7 New Saints – Kateri, Pedro, Marianne

If you’re looking for a saint-inspired baby name or confirmation name, you’ve got seven new saints to choose from:

  • Jacques Berthieu (1838-1896) of France.
  • Pedro Calungsod (ca.1654-1672) of the Philippines.
  • Giovanni Battista Piamarta (1841-1913) of Italy.
  • Maria del Monte Carmelo Sallés y Barangueras (1848-1911) of Spain.
  • Marianne Cope (1838-1918) of the U.S.
  • Kateri Tekakwitha (ca.1656-1680) of the U.S.
  • Anna Schäffer (1882-1925) of Germany.

Pope Benedict canonized all seven last Sunday.

The most intriguing name on the list is that of Kateri Tekakwitha, an Algonquin–Mohawk woman who was born in what is now New York state.

The name Kateri is based on her baptismal name, Catherine (which would have been pronounced the French way, as she was baptized by French Canadian Jesuits).

Kateri has been on the SSA’s baby name list for decades, starting roughly around the time Kateri Tekakwitha was declared venerable, in early 1943.

In 1980, the year Tekakwitha was beatified, usage of the name Kateri more than tripled:

  • 1978 – 19 baby girls named Kateri
  • 1979 – 18
  • 1980 – 65
  • 1981 – 37
  • 1982 – 45

Every year since, several dozen U.S. baby girls have been named Kateri. Here are the most recent numbers:

  • 2006 – 37 baby girls named Kateri
  • 2007 – 48
  • 2008 – 35
  • 2009 – 29
  • 2010 – 28
  • 2011 – 41

Do you think Kateri Tekakwitha’s promotion to sainthood will give her name another upward nudge? If so, how much of a nudge?

Source: Pope Canonizes 7 Saints, Including 2 Women With New York Ties


4 thoughts on “7 New Saints – Kateri, Pedro, Marianne”

  1. I’ve seen at least two birth announcements for babies named Kateri in last few months. My county is traditionally very Catholic, so I won’t be surprised to see more.

  2. I wonder whether Tekakwitha will make it into the SSA statistics, it sounds very “namy”. Do you know the meaning of Tekakwitha?

  3. @elbowin – I don’t know the meaning, but here’s what I found in Kateri Tekakwitha, Mystic of the Wilderness by Margaret Bunson:

    Her name was originally Tekakwitha, or Tegarouite (translated by some scholars as meaning she who puts things in order), or as Tegahkouita (translated as meaning one who advances or cuts the way before her). […] The addition of Kateri, or Katherine, the name which she now bears within honor before the altars of the universal Church, was the result of her conversion and baptism.

    And here’s another translation, from the National Women’s History Museum:

    In 1660, when she was four, smallpox spread through her village and took the lives of her mother, father, and younger brother. She survived, but was left weaker, scarred, and partially blind. Thus, she was named Tekakwitha, which means “The One Who Walks Groping for Her Way.” Her uncle, also a Mohawk chief, and two of her aunts adopted her, and a new village was formed five miles away from the contagion.

    I had always assumed Tekakwitha was some sort of surname or clan name. I guess not. Looks like it was her one and only name until she joined the church.

    I hadn’t even thought to look for people named Tekakwitha before you mentioned it. (Thanks for that!) Turns out there are at least a few people out there with the middle name Tekakwitha (typically first name Kateri) and at least one person with the first name Tekakwitha.

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