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 assigned by parents at birth.[1] In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name is commonly their first name and is typically the name by which the person is primarily known.
Traditionally, a Christian name was given on the occasion of Christian baptism, with the ubiquity of
Strictly speaking, the Christian name is not merely the forename distinctive of the individual member of a family, but the name given to the person (generally a child) at their christening or baptism. In pre-
Origin
In view of the
Similar names are found in the Christian inscriptions of the earlier period and in the signatories appended to such councils as
Names without Christian origin and significance
This category may be divided as follows:[2]
- derived unchanged or but slightly modified from pagan mythology, e.g., Mercurius, Bacchus, Apollos (I Corinthians 16:12), Hermogenes (Romans 16:4), etc.
- from religious rites or omens, e.g., Augustus, Auspicius, Augurius, Optatus;
- from numbers, e.g., Primus, Primigenius, Secundinus, Quartus, Octavia, etc.
- from colours, e.g., Albanus, Candidus, Rufus, etc.
- from animals and birds, e.g., Agnes, Asellus, Columbia, Leo, Taurus, Ursula, etc.
- from agriculture, e.g., Agricia, Armentarius, Palmatinus, Stereorius, etc.
- from flowers, e.g., Balsamia, Flosculus, Narcissus, Rosula;
- from jewels, e.g., Chrysanthus, Margarites, Smaragdus;
- from military life or the sea, e.g., Emerentiana, Navigia, Pelagia, Seutarius, Thalassus;
- from countries, cities, rivers etc.; Afra, Cydnus, Galla, Jordanis, Macedonius, Maurus, Sabina, Sebastianus, etc.
- from the months e.g., Aprilis, Januaria, Junia, etc.
- from personal qualities, etc., e.g., Aristo, Hilarius, Modestus, Pudens, etc.;
- from servile condition, e.g., Servus, Servilianus, Vernacla;
- names of historical celebrity, e.g., Caesarius, Cornelia, Pompeius, Ptolemaeus, Vergilius
Names with Christian origin and significance
These include the following:[2]
- apparently suggested by Christian dogmas, e.g. Anastasia, Athanasia, Christophorus, Redemptus, Restitutus, etc.
- from festivals or rites, e.g., Epiphanius, Eulogia, Natalis, Pascasia, Sabbatius and the frequently recurring Martyrius;
- from Christian virtues, e.g., Agape, Elpis, Fides, Irene, with such derivatives as Adelphius, Agapetus, Caritosa, etc.
- pious sentiment, e.g., Adeodata, Ambrosius, Benedictus, Deogratias, etc., and possibly such names as Gaudentianus, Hilarius, Sozomen, Victorianus, Vincentius
Though the recurrence of such names as Agnes, Balbina, Cornelius, Felicitas, Irenaeus, Justinus, etc. may be due to veneration for the martyrs who first used these names, the names of the
Change of name at baptism
In the Acts of St. Balsamus, who died AD 331, there is an early example of the connection between baptism and the giving of a name. "By my paternal name", this martyr is said to have declared, "I am called Balsamus, but by the spiritual name which I received in baptism, I am known as Peter." The assumption of a new name was fairly common amongst Christians. Eusebius the historian took the name Pamphili from Pamphilus, the martyr whom he especially venerated. Earlier still St. Cyprian chose to be called Cyprianus Caecilius out of gratitude to the Caecilius to whom he owed his conversion. St. Dionysius of Alexandria (c. 260) declared, "I am of opinion that there were many of the same name as the Apostle John, who on account of their love for him, and because they admired and emulated him, and desired to be loved by the Lord as he was, took to themselves the same name, just as many of the children of the faithful are called Paul or Peter."[6][2]
The assumption of any such new name would take place formally at baptism, in which the
In the thirtieth of the supposed Arabian Canons of Nicaea: "Of giving only names of Christians in baptism"; but the sermons of
Similarly he commends the practice of the parents of Antioch in calling their children after the martyr Meletius (P.G. 50, 515) and urges his hearers not to give their children the first name that occurs, nor to seek to gratify fathers or grandfathers or other family connections by giving their names, but rather to choose the names of holy men conspicuous for virtue and for their courage before God (P.G. 53, 179). There are other historic examples of such a change of name in adult converts.[2]
Socrates (Hist. Eccl., VII, xxi) wrote of Athenais who married the Emperor Theodosius the Younger, and who previously to marriage was baptized (AD 421) receiving the name Eudoxia.[2]
Later Guthrum the Danish leader in England after his long contest with King Alfred was eventually defeated, and consenting to accept Christianity was baptized in 878, taking the name Æthelstan.[2]
Practice regarding names
Various Fathers and spiritual writers and synodal decrees have exhorted Christians to give no names to their children in baptism but those of canonized saints or of the angels of God, but at no point in the history of the Church were these injunctions strictly attended to.[2]
They were not observed during the early or the later
A pronouncement from Bourges (1666) addressing parents and godparents urges: "Let them give to boys the names of male saints and to girls those of women saints as right order requires, and let them avoid the names of festivals like Easter (Pâques), Christmas (Noël), All Saints (Toussaint) and others that are sometimes chosen." Despite such injunctions "Toussaint" has become a common French Christian name and "Noël" has also found popularity abroad. The addition of Marie, especially in the form Jean-Marie, for girls, and of Joseph for boys is common in present-day France.[2]
In Spain and Italy Marian festivals have also created names for girls: Concepción, of which the diminutive is Concha, as well as Asunción, Encarnación, Mercedes, Dolores etc. in Spanish, and in Italian Assunta, Annunziata, Concetta, etc. The name Mary has not always been a favourite for girls. In England in the 12th century, Mary as a Christian name was rare. The name George, often given in recognition of the
In the registers of
Confirmation names
The practice of adopting a new name was not limited to baptism. Many medieval examples show that any notable change of condition, especially in the spiritual order, was often accompanied by the reception of a new name. In the 8th century, the two Englishmen Winfrith and Willibald going on different occasions to Rome received from the Pope, along with a new commission to preach, the names respectively of Boniface and Clement.
At
In England after the Reformation, the practice of adopting a new name at confirmation was still used, as Sir Edward Coke wrote that a man might validly buy land by his confirmation name, and he recalled the case of a Sir Francis Gawdye, late Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, whose name of baptism was Thomas and his name of confirmation Francis.[2][8]
See also
References
- ^ "christian name". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Thurston, Herbert (1913). "Christian Names". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ see Turner, "Eccl. Occident. Mon. Juris", I, 36-90; II, 50-53
- ^ De Rossi, "Rom. Sot.", I, 143
- ^ De Rossi, "Rom. Sot." III, 200 sqq. and compare other instances of the name, De Rossi, "Insc. Christ. I, 331; II, 160 and 173
- ^ Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl.", VII, xxv
- ^ see Oxford Hist. Soc. Transactions, XIV
- ^ Co. Litt. 3a