As with our firstborn, naming our second child took quite a while, and I had to list down a very long list for our review. Three heads are now thinking instead of two, and yes, we had to break a tie somewhere along the decision making.
Primary criteria for us is seven letters, easy to spell and pronounce, and fits our middle name and surname. Another criteria is that it came from an opera, and perhaps something biblical or saintly. But sometime December, I was able to talk with a priest during the event for elderly priests and he had one stern reminder: make sure to give our child a Christian name.
As soon as we found out the gender, it was quite easy for us to decide. We had to break a tie between Musetta and Marcella, both opera characters, though Marcella is eight letters (we wanted the Italian variation so hence the spelling). I remembered the reminder of the kind priest, so we settled for Marcella, not after days of breaking the tie between my husband and daughter, who were on opposite ends.
So, there. Our second child shall be named Marcella. I chose the nickname, March, though she is due on April (conversation starter there!). And yes, it is a name of an opera character by Umberto Giordano and a name of a saint, Saint Marcella of Rome, whose feast day is January 31, same with St. John Bosco. Likewise, Marcella is special because our daughter has made a character for her PH Girls comic series, Mal, or Marcela Castio Florence.
From Formed:
St. Marcella was born in 325 AD and died in 410 AD, around the time of the sack of Rome. During this tumultuous time in Church history (between the Council of Nicaea and the sack of Rome) St. Marcella befriended St. Jerome who wrote several letters to and about St. Marcella. Through these letters, we learn of a woman of the Church who modeled virtue and walked the path of Christ to the end. Eventually, St. Marcella died of wounds she received during the sack of Rome.
Video discussion about Saint Marcella here: https://watch.formed.org/videos/who-is-st-marcella
Aria named herself and you can read the story here: https://www.touringkitty.com/2010/07/22/how-our-baby-named-herself/
Saint Marcella of Rome, pray for us!
~ Touringkitty