Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2016 October 26

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October 26

List of wedding guests of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

Looking over this list, I noticed that there are many heads of state from various countries around the world. I also noticed that Barack Obama isn't listed anywhere. Was there a reason why the Obamas were not invited? †Dismas†|^(talk) 00:46, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

If this is to be believed, extra security for the president is the reason. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:22, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

As far as I can see, there were no non-Commonwealth non-royal heads of state on the list. Rojomoke (talk) 04:37, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

In fact, there are no non-royal heads of state on that list at all. There are heads of government from various commonwealth realms, but those are all countries which have retained Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. There isn't a single foreign president anywhere on the list - just a few ambassadors. Wymspen (talk) 09:03, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

Thanks! †Dismas†|^(talk) 19:17, 28 October 2016 (UTC)

Resolved

Gender preferences in religious names

Things may have changed of recent years, but traditionally, sisters in Catholic religious orders took a religious name. The standard form was Sister Mary X, where X was a saint's name. The saint might have been female or male, hence Sister Mary Patricia and Sister Mary Patrick were equally likely.

When it comes to male religious who took saints' names, they seem to have always preferred male saints. I've never heard of a Brother Mary, Brother Felicity, etc.

Am I wrong, and if not, why the difference? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 06:27, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

It's not unheard of for Catholic men to have "Mary" (or equivalent) as part of their name - for example Joseph Mary Plunkett, Edward Mary Joseph Molyneux, George Mary Searle, Giuseppe Maria Tomasi or José María Olazábal. --Nicknack009 (talk) 08:53, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

It's a two - way traffic, for example Maria José Canhoto who has sung for Portugal three times in the European Song Contest. 86.128.234.239 (talk) 09:35, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

[Banned user's contribution deleted]

Here is at least one example of a two-named Christian religious figure with a traditionally male and female name. --Jayron32 11:50, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

And the exception proves the rule. I want to know why it's common to find Sister Mary Leos but not Brother Gertrudes. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:27, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

What kind of published reference are you looking for? If you can direct us to the sort of information you seek, and if such information is likely to have been written by someone already, we have a better hope of helping you locate it. --Jayron32 23:36, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

The sort of information I seek is, I would have thought, pretty self-explanatory. Is this difference in approach simply a tradition, and if so, how did it originate? Or is there something more formalised about it, e.g. in canon law. I really wouldn't know where to begin searching for this. --n Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 03:03, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

[Banned user's contribution deleted]

Except the Mary tends to get dropped in some contexts. I went to a convent school for a few years, and in a situation where every nun is Sister Mary something, we'd just cut to the chase and call them Sister something. I had a Sister John, a Sister Benedict, and a Sister Lucina. They all had Mary as well but that tended to be dropped in inter-child discourse. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 13:06, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

I don't know how widespread this convention is or was. I've never heard of it, which is worthless testimony except that I'm Irish. This nun's blogpost traces the history of the "Sister Mary Foo" convention at her own convent (the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe, Michigan). An order devoted to Mary would have a greater incentive to use "Mary" in names than one devoted to some other saint or aspect. The post concludes "If you have a Mary naming custom in your community or personally, let us know", which at least shows it is not universal. Maybe the teaching order that ran JackofOz's school were one of only a few that had such a convention. In which case, the original question is moot. jnestorius^(talk) 16:20, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

• Thanks all who responded. This question seems outside the combined knowledge of the ref desk denizens. I will continue to seek the answer in other parts. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 18:05, 31 October 2016 (UTC)