Saint's name on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A saint's name, which is usually also a biblical name, is the name of a saint given to individuals at their 
The custom of giving the name of a saint originated with the practice of individuals who
A saint's name, which is usually also a biblical name, is the name of a saint given to individuals at their baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
or confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an wikt:affirmation, affirma ...
within the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, as well as in certain parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
es, Oriental Orthodox Churches
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...
, Lutheran Churches and Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and oth ...
. It is believed that the saint whose name is chosen will serve as a special patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
to protect, guide, and be the heavenly intercessor for the individual who bears his or her name.
The custom of giving the name of a saint originated with the practice of individuals who converted to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of believe ...
taking a new Christian name at their baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
; for example, in the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
, Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...
became Paul after accepting faith in Jesus. The custom was popular in France and Germany during the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and is still customary in continental Europe. In many English-speaking countries, however, it is more common for the saint's name to be adopted upon Confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an wikt:affirmation, affirma ...
, in which case it would usually not be part of one's legal name.
Under the current Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church, Canon 855 states "Parents, sponsors and parish priests are to take care that a name is not given which is foreign to Christian sentiment," which would simply prohibit a baptismal name being something in the vein of "Satan," "Lucifer" or "Death." However, this was not always the case; in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 761 required pastors to ensure the baptismal name was a Christian name such as "Christian," "Grace" or "Faith" - hence what is now called a given name was once referred to as a Christian name, originating with the pagans of Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
who discarded their pagan names for Biblical ones when they converted to Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...
and participated in baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
- or that an additional saint's name must be given when the former is impossible.
In some Christian countries, the saint's day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does ...
of the person's name is celebrated as a birthday is in other countries (cf. Name day
In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of ...
). A child may also be named after the saint whose feast is the child's birthday. In places where Christians are in the minority and may face persecution, parents may give both a Christian saint's name and a secular name to a child, allowing them to use the saint's name for religious purposes and the secular name for all other purposes. This is especially common in cultures, such as in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, where traditional given names do not line up with Catholic saints' names; many Catholics in English-speaking countries of Korean descent use a Korean forename as well as a saints' name.
See also
* List of biblical names * Calendar of saints * Dedication of churchesReferences