Comments on: What is the reasoning behind a nun or sister choosing a religious name?

By: Zuda: The Collective » Blog Archive » Nun Names R Us

Zuda: The Collective » Blog Archive » Nun Names R Us — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:15:15 +0000

[...] her name sounds typical enough, there isn’t a universal nun-naming convention. According to anunslife.org: Some new sisters were allowed to suggest their name preference but it was ultimately up to the [...]

By: Marianne

Marianne — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:26:15 +0000

That’s funny about how you chose such a long name when you became a nun. My parents blessed me with Marianne Elizabeth and when I was confirmed I took Elizabeth. So I, Marianne Elizabeth Elizabeth know what you went through when you had to sign all those permanent records. I had to write my name over and over in penmanship class.

This site has been very helpful. In Catholic New York there is a listing of the jubilarians and I noticed that many of them had a “previously known as” and then another name. I have never seen that before and was wondering what the story was. I guess since they are now able to they changed their name back to their given name rather than a chosen name.

By: GilChrist77

GilChrist77 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:09:04 +0000

I was talking with a Franciscan sister and this is how they do it there.
You are free to keep your baptismal name if you like. If you would like a new name, you pick three names and submit them to the Mother Superior. She then prays over them and picks one.

Nathalie, I agree with you. I think it’s such a beautiful outward sign of the changes inside that have been made.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

By: Nathalie

Nathalie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:51:42 +0000

Personally, if I were to enter a religious order, I’d love to have a religious name other than my baptismal name. Different life, different name.

But then again, I have a bit of a flair for theatrics, so maybe that would be seen as vanity! 0_O

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:48:58 +0000

Hi in my dad’s family 6 out of his 7 sisters at one stage were in vows (5 in the same congregation!). My aunts in the Sisters of Nazareth used to have names in religion like Sr Patrick Aloysius, Sr Raphal, Sr Gabriel etc until a couple of years ago (early 1990′s) when they had the chance to use their own names and most of them did although Sr Raphel kept her’s!

By: Sister Julie

Sister Julie — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:57:02 +0000

Thanks, Dominique! If you have any snippets in English that you’d like to share with us, please feel free! My French isn’t that good, but I know a bit to read. Looking forward to checking it out. Blessings.

By: Dominique Laperle

Dominique Laperle — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:45:56 +0000

I would like to let know that I have published an article on this topic (I am using the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary as exemple).Unfortunately it is in french. It concern the use of men’s name by nuns . The title is: “De Soeur Marie-Achille à soeur Marie-Zozime, l’usage des prénoms masculins chez les Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jésus et de Marie”, Revue d’Histoire de l’Amérique française, 2007 (vol. 60, no.3). It is available on: http://www.erudit.org/revue/haf/2007/v60/n3/index.html
Regards,
Dominique Laperle, Historian, teacher at The Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie (Montreal) and PhD student at The University of Quebec at Montreal

By: Maureen

Maureen — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:02:58 +0000

When I was in primary school, our nuns were all Sr. Mary ___ (don’t remember which orders – in those days, I doubt I was aware there were different orders – a nun’s a nun to a 7-year-old). Then came Vatican II and some of our nuns kept their religious names while others reverted to their baptismal names, or at least dropped the “Mary”. (I was still in grade school and oblivious to the reason for the name changes.)

This is a very interesting post and leads me to a question: do different congregations within an order ever have different naming rules or conventions?

By: Another Sister Julie, CSSF

Another Sister Julie, CSSF — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:28:24 +0000

My Congregation (Felician Sisters) used to change their names (And, person, were some of them doozies! It was not uncommon in a large province to have over a dozen sisters with some variation of “Sister Mary Francis”!!) Our only requirement now is to add some form of “Mary” as part of our name. I am Julianne from birth, but when I was invested as a novice, I changed it to Julianna because the drama queen inme thought it was more lyrical that way. THEN I added Francis as a peace offering to Mom, Anna Frances. FINALLY, I tacked on Marie because I had to stick Mary in their somewhere (!!!) Imagine my delight when I became a teacher and had to sign ALL of those names on each and every student’s permanent records, report cards, etc.

If I was to do it all over, I would have gone with Maria Giulianna–lyrical and true to my Italian roots.

BTW, I was advided to not take “Mary Julianna” because the sister with that name had left (and that would mean, what? That the name was cursed??)

I think that the old ways in this instance were very wise. I wouldn’t have had such a long name. Then again, I may name been given the name “Sister Mary Paphnusia”!

By: Jo

Jo — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:14:23 +0000

In the Scranton IHMs, it’s been optional to change one’s name for many years now. I did ask to change my name upon being received into the novitiate (in 1986), and was given permission. Not many do change their names, however.

By: discerninglife25

discerninglife25 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:17:28 +0000

Sister Julie,
I am interested in the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but is there actually a required name change? I know a Sister Laura, but she didn’t change her name. Is it optional? Do only certain motherhouses allow it? I was interested in IHM Immaculata, in particular. Thanks for reading!