Catholic School Name Generator

Catholic schools are named the way Catholic parishes are, and the patterns are remarkably stable across the United States, Ireland, the UK, Canada and Australia. The largest group takes a saint, usually the patron of the parish that founded the school: St. Patrick's Catholic School, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School. Marian titles come next (Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Immaculate Conception, Regina Caeli), followed by mysteries and titles of Christ such as Sacred Heart, Holy Cross, Corpus Christi, Christ the King and Blessed Sacrament.

Secondary schools add two more layers. Diocesan high schools are often named for the bishop, archbishop or cardinal who built them (Bishop McNamara, Archbishop Molloy, Cardinal Gibbons), and schools run by religious orders carry the order's heritage: Jesuit schools use Loyola, Xavier, Regis, Gonzaga and Bellarmine; the Christian Brothers use De La Salle; Salesians use Don Bosco and Savio; the Sisters of Mercy use Mercy and McAuley; Dominicans use Aquinas and Siena. The suffix signals the level: School or Parish School for elementary, Academy for many girls' and K-8 schools, High School or College Preparatory for secondary, and College in Ireland and Australia.

A convincing fictional Catholic school therefore needs a dedication plus a suffix that matches its age group and who runs it.