Naming our kids

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dizzy_dave

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When we have kids is it required to give them Catholic names? I heard we were supposed to pick out “Catholic” names. Is this true?
Is this the same thing as a baptismal name, I don’t understand the name thing. Does a child have a birth name, then a new baptismal name, then later a conformation name. ???:confused:
 
Yes, thats the way its suppossed to be. You should name your child after a saint so that the child can imitate that saint in life. The “birth name” and baptismal name should be the same. Some parishes/dioceses have done away with the Confirmation name. It is a symbol, not legal.

I had a cousin nicknamed Peaches, but her baptismal name was Barbara. You can call you kids anything, but don’t call them late for dinner.

TAN Publishing and the Daughters of Saint Paul both publish a booklet entitled “Is It a Saints’ Name?” to give you help in naming a child.
Therefore, Brittany, Crystal, Monroe and Metastopholes are not saints’ names.
 
What the Catechism has to say about Baptismal names…

**2156 **The sacrament of Baptism is conferred “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 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.”
 
I noticed the above quote states it can be a saints name, not must be a saints name. If the name of a saint must be used, where is that found?
 
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pnewton:
I noticed the above quote states it can be a saints name, not must be a saints name. If the name of a saint must be used, where is that found?
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Today it is not required to be a Saints name but must be a “Christian” name.
 
My wife Tracy was taken to baptised and was told she could not be baptised until she had a saints name.

Tracy Mary was chosen on the spot!

🙂 :tiphat:
 
I think in some ways it’s preferred. But not necessarily required. I do remember during RCIA that some people were asked what they wanted their confirmation name to be. But I wasn’t asked that. Actually, before that I had a chance to talk to the person who ran the RCIA at the time. When I asked her if I needed to choose a name, she said that my “moniker” was enough. I guess I can see what she means. My full name is Christine Elizabeth!!
 
My mothers name is “Betty Ann”. That’s what appears on her birth certificate. Her baptismal certificate, however, says “Elizabeth Ann”, as the Church of the time didn’t recognize the name “Betty”. My mother was baptized in the 1930’s when the Church was much more strict about such things. I think parents need to be careful, though, of what effect a name will have on a child. Ever hear of Dweezil or Moon Unit Zappa (Frank Zappa’s children)? And I’ve heard of some parents today naming their children after Greek and Roman gods/goddesses. What’s the purpose of that? An effort to be “trendy” or dissent from the Church? I think the names of Saints are preferred, as they give a child something to strive for - a reminder of their Faith. My name is Michael, and I have a statue of St. Michael in my home and wear a St. Michael Medal around my neck. If I’m in a situation that might be considered an occasion of sin, I pray St. Michael’s Prayer.
 
We are expecting in January and have decided on the girl’s name, Anne Elizabeth. If it’s a boy, we are leaning heavily to naming him after my grandfather, John Paul! 😉
 
Eeks! What if we already have children and their first names are not saints’ names??? Have I doomed them? At least their middle names are for male family members who happen to be saints’ names (albeit lesser-known ones, but saints nonetheless), but eeeek!! Am I being too scrupulous? I do know that the next children WILL have saint’s names, for sure, now that I have been corrected. But what about my first children?
 
I love the tradition of naming kids after saints, but I don’t think it’s required anymore, just highly recommended. There are more than enough Courtney’s and Caitlin’s and Chandler’s and Holden’s out there–let the Catholic kids be the Peter’s and Paul’s and Theresa’s and Mary’s!😛
 
Believe it or not, in France it was actually law that a baby had to be named after a saint or Biblical figure. They honestly had a list of “official” names for babies and even non-Christians had to register their babies with a “Christian” name…until the 1970s!
 
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JGC:
My wife Tracy was taken to baptised and was told she could not be baptised until she had a saints name.

Tracy Mary was chosen on the spot!

🙂 :tiphat:
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My mother has a similar story. Her parents wanted to name her Janice Claire but he thought it sounded too much like a movie star’s name so the priest wouldn’t baptize her. She was baptized Mary Janice Claire and of course is called, Mary.

Kris
 
Marie Cecilia:
Eeks! What if we already have children and their first names are not saints’ names??? Have I doomed them? At least their middle names are for male family members who happen to be saints’ names (albeit lesser-known ones, but saints nonetheless), but eeeek!! Am I being too scrupulous? I do know that the next children WILL have saint’s names, for sure, now that I have been corrected. But what about my first children?
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Then it will be up to them to put that name in the book of Saints!
 
regarding naming kids after Greek and Roman gods…not that I would do it to my future children (username aside) but there are several saint Apollos, a saint Dionysius too.
 
I fully intend to name all of my children after saints. In fact, I would love to use the saint’s last name (when associated with the saint’s identity) as a middle name as well (i.e., Isaac Jogues, Francis Xavier, John Vianney, etc. - It just occurred to me: if we want to solve the vocation shortage, we just need to name a lot of boys John Vianney and rely on his intercession! But that’s beside the point.)

While I understand the modern Church wanting to name children after saints, it seems that this practice needs to be tempered with the knowledge that most of the saints were the first of their name…
 
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Minerva:
regarding naming kids after Greek and Roman gods…not that I would do it to my future children (username aside) but there are several saint Apollos, a saint Dionysius too.
Click to expand...
Ah-oh, I might be in trouble! My fist name is a derivative of a Greek god! What was my mother thinking???:eek:
 
Br. Rich SFO,

That’s exactly what I concluded - let them be the first saints with those names.
Everyone, thanks for your reassurance!
 
I’ve been more liberal in naming my children. When our first daughter was born I wanted to name her Marianna Ione, but my mother couldn’t say the name and threw a fit. So I decided to name her after my favorite aunt and my grandmother who was suffering from breast cancer at the time. Unfortunately Crystalann didn’t sound right, so after rolling the name off of my tounge a few times I came up with Crystalynn and stuck with the middle name Ione because it’s been in my family for at least six generations now, probably more. My husbands family gave us a lot of grief for it, but the name has meaning to me. My aunt was the only one in the family who stood by me through hard times and I felt that she needed to be shown how much I care for her. Our second daughter my husband named since I named the first. He named her Saleen Marie. We call her Leena for short, but yes, he did name her after a car. God help us! Our last child was our first son and he got a more traditional name, Gregory Martin. I don’t fully understand why we named our girls such odd names, but they both like them. Crystalynn’s teachers and friends have tried on several occasions to shorten her name, but she won’t have it. She holds her head up high and says, “my name is Crystalynn Ione and I refuse to answer to anything else.” Even Leena walks around the house cheering herself on. “Leena, Leena, Leena!” It’s really cute. They are both really good kids, so I guess we didn’t do too bad.🙂
 
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Minerva:
regarding naming kids after Greek and Roman gods…not that I would do it to my future children (username aside) but there are several saint Apollos, a saint Dionysius too.
Click to expand...
Diana, Jason, Martin, Dennis, Cassandra, Denise, Julia, Marcia, Penelope, Jill, Helen, and Sibyl are all some Greco-Roman mythology names. I sure hope everyone that objects to current parents for choosing things like Echo or Pandora is consistant with their disdain, snickering, and religious superiority.

It really is amusing to me - how do you think we GOT most saint names in the first place? Some parent had to name their children something that wasn’t, and then the kid went and became a saint, making the name “acceptable”.
 
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