A saint's name, which is usually also a biblical name, is the name of a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

given to individuals at their

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

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. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

within the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, as well as in certain parts of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, the

Oriental Orthodox Churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

es and

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

. 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, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

to protect and guide and will 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 taking a new

Christian name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often given by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...

at their

. 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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

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, that 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". Therefore, what is now called a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

was once referred to as a

and originated with the pagans of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

who discarded their pagan names for

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

ones when they converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and participated in

. An additional saint's name must be given when the former is impossible. In some Christian countries, the saint's day of the person's name is celebrated as a

birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many religion ...

is in other countries (cf.

Name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

). 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 Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

, 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. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, 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.

References

{{Personal names Christian terminology Given name types

See also

References