names for kids

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angell1

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do catholics have to give their kids names of saints only?

and if not, what about names that used to have pagan implications? like names of greek gods or roman ones or something along those lines. i woulnd’t name my kids most of those names but some of them are quite common, like diana or sophia. or less common ones like artemis or isis

or what if someone has a name affiliated with islam or another religioin, do they need to change their name? like for example, a lot of muslims get the name mohamad or aisha. and there’s even a hindu goddess names maya

i’m not having children any time soon, was just wondering
 
Catholics can name their children anything they choose. 😃 Many parents do use saint names, if not for the first name, for the middle name. It’s also common for people to take the name of a saint when they are Confirmed, but usually that doesn’t affect their legal name.

As far as pagan origins, consider that many early Christians had pagan names, as they were converts. So there’s even saints with names that were originally pagan.

A person could* choose* to change their name, if they wished, but it’s not required. My name has no Christian connotations whatsoever, and probably won’t (unless I am canonized someday - you never know! ;):p)
 
From the Catechism:

2165 In Baptism, the Christian receives his name in the Church. Parents, godparents, and the pastor are to see that he be given a Christian name. The patron saint provides a model of charity and the assurance of his prayer.
 
Diana and Sophia are both used as baptismal names. There as a Bl. Diana in the 1200’s, and Sophia, besides being the name of a martyr, means “wisdom” in Greek, which is a virtue.

As far as I know, a person can be baptized with a name not yet belonging to a saint, provided it is not overtly diabolical or a direct tribute to a false god or something of that nature. (Priests do draw a line.) Why anyone would want to give the name of a false god to their child as a baptismal name is beyond me, but if the person was grown and wanted to be baptized with their own given name, as far as I know it could be done. They’d probably get an unambigiously Christian name as a second name–Mohammed Christian or Maya Mary, for instance–but it isn’t outlawed to have a name that a saint hasn’t had yet.
 
1ke said:
From the Catechism:

2165 In Baptism, the Christian receives his name in the Church. Parents, godparents, and the pastor are to see that he be given a Christian name. The patron saint provides a model of charity and the assurance of his prayer.
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I stand corrected: The name must be overtly Christian, not just avoiding the obviously out-of-bounds. I must have in mind converts who added a Christian middle name to their former non-Christian name.

Christian names can be names of virtues that aren’t directly connected to a saint, correct?
 
2156 The sacrament of Baptism is conferred "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."85 In Baptism, the Lord’s name sanctifies man, and the Christian receives his name in the Church. This can be the name of a saint, that is, of a disciple who has lived a life of exemplary fidelity to the Lord. The patron saint provides a model of charity; we are assured of his intercession. The “baptismal name” can also express a Christian mystery or Christian virtue. "Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to see that a name is not given which is foreign to Christian sentiment.
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The bolding is mine. What do you take “foreign” to mean in this instance? I think as long as you aren’t calling your baby Lucifer or something you’re fine.
 
I remember that I was considering either Veronica or Melody.
Monsignor liked them both. And I said , “well I guess I’ll go with Veronica since it’s a Saint name”.
Monsignor said "unless you go with Melody, and she becomes Saint Melody at which point, babies will be named after her!
He is the kindest priest ever. A dear friend.
We went with Veronica. 👍
(His second choice was “Zita”) :eek:
 
pianistclare said:
and she becomes Saint Melody at which point, babies will be named after her!
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That’s kind of how I’ve always felt about it. There are so many duplicate-named saints, it would be nice to have some new ones thrown in. We should all strive for sainthood anyways.
 
I named my daughter Eris. Eris is the name of the ancient goddess discord. I did not name her after the goddess, I just thought the name was pretty. 🙂

Her middle name is Nevaeh, so there’s that at least. 🙂
 
our pastor often adds an unofficial saint name if the child doesn’t have a patron saint for their name. I think that’s neat. I like to think that the saint inspired Father to choose him/her for the baby’s patron.
 
FrenzyJen said:
The bolding is mine. What do you take “foreign” to mean in this instance? I think as long as you aren’t calling your baby Lucifer or something you’re fine.
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Let us consider actual names that a friend of mine related having actually been given to newborns at a hospital at which they worked:
Cash Collateral
Syphillis (pronounced suh-FILL-is).
Gonorrhea (pronounced Guh-NOR-ee-uh)

Then these others:
Oranjello and Lemonjello (twins)
Ikea
Vegas
Carrion
Messer
Rage

Who is going to grow up, live a saintly life, be canonized, and be added to the General Roman Calendar as St. Rage? St. Syphillis? St. Cash Collateral? We’re thinking this is what the Church means by a name foreign to Christian sentiment.

No, you probably can’t use those for baptismal names, not even if you find the most progressive priest EHVUR. This is why the Church does not give anybody unlimited baptismal naming rights.
 
My friend from the Catholic grade school had the name of Mary Faith. Some people called her Faith.
 
pianistclare said:
I remember that I was considering either Veronica or Melody.
Monsignor liked them both. And I said , “well I guess I’ll go with Veronica since it’s a Saint name”.
Monsignor said "unless you go with Melody, and she becomes Saint Melody at which point, babies will be named after her!
He is the kindest priest ever. A dear friend.
We went with Veronica. 👍
(His second choice was “Zita”) :eek:
Click to expand...
Melody is in no way opposed to Christian sentiment.
 
EasterJoy said:
Let us consider actual names that a friend of mine related having actually been given to newborns at a hospital at which they worked:
Cash Collateral
Syphillis (pronounced suh-FILL-is).
Gonorrhea (pronounced Guh-NOR-ee-uh)

Then these others:
Oranjello and Lemonjello (twins)
Ikea
Vegas
Carrion
Messer
Rage

Who is going to grow up, live a saintly life, be canonized, and be added to the General Roman Calendar as St. Rage? St. Syphillis? St. Cash Collateral? We’re thinking this is what the Church means by a name foreign to Christian sentiment.

No, you probably can’t use those for baptismal names, not even if you find the most progressive priest EHVUR. This is why the Church does not give anybody unlimited baptismal naming rights.
Click to expand...
that “jello” story is an old urban myth. Been around for about 25 years…:rolleyes:
 
pianistclare said:
that “jello” story is an old urban myth. Been around for about 25 years…:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
But they were born at the hospital where her friend worked! Apparently there are identically named kids that went to the school where a friend’s mom worked. There must be dozens of kids with these names. :hmmm:
 
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