HI,
I am curious to how patron saint names are chosen. I see that people say they have 2 patron saints, and then on top of that, they choose one for baptism.
Well first of all it might be good to define what is meant by a patron saint. My dictionary says that a patron saint is
a saint to whose protection and intercession a person, a society, a church, or a place is dedicated.
This means most of us have *many *patron saints on whom we can rely for protection and intercession.
Many Catholics are named for one or more saints. Mary Elizabeth Smith has two saint names: Mary and Elizabeth. (And there are multiple saints with those names.) Zeus Miguel Rodriquez would have the single saint name (Michael). Such people are assigned a patron saint by their parents (whether intentionally or not.)
I know that some families name their children after a saint that has special meaning for that family. Or sometimes they pick the saint on whose feast day a child is born. Most just pick a saint and/or name they like or a name that sounds nice with a non-saints’ name.
Most countries and many cities, states, and provinces have a patron saint. The Blessed Mother, under the title
the Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the United States She is also the patroness of North and South America under the title of
Our Lady of Guadalupe. Many cities take their name from the local Cathedral’s patron saint. As residents of said geographic areas, we can claim those saints as our patrons.
The saint for which a parish is named would be the patron of that parish. Many professions (a kind of society) have patron saints. If someone chooses a confirmation name then that saint is a patron.
