆ Feast Day: June 13
🙏 Prayer

Saint Anthony Claret was convinced that the Church should use the power of the printed word to evangelize the world.
☆ Feast Day: October 24
🙏 Prayer

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Arlene, Arlette, Carol, Carey, Carla, Carole, Caroline, Carolyn, Charlene, Charlotte, Cheryl (fem. of Charles)

Meaning: strong

Saint Charles Borromeo served as a bishop in a diocese that was plagued by superstitions and other faulty religious practices, but he resolved the problems by issuing wise rulings, instituting them with kindness, and setting an example through his own holy life. He learned from having a severe speech impediment that “we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily.”
☆ Feast Day: November 4
🙏 Prayer

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Audrey

Meaning: noble maiden

Saint Audrey (also known as Etheldreda) used to enjoy showing off her wealth by wearing lavish jewelry. After her conversion, she lived an austere life, and when she developed an enormous and unsightly tumor on her neck, she gratefully accepted it as a penance for all the necklaces she had worn when she’d been so full of pride.
☆ Feast Day: June 23

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Barbara

Meaning: stranger

Saint Barbara‘s abusive father kept her jealously locked up in a lonely tower which he built for her. In her solitude, she found God. She prayed a lot and studied the Christian faith, and she cleverly found a way to secretly receive instruction and baptism from a priest.
☆ Feast Day: December 4

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Beatrice, Beatrix, Beatriz

Meaning: happiness

Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses was the daughter of a Count and the sister of Saint Amedeus. In Portugal, Beatrice is known as Brites. She entered religious life and founded the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
☆ Feast Day: September 1

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Bernadette, Bernardine

Meaning: bold as a bear

God sent the Blessed Mother to Saint Bernadette of Lourdes to show the world that He is real. Mary asked the girl to dig in the dry ground for a spring of healing water. Bernadette dug on faith and uncovered the spring.
☆ Feast Day: February 18
🙏 Prayer

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Bernice, Veronica, Vera

Meaning: victory bringer

Saint Veronica served Jesus on His way to Calvary by wiping His beloved face with a towel on which His sacred image then appeared. She protected this treasure, and whenever people touched it, they were miraculously healed.
☆ Feast Day: July 12
🙏 Prayer

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Bertha, Berta, Bertilla

Meaning: strong one

Saint Bertha owned extensive properties. She married a pagan, but when he was killed in battle, she devoted herself to raising her son Rupert in the Christian faith. She founded several hospices for the poor, and after a pilgrimage to Rome, they gave away their possessions and became hermits.
☆ Feast Day: May 15

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Bianca, Alba, Blanche

Meaning: white

Saint Alban was converted by a priest whom he sheltered from persecutions and rescued by changing clothes with him. Patron saint of converts.
☆ Feast Day: June 20

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Brenda

Meaning: sword

Saint Brendan and a crew of other Irish monks voyaged across the Atlantic to America in a ship made of ox hides — 400 years before the Vikings and almost 1000 years before Columbus!
☆ Feast Day: May 16

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Bridget, Brigid, Bride, Brigit, Brigitta, Brigette

Meaning: strength

Saint Bridget of Sweden first served Jesus as a wife and mother, taking good care of her family, helping her Church, and getting involved in her community. After becoming a widow, she began to receive revelations about His passion and suffering.
☆ Feast Day: July 23
🙏 Prayer

Just before Saint Brigid of Ireland was born, her Christian mother was sold to a Druid landowner. Even though she grew up oppressed as a slave, she found great joy in loving God.
☆ Feast Day: February 1
🙏 Prayer

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Briel, Gabriela, Gabriella, Gabrielle

Meaning: God’s strength

God had given us archangels to assist us during our pilgrimage on earth. Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News; he can help us hear God’s voice and to teach us the truth.
☆ Feast Day: September 29
🙏 Prayer

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Camille, Camelia, Camilla

Meaning: temple servant

Saint Camillus de Lellis repented from a wild-spent youth and gambling addiction to serve God, and although he was incurably diseased, he took care of others who were sick. He founded the Congregation of the Servants of the Sick, believing that the suffering people were living images of Jesus.
☆ Feast Day: July 14

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Carmel, Carmella, Carmelita

Meaning: orchard

Mount Carmel is where Elijah proved that God is greater than pagans gods. Nearby in Nazareth, Our Lady lived in piety and contemplation. Later, the Carmelites became a religious order devoted to contemplative prayer under her protection, and when its general, Saint Simon Stock, prayed for her help, she appeared to him and showed him a scapular for his order to wear. She said: “It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant.”
☆ Feast Day: July 16
🙏 Prayer

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Carol, Arlene, Arlette, Carey, Carla, Carole, Caroline, Carolyn, Charlene, Charlotte, Cheryl (feminine for Charles)

Meaning: strong

Saint Charles Borromeo served as a bishop in a diocese that was plagued by superstitions and other faulty religious practices, but he resolved the problems by issuing wise rulings, instituting them with kindness, and setting an example through his own holy life. He learned from having a severe speech impediment that “we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily.”
☆ Feast Day: November 4

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Cassandra, Sandra, Alessandra, Alex, Alexandra, Alexis

Meaning: people helper

Saint Alexander Sauli became a bishop in a diocese where faith had died. Clergy and laity knew little about scripture and Church teachings. With the help of three friends, he inspired the people to new faith, corrected abuses, rebuilt broken down churches, and founded colleges and seminaries.
☆ Feast Day: October 11

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Catherine, Catalina, Caterina, Karen, Kate, Kateri, Katherine, Kathleen, Kathryn, Katrina, Kay, Kit, Kitty, Trina

Meaning: pure

Saint Catherine Labouré had a vision of the Blessed Mother revealing an image that was to be made into the Miraculous Medal. Jesus commissioned her to spread its devotion.
☆ Feast Day: November 28
🙏 Prayer

Saint Catherine of Siena took her faith out into the world to make a difference for God’s Kingdom. She served as a spiritual guide to many, she affected politics, and she convinced the pope to return the Church’s leadership to Rome. By word and deed, she taught that Christians should influence the world with their spiritual values.
☆ Feast Day: April 29
🙏 Prayer

Saint Catherine of Sweden served the Lord with her mother Saint Bridget by organizing pilgrimages to Jerusalem and other places to stimulate people’s spiritual growth. In between pilgrimages, they spent their time in prayer and meditation, ministering to the poor and instructing them in religion.
☆ Feast Day: March 24
🙏 Prayer

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was the daughter of a pagan Mohawk chief. A Jesuit missionary converted her, and then her relatives shunned her. They attacked her beliefs, resented her for refusing to work on Sundays, and insulted her prayer life. This did not deter her from practicing the Faith. Now she is the patron of people who are ridiculed for their piety.
☆ Feast Day: July 14
🙏 Prayer

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Cecilia, Cecile, Cecily, Cicely,

Meaning: dim sighted

Saint Cecilia’s parents wed her to a pagan nobleman. Eager to convert her new husband, she told him about the angel that always escorted her. He wanted to see the angel, too, so he asked for his soul to be purified by baptism. The next time Saint Cecilia prayed, her husband saw the angel place a crown on both of their heads.
☆ Feast Day: November 22
🙏 Prayer

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Cesca, Frances, Francesca, Franchette, Francine

Meaning: free

When Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was a child, she pretended she was a missionary to China as she sailed paper boats on a stream. Although God eventually sent her west to America instead of East to the Orient, her childhood games shaped her desire to serve Him.
☆ Feast Day: November 13
🙏 Prayer

When Saint Francis of Assisi turned his life over to God, he gave away his possessions, including the clothes on his back. He discovered that this freed him to experience His love more fully, so he said, “Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin.” (Born 1181, died 1226)
☆ Feast Day: October 4
🙏 Prayer

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Chantale

Meaning: song

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal‘s husband was killed in a hunting accident. She could not forgive the man who shot him, but she worked on it. At first she just greeted him on the street. Eventually, she invited him to her house. Finally, she forgave him so completely that she even became godmother to his child. This experience opened her heart to
☆ Feast Day: August 18

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Charity, Cara

Meaning: love

According to legend, there was a Roman widow, Saint Wisdom (or Sofia), who had three daughters, Saint Faith, Saint Hope, and Saint Charity, and they all suffered for Jesus. Faith, age 12, miraculously survived being scourged and thrown into boiling pitch, and was finally beheaded; Hope, age 10, and Charity, age 9, were unharmed when tossed into a furnace, so they also were beheaded; their mother suffered while praying over the bodies of her children.
☆ Feast Day: August 1

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Cheryl, Charlotte, Charlene, (feminine for Charles)

Meaning: strong

Saint Charles Borromeo served as a bishop in a diocese that was plagued by superstitions and other faulty religious practices, but he resolved the problems by issuing wise rulings, instituting them with kindness, and setting an example through his own holy life. He learned from having a severe speech impediment that “we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily.”
☆ Feast Day: November 4

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Christine, Christian, Christiana, Kirsten, Kristin, Nina, Tina

Meaning: anointed, belonging to Christ

Jesus Christ is your patron! With this name and a heart that is devoted to Christ, you have the whole body of Christ — the Communion of Saints — as your prayer partners.

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Clare, Claire, Clara, Clairette, Claretta, Clarice, Clarissa, Clarita

Meaning: illustrious

Saint Clare lived a very mystical and spiritually powerful life. In her dying days, when she was unable to attend Mass, God brought the Mass to her by displaying it like a movie on her wall. Thus she is now the patron saint of television.
☆ Feast Day: August 11
🙏 Prayer

Saint Clare of the Cross continually reflected upon Your Passion. So devoted was she to this that when she died, a cross was discovered emblazoned in the skin above her heart.
☆ Feast Day: August 17
🙏 Prayer

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Claudia, Claudette, Claudine

Meaning: lame

Saint Claud was a holy priest who served as a Benedictine Abbot and later a bishop, though he preferred not to have such status. In the 12th century (400 years later), his body was discovered to be incorrupt. His burial place became a favorite place for pilgrimages, and miraculous cures occurred there.
☆ Feast Day: June 6

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Clementine, Clemence, Clementina

Meaning: merciful

Saint Clement knew the Apostles personally before they were martyred. As pope, he challenged his people to follow their examples. He said, “We ought to put aside vain and useless concerns and should consider what is good, pleasing and acceptable in the sight of Him who made us.”
☆ Feast Day: November 23
🙏 Prayer

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Colette, Coleen, Colleen

Meaning: people’s victory

When Saint Colette was born, her parents were nearly sixty years old and she became an orphan at seventeen. She is the patron of all those who have experienced the death of one or more of their parents, especially the little children.
☆ Feast Day: March 6
🙏 Prayer

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Columbine, Columbina, Columba, Columbia, Columbina

Meaning: dove

Saint Columban moved from place to place preaching the Gospel, forming a community who accompanied him, and being a witness of humility and love through his own life. He often took time out to be alone with God in the forest, and the animals obeyed his voice.
☆ Feast Day: November 23

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Conception, Concepcion, Concepta

Meaning: honoring Mary’s immaculate conception

The Immaculate Conception: From the moment of Mary’s conception, God gave her the benefit of Christ’s future death on the cross. He granted her the fullness of grace and a life free of the stain of original sin. He sanctified her womb so that she could carry the divine presence of Jesus within her body.
☆ Feast Day: December 8
🙏 Prayer

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Constance, Constanza, Consantia

Meaning: firm

Saint Constantine was a king, and when his wife died, he ceded his throne to their son, then became a monk. He performed menial tasks at the monastery, while preparing for the priesthood. After he was ordained, he became a missionary.
☆ Feast Day: March 11

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Cornelia, Cora

Meaning: horn

Saint Cornelius was pope during terrible persecutions, and he anguished over the sufferings of his people. Saint Cyprian was his friend and said to him, “Let us relieve burdens and afflictions by mutual love.”
☆ Feast Day: September 16
🙏 Prayer

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Daniela, Danielle, Danette

Meaning: the Lord is judge

Saint Daniel and four companions were Egyptians who visited Christians condemned to do hard labor in the mines during persecutions, to comfort them. They were arrested for this, tortured and beheaded.
☆ Feast Day: February 16

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Deborah, Debra, Debora

Meaning: bee

In the Old Testament book of Judges, Saint Debbora was a prophetess and judge endowed by God with prophetic gifts. Full of wisdom, she guided the divided Israelites and delivered them from the oppression of the Canaanites.

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Della, Adele, Adalie, Adela, Adelaide, Adelina, Adeline, Aline

Meaning: noble

Saint Adele‘s first vocation was as a wife and mother. She served God well by taking care of her family, praying, and doing works of mercy. When her husband died, she became a nun and founded a convent. As its first abbess, she ruled with great compassion and holiness.
☆ Feast Day: December 24

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Denise

Meaning: God of Nyassa

Saint Denis (also called Dionysius) was the first bishop of Paris and the Apostle of France.
☆ Feast Day: October 9

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Dolores, Dolor, Dolorita, Lola, Lolita

Meaning: sorrows

Our Lady of Sorrows: Mary’s passionate love for Jesus caused her to suffer when she watched his enemies inflict their tortures upon him and slowly kill him. She offered up the piercing of her heart as if her life were an altar, sacrificing her beloved Son for the salvation of the world.
☆ Feast Day: September 15

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Dominica, Dominga, Dominique

Meaning: I belong to the Lord

Saint Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Dominican Order, worked hard against heresies. When people refused to accept the truth, he grew discouraged, but the Blessed Mother appeared and asked him to pray the Rosary daily and to teach it to others. Through the Rosary, the heresies were conquered.
☆ Feast Day: August 8
🙏 Prayer

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Donna, Donata, Dona, Donatilla

Meaning: God-given

Saint Donan (or Donnan) traveled far as a missionary. One day, Donan was celebrating Mass when intruders broke in to kill the monks. He convinced them to wait until they finished Mass, then he led his fellow monks to the refectory so “that the place where God had been worshipped in spiritual joy might not be polluted with their blood.”
☆ Feast Day: April 17

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Doris, Dorothy, Dora, Doreen (femine of Theodore)

Meaning: God’s gift

Saint Theodore of Sykeon was a monk and a bishop who worked amazing miracles, including healings. He put an end to a plague of insects by praying, confidently putting the matter into God’s hands.
☆ Feast Day: April 22
🙏 Prayer

Saint Theodore Tyro was a young soldier in the Roman army when he converted to Christianity. Though he was ordered to fight enemies of the empire, he believed that the devil was the only true enemy. Soon, he was killed for being a Christian, thus winning the battle against the demons who wanted to keep him out of Heaven.
☆ Feast Day: November 9

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Edith, Eadie, Eda, Edythe

Meaning: happiness

Saint Edith Stein was the youngest in a large Jewish family. After converting to Catholicism, she eventually joined the Carmelite Order and was sent to a convent in Holland. She lived a life of dedication, consecration, prayer, fasting, and penance until she was arrested by the Nazis. With her sister Rose, she was sent to the concentration camp at Auschwitz where died in the gas chambers.
☆ Feast Day: October 11

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Edwina, Edna

Meaning: prosperous friend

Saint Edwin was a pagan king who listened to a Christian preacher publicly explain the Gospel. He accepted salvation, renounced his worship of the gods, and commanded his high priest to destroy their altars and temples.
☆ Feast Day: October 12
🙏 Prayer

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Elizabeth

Meaning: God has sworn

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was a mother and an educator, and devoted her life to children.
☆ Feast Day: January 4
🙏 Prayer

Saint Elizabeth of Schönau was a visionary favored with ecstasies and prophesies. Daily, she received visits either from Jesus, the Virgin Mary, angels, or the saint of the day, receiving instructions for her spiritual growth. Because of this, she was often assaulted by demonic forces, and now is the patron saint against temptations.
☆ Feast Day: June 18
🙏 Prayer

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal was married to a king, and her spiritual life was often interrupted by politics and family arguments. She regained her inner peace by spending time in prayer and doing works of charity.
☆ Feast Day: July 4
🙏 Prayer

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess who married a prince. Concerned for the poor, she donated to them her portion of the prince
☆ Feast Day: November 17
🙏 Prayer

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Emily, Amelia, Emeline, Emilia, Emiliana, Emma

Meaning: excelling

Saint Gregory the Great had three aunts who led prayerful religious lives in their father’s house, Tarsilla, Saint Emiliana, and Gordiana. They encouraged each another to growth in holiness.
☆ Feast Day: December 24

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Erica, Erika

Meaning: ever-ruler

Saint Eric was a king of Sweden who codified Swedish law under Gospel principles. He used his power and authority to spread the Gospel through his kingdom.
☆ Feast Day: May 18

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Ernestine

Meaning: serious

Saint Ernest was the abbot of a Benedictine Abbey in Germany. He went on the Crusades, preached in Arabia and Persia, and was captured by the Moors. He was tortured to death in Mecca.
☆ Feast Day: November 7

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Esther, Edissa, Stella, Estelle, Estella, Estrella

Meaning: star

Saint Esther was an Old Testament Jewess who became, by marriage to Xerxes, Queen of Persia. She prevented the king from massacring all the Jews in the kingdom.

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Eugenia, Gina, Eugenie

Meaning: well born

Saint Eugene I was a priest who had served in several different positions in the Church and became pope. He was widely known for his charity and holiness.
☆ Feast Day: June 2

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Evelyn, Eva, Eveline, Eve, Evita

Meaning: life

Eve was the first woman, the wife of Adam. Adam called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. She is the patron of tailors.
☆ Feast Day: December 24

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Faith, Fay, Fidelia

Meaning: faith

According to legend, there was a Roman widow, Saint Wisdom (or Sofia), who had three daughters, Saint Faith, Saint Hope, and Saint Charity, and they all suffered for Jesus. Faith, age 12, miraculously survived being scourged and thrown into boiling pitch, and was finally beheaded; Hope, age 10, and Charity, age 9, were unharmed when tossed into a furnace, so they also were beheaded; their mother suffered while praying over the bodies of her children.
☆ Feast Day: August 1

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Felicity, Felicia, Felice, Felicita

Meaning: happy

Saint Felicity is the patron of expectant moms, young mothers, women wanting to become pregnant, and children who die prematurely.
☆ Feast Day: March 7
🙏 Prayer

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Flora, Florence

Meaning: flowering

Saint Flora of Beaulieu did not like her cloistered life in the convent. She felt tempted to return home to her family, but she stayed in the order and eventually God rewarded her with the gifts of visions and prophecies.
☆ Feast Day: October 5
🙏 Prayer

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Frances, Cesca, Fanny, Francesca, Franchette, Francine, Francoise, Frannie

Meaning: free

When Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was a child, she pretended she was a missionary to China as she sailed paper boats on a stream. Although God eventually sent her west to America instead of East to the Orient, her childhood games shaped her desire to serve Him.
☆ Feast Day: November 13
🙏 Prayer

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Gabriela, Gabriella, Gabrielle, Briel

Meaning: God’s strength

God had given us archangels to assist us during our pilgrimage on earth. Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News; he can help us hear God’s voice and to teach us the truth.
☆ Feast Day: September 29
🙏 Prayer

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Gail, Abigail, Abbie, Abby, Gale

Meaning: the Father is happy

Abba is the Hebrew word for “Daddy” and is scripture’s endearing term for God the Father. He is our Abba, our Daddy. Your patron is Daddy-God!

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Gemma

Meaning: jewel

Saint Gemma Galgani developed a love for prayer at a very early age. Throughout her life, God favored her with mystical experiences, special graces and the stigmata. She was often ridiculed because many did not understand these gifts. Gemma accepted this suffering as a reparation, remembering that Jesus had been misunderstood and ridiculed.
☆ Feast Day: April 11

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Genevieve, Ginette, Yolanda, Blanche

Meaning: white wave

Saint Genevieve was a small child when she decided to devote her life to God. She allowed nothing to interfere. She had an enthusiastic and single-minded heart for Christ.
☆ Feast Day: January 3
🙏 Prayer

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Georgia, Georgette, Georgianna, Georgana

Meaning: farmer

Saint George was nicknamed the “Victory Bringer” because he relied on God’s power to defeat evil wherever he went. Starting as a soldier in the army, he converted and became a soldier for Christ. Laying down the world
☆ Feast Day: April 21
🙏 Prayer

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Geraldine, Geralda, Geralyn

Meaning: spear ruler

Saint Gerard of Brogne joined a monastery in order to find a quiet, peaceful place to spend his time in prayer, although he willingly left his solitude to help others become stronger in their faith. He believed that if people realized the joy that came from praying, they would pray more often.
☆ Feast Day: October 3
🙏 Prayer

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Germaine

Meaning: kin

Saint Germaine Cousin was a severely abused and neglected child. She turned to God, who taught her how to forgive her family and grow in holiness. She entrusted the sheep she tended to God’s care while she went to daily Mass, and they were never attacked by wolves. One day when the rains flooded the river, a villager saw the water part so she could get to Mass. She died from her mistreatments at age 22; forty years later her body was exhumed and found incorrupted.
☆ Feast Day: June 15

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Gertrude, Gerda, Trudy

Meaning: spear strength

Saint Gertrude was a very gifted student and loved every subject except religion. When she studied philosophy, it began to twist her mind and lead her away from the Faith, so Jesus visited her in a vision and called her back. From then on she studied Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers.
☆ Feast Day: November 16
🙏 Prayer

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Gina, Eugenia, Eugenie

Meaning: well born

Saint Eugene I was a priest who had served in several different positions in the Church and became pope. He was widely known for his charity and holiness.
☆ Feast Day: June 2

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Gloria

Meaning: glory

Gloria is the song of the angels, as they praise the God of Glory. We remember their song of joy at the birth of Jesus.

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Grace

Meaning: grace

Grace is a supernatural gift of God to intellectual creatures (humans, angels) for their eternal salvation.

Saint Gratia worked a trade of the sea until, at age thirty, he happened into a church and was deeply moved by a sermon from an Augustinian friar. He joined that order and as a lay-brother. A mysterious light was seen above his cell, and his intercessions resulted in miracles.
☆ Feast Day: November 16

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Gretchen, Greta, Margaret, Madge, Maggie, Maisie, Marge, Margery, Margo, Margot, Marina, Margarita, Marguerite, Marjorie, Pearl, Pegeen, Peggy

Meaning: Pearl

Saint Marguerite Bourgeous gave away her inheritance to family members and departed for Canada, where she founded the Congregation of Notre Dame. She helped people survive when food was scarce, opened a vocational school, and taught young people how to run a home and farm.
☆ Feast Day: January 19
🙏 Prayer

Saint Margaret of Antioch‘s father was a pagan priest. Her escape from his false beliefs was depicted in a story of being swallowed by a dragon representing paganism, and then escaping from its belly as if being born anew.
☆ Feast Day: July 20
🙏 Prayer

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Helen, Helena, Eleanor, Leanore, Lenore, Lenora, Lee, Leora, Nell, Nellie, Nelly

Meaning: light

The great emperor Constantine gave his mother, Saint Helena, the authority to promote Christianity by building churches throughout the empire and on the holy sites in Israel. She is the patron saint of difficult marriages and divorced people because her husband divorced her for someone with better political connections.
☆ Feast Day: August 18
🙏 Prayer

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Honora, Nora, Noreen, Norah, Norine

Meaning: honored

Saint Honorius I, as pope reorganized the Spanish church and sent out missionaries. He preserved and restored churches in Rome and converted his house into a monastery.
☆ Feast Day: May 16

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Irene, Irena, Renee, Renata

Meaning: peace

Saint Irene was caught with texts of the Scriptures when this was punishable by death. When she refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, she was sent to a house of prostitution. There, when she was unmolested after being exposed naked and chained, she was put to death.
☆ Feast Day: April 3

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Irmina, Irmine, Irma, Erma

Meaning: strong

Saint Irmina was betrothed to a count, but he died on their wedding day. Irmina became a nun and founded a Benedictine convent. When an epidemic threatened to wipe out her community, the intercessory prayers of Saint Willibrord of Echternach saved them.
☆ Feast Day: December 24

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Isabel, Isobel, Isabell, Izabelle

Meaning: God Is My Oath

Saint Isabel of France was the daughter of a king, but this did not make her haughty. Since early childhood, she had an extraordinary desire for piety, modesty, and other virtues. She persisted in remaining solely dedicated to Jesus, despite the opinions and advice of others.
☆ Feast Day: February 26
🙏 Prayer

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Lucy, Luci, Luce, Lucia, Lucie, Lucey

Meaning: light

Saint Lucy vowed to marry only Jesus and revealed this secret after her mother arranged a wedding to a nobleman. When he found out, he had her arrested and tried as a Christian. The judge sent her to a house of prostitution to desecrate her virginity, but Jesus kept her purity intact. He also gave her the grace to joyfully endure her tortures until she died.
☆ Feast Day: December 13
🙏 Prayer

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Margaret, Maggie, Marge, Margery, Margo, Margot, Marina, Margarita, Marguerite, Marjorie, Peggy, Pearl, Pegeen, Gretchen, Greta

Meaning: pearl

Saint Marguerite Bourgeous gave away her inheritance to family members and departed for Canada, where she founded the Congregation of Notre Dame. She helped people survive when food was scarce, opened a vocational school, and taught young people how to run a home and farm.
☆ Feast Day: January 19
🙏 Prayer

Saint Margaret of Antioch‘s father was a pagan priest. Her escape from his false beliefs was depicted in a story of being swallowed by a dragon representing paganism, and then escaping from its belly as if being born anew.
☆ Feast Day: July 20

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Mary, Maria, Maryann, Polly, Molly

Meaning: rebellion

The obvious saint for this name is the Blessed Mother.
☆ Feast Day: January 1

Saint Maria Goretti was a young girl when a farmhand tried to rape her. As she warned him that he was sinning, he stabbed her repeatedly. Before she died, she forgave him. Later, while in jail for his crime, the perpetrator had a vision in which Maria led him to conversion. She is the patron of teen girls, rape victims, and chastity.
☆ Feast Day: July 6
🙏 Prayer

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Matilda, Maude, Maud, Tillie, Tilda

Meaning: battle maiden

Though Saint Matilda married a king, she did not lord it over others. She often visited the sick and imprisoned. Her husband learned much from her holiness, taking greater interest in the needs of his people and using his power to ease their suffering.
☆ Feast Day: March 14
🙏 Prayer

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Monica

Meaning: unique

Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine, and for many years prayed and cried and did penances for her son. As a result, he became a Doctor of the Church and one of her greatest theologians. She is the patron saint of alcoholics and children who disappoint their parents.
☆ Feast Day: August 27
🙏 Prayer

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Nadine, Nadia

Meaning: hope

According to legend, there was a Roman widow, Saint Wisdom (or Sofia), who had three daughters, Saint Faith, Saint Hope, and Saint Charity, and they all suffered for Jesus. Faith, age 12, miraculously survived being scourged and thrown into boiling pitch, and was finally beheaded; Hope, age 10, and Charity, age 9, were unharmed when tossed into a furnace, so they also were beheaded; their mother suffered while praying over the bodies of her children.
☆ Feast Day: August 1

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Natalie, Natalia, Natasha

Meaning: birth

Saint Natalie married Saint Aurelius, the son of a Moor and a Spanish woman who was secretly raised a Christian by his aunt during the Moorish persecution of Christians. His wife was a half Moorish woman, Sabigotho, who changed her name to Natalie when he converted her to Christianity. They were both beheaded for practicing their faith.
☆ Feast Day: July 27

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Nicole, Nicola, Nicolette (fem. of Nicholas)

Meaning: people’s victory

Saint Nicholas was an archbishop who dearly loved to help the poor, especially young children. He worked to protect the innocent and minister to those who were wronged. Eventually, the stories of his kindness evolved into the legend of Santa Claus.
☆ Feast Day: December 6
🙏 Prayer

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Nina, Agnes, Ines, Inez, Neysa, Ninete, Rachel

Meaning: pure

Saint Agnes of Rome was only a teenager when she had to decide between life and dying for Jesus. She had been ordered to sacrifice her virginity to pagan gods, and she sacrificed her life instead. She is the patron saint of engaged couples.
☆ Feast Day: January 21
🙏 Prayer

Saint Agnes of Prague was very wealthy, and she freely used this gift to help the poor. She financed a hospital, a Franciscan friary and a Poor Clare convent. She never considered herself as above others, and even after she became abbess, she cooked for the sisters and mended the clothes of lepers.
☆ Feast Day: March 2

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Olga

Meaning: holy

Saint Olga was married to a prince who was assassinated. A cruel and barbarous woman, she scalded her husband’s murderers to death and murdered hundreds of their followers. However, she became forgiving and loving when she converted to Christianity.
☆ Feast Day: July 11

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Olivia, Olive, Oliva

Meaning: olive

Saint Oliva of Brescia was martyred in the persecutions of Hadrian in 138. Her relics are still in St. Afra’s church in Brescia, Italy.
☆ Feast Day: March 5

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Patricia, Pat, Patty, Pattie

Meaning: nobly born

Saint Patrick had been born in Scotland to Roman parents who were in charge of the British colonies. When he was about fourteen, he was kidnapped during a raid and taken to pagan Ireland to herd sheep. He learned the Druidic language and practices of the people, which later helped him to evangelize them when he returned as a bishop.
☆ Feast Day: March 17
🙏 Prayer

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Paula, Paulette, Pauline

Meaning: little

Saint Paul the Apostle was converted from persecuting the Christians by an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascas, after which he poured his passionate enthusiasm into spreading the Gospel. His powerful leadership was marked by boldness and unwavering conviction.
☆ Feast Day: January 25
🙏 Prayer

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Priscilla

Meaning: ancient

Saint Priscilla (or Prisca) was the wife of Aquila, a Jewish tentmaker. Both were converted by the Apostle Paul when he went to Corinth. Saint Paul stayed in their home. They accompanied him to Ephesus and remained there. Paul also stayed at their house during his third missionary journey. They then returned to native Rome, where their house was used as a church.
☆ Feast Day: July 8

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Rachel, Agnes, Ines, Inez, Neysa, Nina, Ninete

Meaning: pure

Saint Agnes of Rome was only a teenager when she had to decide between life and dying for Jesus. She had been ordered to sacrifice her virginity to pagan gods, and she sacrificed her life instead. She is the patron saint of engaged couples.
☆ Feast Day: January 21
🙏 Prayer

Saint Agnes of Prague was very wealthy, and she freely used this gift to help the poor. She financed a hospital, a Franciscan friary and a Poor Clare convent. She never considered herself as above others, and even after she became abbess, she cooked for the sisters and mended the clothes of lepers.
☆ Feast Day: March 2

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Rafaela

Meaning: God’s healer

Saint Raphael is one of seven Archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord. The angel of healing, he is the one who moved the waters of the healing sheep pool in Jerusalem. He is the patron of the blind, of happy meetings, of nurses, of physicians and of travelers.
☆ Feast Day: September 29
🙏 Prayer

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Ramona, Mona, Raimunda

Meaning: protector

Saint Raymond Nonnatus spent his inheritance paying the ransom for Christians who had been enslaved and even traded himself to set others free. Because he miraculously survived his birth as his mother died, he is a patron saint for pregnancies.
☆ Feast Day: August 31
🙏 Prayer

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Rebecca, Becky

Meaning: ensnarer

Saint Rebecca (or Rebekah) was the Old Testament wife of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Rebecca and Isaac’s children were Esau and Jacob. Jacob became the father of the Israelites.

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Rita

Meaning: pearl

Saint Rita of Cascia had a special devotion to the Passion, because she felt unspeakable awe at what Jesus did on the cross. She shared in His suffering beginning at age twelve when her parents married her to an abusive man, and so she has become a patron of impossible causes.
☆ Feast Day: May 22
🙏 Prayer

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Roberta

Meaning: bright flame

Saint Robert Bellarmine is the patron saint of catechumens because he wrote two catechisms and devoted much of his time to teaching the Faith to children. He also wrote a revised version of the Bible.
☆ Feast Day: September 17
🙏 Prayer

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Rosaria

Meaning: rosary

Praying the Rosary holds more power than we can imagine. It often saved Christian Europe from Muslim invaders. The Blessed Mother taught three children in Fatima that the Rosary obtains special graces for us, saves sinners from Hell, and protects us from evil spirits.
☆ Feast Day: October 7

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Rose, Rosa, Rosalie, Rosalinda, Rosalyn, Rosetta, Roseanne, Rosemarie, Rosemonde

Meaning: the rose flower

Saint Rose of Lima was a mystic and visionary who received invisible stigmata, and yet she often suffered from the feeling that God was distant. Despite how lonely this felt, she persisted in believing that He was indeed with her all the time, and she continually prayed to grow stronger in her ability to trust Him.
☆ Feast Day: August 23
🙏 Prayer

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Ruth

Meaning: female friend

The Old Testament Book of Ruth tells the story of Saint Ruth, a young widow who followed her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem, where Ruth met and married Boaz. Ruth gave birth to Obed, who became the grandfather of David, Israel’s greatest king, from whose lineage Jesus was born.

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Sandra, Alessandra, Alex, Alexandra, Alexandrina, Alexis, Cassandra

Meaning: people helper

Saint Alexander Sauli became a bishop in a diocese where faith had died. Clergy and laity knew little about scripture and Church teachings. With the help of three friends, he inspired the people to new faith, corrected abuses, rebuilt broken down churches, and founded colleges and seminaries.
☆ Feast Day: October 11

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Sarah, Sally, Sara, Sarai, Shari

Meaning: princess

Sarah was the wife of Abraham, the father of the Jewish religion. Her original name was Sarai until God renamed her when He made His covenant with them. She had been barren until a very old age, and when she was long past her biological time to have children, God gave her a son, Isaac.

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Selma (feminine of Anselm)

Meaning: divine helmet

Saint Anselm of Canterbury actively fought against slavery in England, even getting politically involved and obtaining legislation that made it illegal to sell human beings.
☆ Feast Day: April 21
🙏 Prayer

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Seraphina, Serafina, Seraphia, Fina

Meaning: burning

Saint Seraphina was the victim of disease and neglect, and suffered continuously. She is patron of the handicapped.
☆ Feast Day: March 12
🙏 Prayer

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Sharon

Meaning: His plain or field

Sharon is the name given to various places in Israel known for their beauty. In the Song of Songs 2:1, God is metaphorically alluded to as a lover saying, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.”

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Simone, Simona, Mona

Meaning: obedient

Saint Simon was one of the 12 Apostles (not to be confused with Simon/Peter). He was zealous about preaching the Good News.
☆ Feast Day: October 28
🙏 Prayer

Because of the great holiness of the prayer life of Saint Simeon Stylites the Younger, and because of his growing reputation as a healer and miracle worker, the place where he lived as a hermit became a site for many pilgrimages.
☆ Feast Day: May 24
🙏 Prayer

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Sophia, Sonia, Sonya, Sophie, Sofia

Meaning: wisdom

According to legend, there was a Roman widow, Saint Wisdom (or Sofia), who had three daughters, Saint Faith, Saint Hope, and Saint Charity, and they all suffered for Jesus. Faith, age 12, miraculously survived being scourged and thrown into boiling pitch, and was finally beheaded; Hope, age 10, and Charity, age 9, were unharmed when tossed into a furnace, so they also were beheaded; their mother suffered while praying over the bodies of her children.
☆ Feast Day: September 30

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Stephanie, Stefanie

Meaning: crowned

Saint Stephen was one of the first deacons in the Church. His holiness was so evident that when he preached to his enemies, his face glowed brightly like an angel’s. He became the first martyr.
☆ Feast Day: December 26
🙏 Prayer

Saint Stephen Harding found great joy in imitating Jesus through a life of poverty, praying, fasting, and working hard. When the other monks got tired of such a difficult life, Stephen formed a new community, the Cistercians.
☆ Feast Day: April 17
🙏 Prayer

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Susanna, Susan, Suzanne, Suzette

Meaning: lily

Saint Susanna was the beautiful daughter of a priest in Rome. She refused to marry the emperor’s son-in-law, and when the ruler sent two of her uncles, who were court officers, to make her change her mind, she converted them to Christianity. The emperor was so mad, he martyred them.
☆ Feast Day: August 11

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Sylvia, Sylva, Sylvette, Sylvie, Silvia

Meaning: of the forest

Saint Sylvia was the mother of Saint Gregory the Great, who became a pope. She and her husband raised their children to live a sanctified life filled with acts of kindness toward others.
☆ Feast Day: November 5
🙏 Prayer

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Teresa, Theresa, Terese, Therese, Terry, Tracy

Meaning: reaper

Saint Teresa of Avila realized with shock and sorrow that her love for Jesus was almost nil compared to His great love for her. She decided to devote herself to prayer and sacrifice, and in so doing, she became a mystical contemplative. She wrote that if we fully yield our lives, “I am convinced that He never ceases bestowing His graces until He has brought us to a very high state of prayer.”
☆ Feast Day: October 15
🙏 Prayer

Saint Theresa of Lisieux described her path to holiness as a journey of every-increasing intimacy with You through prayer. She said, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart … a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
☆ Feast Day: October 1
🙏 Prayer

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Theodora, Dolly, Dora, Dorothy, Doris

Meaning: God’s gift

Saint Theodore of Sykeon was a monk and a bishop who worked amazing miracles, including healings. He put an end to a plague of insects by praying, confidently putting the matter into God’s hands.
☆ Feast Day: April 22

Saint Theodore Tyro was a young soldier in the Roman army when he converted to Christianity. Though he was ordered to fight enemies of the empire, he believed that the devil was the only true enemy. Soon, he was killed for being a Christian, thus winning the battle against the demons who wanted to keep him out of Heaven.
☆ Feast Day: November 9
🙏 Prayer

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Thomasina, Tomasa, Tomasina, Tomasine

Meaning: twin

Saint Thomas the Apostle doubted Jesus’ resurrection until he touched His wounds. After Pentecost, God called him to become a missionary in India, but he doubted again and said no. He changed his mind only after being taken into slavery by a merchant who happened to be going to India. Once he was cured of his doubt, God freed him and he began the work he had called him to do. He is the patron saint against doubt.
☆ Feast Day: July 3
🙏 Prayer

Saint Thomas Aquinas had a strong desire to learn, study, and understand theology and the wisdom of the Faith, but his parents disapproved, so he joined the Dominicans secretly. His family kidnapped him, but his trust in the Lord kept his hope alive. A year later, they freed him to rejoin the friars.
☆ Feast Day: January 28
🙏 Prayer

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Ursula

Meaning: Little Bear

Saint Ursula loved children and became a teacher. She taught them about the Good News and instructed them in how to lead holy lives. She is the patron of Catholic education, students, and teachers.
☆ Feast Day: October 21
🙏 Prayer

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Valery, Valerie, Valeria

Meaning: valiant

Saint Valerius was a bishop who worked throughout southern France to evangelize the region and to increase monasticism.
☆ Feast Day: February 19

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Veronica, Vera, Bernice

Meaning: victory bringer

Saint Veronica served Jesus on His way to Calvary by wiping His beloved face with a towel on which His sacred image then appeared. She protected this treasure, and whenever people touched it, they were miraculously healed.
☆ Feast Day: July 12

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Vincentia, Vincenza

Meaning: conquering

Saint Vincent de Paul developed a special concern for the poor after giving the Sacraments to a dying peasant. He cared for slaves, prostitutes, war victims, and the destitute.
☆ Feast Day: September 27
🙏 Prayer

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Virginia, Ginny

Meaning: virgin

The Blessed Virgin Mary is your patron. Her parents dedicated her to God when she was three. In the temple, she joined the girls who spent their days praying, reading Scripture, and serving the temple priests. Her holiness was very evident, and the high priest thought that God probably had great plans for her.
☆ Feast Day: May 21

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Vivian

Meaning: lively

Saint Vivian was a bishop who dedicated his life to relieving the sufferings of the local people after they were invaded by a heathen enemy.
☆ Feast Day: August 28

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Wilhelmina (feminine of Wilhelm, which is a form of William)

Meaning: strong helmet

Saint William of Eskilsoe worked so hard on his spiritual growth that he developed a widespread reputation for holiness and austerity.
☆ Feast Day: April 6
🙏 Prayer

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Winifred (form of Genevieve)

Meaning: white wave

Saint Genevieve was a small child when she decided to devote her life to God. She allowed nothing to interfere. She had an enthusiastic and single-minded heart for Christ.
☆ Feast Day: January 3
🙏 Prayer

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Yvette, Yvonne

Meaning: praised

Blessed Yvette has not been canonized, but she is considered a saint. After she was widowed at age eighteen with three children, she dedicated herself to caring for lepers out of love for God. She became a mystic, loved by the people for her prayers and miracles. She brought her father and one of her two remaining children back to the Faith.
☆ Feast Day: January 13

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Zita

Meaning: a little hope

Saint Zita was sold to a family as a domestic servant, and she stayed in that position for the rest of her life. Because of her Christian beliefs, she often gave away her food, and sometimes her master’s food, to those who were needier than herself. This caused problems with her employers.
☆ Feast Day: April 27
🙏 Prayer

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Zoe

Meaning: life

Saint Zoe and her husband Exsuperius (also called Hesperus) were Christian slaves who refused to eat food offered to the gods of their master when their son was born. The family was therefore martyred.
☆ Feast Day: May 2

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