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Help[Opinions] Magdalene and Raphael
These would be the top contenders right now, along with Judith and Xavier (I still prefer Laurence). My question is: Do they scream Catholic? Magdalene Cecilia, Judith Helen, Raphael Christian and Xavier Allan.
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Raphael actually screams Jewish to me, not Catholic, probably because it's the first name of my very, very Jewish friend (as opposed to the majority of my friends, who are just Jewish) who goes by his middle name Harpo. (Raphael Harpo? Strange parents. But it fits.)
Magdalene is a bit heavily religious but I don't think it has to be, if that makes sense. When asked, I certainly think "Well, of course it's religious!" but if I met a girl named Magdalene my first thought wouldn't be "Wonder if she's Catholic?" Interesting to note I adore Magdalena and I'm plugging right on using it in combos but would probably not use it for a real child for the same reason- I'm an athiest and it would feel odd. (However, I do have lots of Catholic heritage and have thought about it as a real MN possibility for my heritage but not religious beliefs. Probably won't have kids anyway. Back to the question you asked in the first place, sorry!) Opinions on your combos:
Magdalene Cecilia - Magdalene Celia would feel more natural. For some reason I feel like I have to work to get all the syllables in for Magdalene Cecilia. Either is gorgeous, though.
Judith Helen - Absolutely lovely.
Xavier Allan - Never loved Xavier though it's okay. It sounds a bit off with Allan. Much prefer Laurence Allan.
Raphael Christian - Well, now it's far too religious, yeah. I would rearrange the names so you don't have these two together, if you definetly want both. So, my revised suggestion of your four names is:
Magdalene Celia
Judith Helen
Laurence/Xavier Christian
Raphael Allan / Allan Raphael
OR
Magdalene Celia
Judith Helen
Christian Allan
Laurence Raphael / Laurence Xavier
Hm. Not sure about that, but might work. Would you consider making Allan or Christian a first name, and/or Raphael or Xavier a middle name?
Magdalene is a bit heavily religious but I don't think it has to be, if that makes sense. When asked, I certainly think "Well, of course it's religious!" but if I met a girl named Magdalene my first thought wouldn't be "Wonder if she's Catholic?" Interesting to note I adore Magdalena and I'm plugging right on using it in combos but would probably not use it for a real child for the same reason- I'm an athiest and it would feel odd. (However, I do have lots of Catholic heritage and have thought about it as a real MN possibility for my heritage but not religious beliefs. Probably won't have kids anyway. Back to the question you asked in the first place, sorry!) Opinions on your combos:
Magdalene Cecilia - Magdalene Celia would feel more natural. For some reason I feel like I have to work to get all the syllables in for Magdalene Cecilia. Either is gorgeous, though.
Judith Helen - Absolutely lovely.
Xavier Allan - Never loved Xavier though it's okay. It sounds a bit off with Allan. Much prefer Laurence Allan.
Raphael Christian - Well, now it's far too religious, yeah. I would rearrange the names so you don't have these two together, if you definetly want both. So, my revised suggestion of your four names is:
Magdalene Celia
Judith Helen
Laurence/Xavier Christian
Raphael Allan / Allan Raphael
OR
Magdalene Celia
Judith Helen
Christian Allan
Laurence Raphael / Laurence Xavier
Hm. Not sure about that, but might work. Would you consider making Allan or Christian a first name, and/or Raphael or Xavier a middle name?
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Not really, no. It might cross my mind but it wouldn't be my first thought.
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Judith and Magdalene are very strongly connected to religion for me (especially Judith for some reason). Raphael isn't.
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I don't know if it's a good indication or not, but I'm very Catholic and want my children to have strongly Catholic influenced names and I adore those choices.
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I'm not.
It's important for the names to represent my heritage, which is 100% working class, and totally not Catholic.
It's important for the names to represent my heritage, which is 100% working class, and totally not Catholic.
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Magdalene Cecilia, Judith Helen, and Xavier all SOUND Catholic, but they do not SCREAM Catholic... well except for maybe Magadalene Cecilia. I've always had Cecilia pegged as a somewhat Catholic name, and Cecily more of an Anglo, perhaps Protestant variant... just my view, definitely not the end all, be all. Xavier is just French/Spanish to me.
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They don't "scream Catholic" to me - but then again, I'm one so it might make me unreliable. ^^'
Magdalene Cecilia: love seeing Magdalene as a first name. I think it flows very well together. They share enough vowels to make them roll off the tongue but not enough that you get that horrible "it's all the same" feeling.
Judith Helen: lovely combo, very elegant.
Raphael Christian: love Raphael. I'm not a fan of Christian, but here it fits nicely.
Xavier Allan: Xavier doesn't convince me. Allan is perfect. Laurence Allan does have a lot of L-sounds, but I think it could flow well.
Magdalene Cecilia: love seeing Magdalene as a first name. I think it flows very well together. They share enough vowels to make them roll off the tongue but not enough that you get that horrible "it's all the same" feeling.
Judith Helen: lovely combo, very elegant.
Raphael Christian: love Raphael. I'm not a fan of Christian, but here it fits nicely.
Xavier Allan: Xavier doesn't convince me. Allan is perfect. Laurence Allan does have a lot of L-sounds, but I think it could flow well.
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Love them both.
Sure, they do exude a Catholic air, but not in a bad way. I prefer to look at them as rich with history and romance. There are plenty of names I associate with the Catholic church, but I love them for other reasons. These two fall into that catagory for me.
Magdalene Cecilia -- Cecilia always seems fussy to me. Magdalene Celia / Celeste is more stream-lined.
Judith Helen -- Lovely combination. Warm and earthy Judith matches beautifully with Magdalene, especially with the nn Magda. Judith and Magda have a sort of Eastern European / Hungarian thing going on in my mind right now. I don't know why since Judith isn't really European.
Raphael Christian -- This one does seem to be a bit "in your face" religious. But I usually get that vibe from the name Christian anyway.
Xavier Allan -- Love Xavier. Allan doesn't match it at all. It feels more like a family name that you had to tag on somewhere. Xavier Ambrose, Xavier Alban, Xavier Anselm all have more flair for me.
(Disclosure: I was raised Catholic, but don't practice anymore.)
Sure, they do exude a Catholic air, but not in a bad way. I prefer to look at them as rich with history and romance. There are plenty of names I associate with the Catholic church, but I love them for other reasons. These two fall into that catagory for me.
Magdalene Cecilia -- Cecilia always seems fussy to me. Magdalene Celia / Celeste is more stream-lined.
Judith Helen -- Lovely combination. Warm and earthy Judith matches beautifully with Magdalene, especially with the nn Magda. Judith and Magda have a sort of Eastern European / Hungarian thing going on in my mind right now. I don't know why since Judith isn't really European.
Raphael Christian -- This one does seem to be a bit "in your face" religious. But I usually get that vibe from the name Christian anyway.
Xavier Allan -- Love Xavier. Allan doesn't match it at all. It feels more like a family name that you had to tag on somewhere. Xavier Ambrose, Xavier Alban, Xavier Anselm all have more flair for me.
(Disclosure: I was raised Catholic, but don't practice anymore.)
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