Baptism name

[CompSciGuy]

I have begun attending the Maronite parish near where I live more often recently and when I go to receive communion the priest will ask what my baptism name is and then address me as servant ____ when giving communion. I assume he means confirmation name (the one by which I was addressed when I was confirmed into the Catholic Church) and I will say “Thomas.” But after doing a little research I wonder if he means my actual name, the one my parents gave me (Justin). What should I say when asked this question?

 

[Filii_Dei]

I have begun attending the Maronite parish near where I live more often recently and when I go to receive communion the priest will ask what my baptism name is and then address me as servant ____ when giving communion. I assume he means confirmation name (the one by which I was addressed when I was confirmed into the Catholic Church) and I will say “Thomas.” But after doing a little research I wonder if he means my actual name, the one my parents gave me (Justin). What should I say when asked this question?

Yes, he meant the name that you were baptised with, not confirmed with. It is the name that the priest called you by when you were baptised. Assuming you are a cradle Catholic and your parents were the ones who brought you for baptism, then it is likely to be Justin.

I would recommend against using the confirmation name in this case because the Eastern Churches do not have a practice of giving a different name to an individual upon confirmation/chrismation, because chrismation is done immediately after baptism. Furthermore, when Latin Catholics choose a confirmation name that is different from their baptismal name, the confirmation name does not replace or supersede the baptismal name.

 

[CompSciGuy]

Yes, he meant the name that you were baptised with, not confirmed with. It is the name that the priest called you by when you were baptised. Assuming you are a cradle Catholic and your parents were the ones who brought you for baptism, then it is likely to be Justin.

I would recommend against using the confirmation name in this case because the Eastern Churches do not have a practice of giving a different name to an individual upon confirmation/chrismation, because chrismation is done immediately after baptism. Furthermore, when Latin Catholics choose a confirmation name that is different from their baptismal name, the confirmation name does not replace or supersede the baptismal name.

I was raised in the Presbyterian church and baptized when I was 13 years old (by my dad, who was the pastor). I converted to Catholicism during college. Do I still use the name Justin?

 

[malphono]

I was raised in the Presbyterian church and baptized when I was 13 years old (by my dad, who was the pastor). I converted to Catholicism during college. Do I still use the name Justin?

It depends: if you are known and addressed as “Justin” the answer is yes. OTOH, if you are known and addressed as “Thomas” then that’s what you would use. IOW, use the name by which you are known and addressed in real life.

 

[Usige]

I was raised in the Presbyterian church and baptized when I was 13 years old (by my dad, who was the pastor). I converted to Catholicism during college. Do I still use the name Justin?

I was baptized in the Presbyterian church when I was 15 and in the church register my given name is listed as being baptized by the Rev Wilson on x date. He asked my name and then used it to address me during the baptism. Because of that I consider my given name to be my baptismal name.

To be fair I did not take a new name at confirmation. The priest who confirmed me said that we are reborn at baptism so a new name might make sense then, but we are not reborn again at confirmation so he encouraged us to use our baptismal name as a way to remember they are interrelated sacraments.

 

[CDB1718]

The name you were given at Baptism is what was written in the Book of Life. If you took a patron saint at Confirmation, you can add that name to your baptismal name, but you should not replace the name you were called in Baptism with the name you added in a pious custom.

If you were baptized as Justin, your Baptismal name is Justin.
If you were confirmed as Thomas and identify with the name, especially if your first name is not a Christian name, I recommend telling the priest Justin Thomas.
If you were baptized with multiple names, like Justin Michael, and adding on pious names you identify with would get unwieldy, you should drop the pious names and not the baptismal names.

The name you were given in Baptism has a special place and carries through all the sacraments. You can add to it, but shouldn’t take away that core that stays the same.