In the CC, it’s pretty common for people to choose or be given the name of a saint at specific times in their life, e.g. at baptism, confirmation, joining an order, etc.
- Does the specific language form of a baptismal, confirmation, etc. name have any significant ontological, canon law, etc. significance?
For example, if an American of Italian ancestry who was preparing for Confirmation specifically wanted to take
Giuseppe (as opposed to “Joseph”) as his confirmation name in honor of his heritage, would that serve only as a cultural practice or affectation or could there be lasting, significant juridical, etc. effects? If this guy then moves to Mexico, would he necessarily be treated as having a different confirmation name as a local who had taken the confirmation name of José and enrolled as such, or could he be listed as José, Joseph, Yusuf, Jozef, Иосиф, يوسف, or any other form without affecting the validity or licitness of transactions? Could you have a sister who was specifically named Marie Miriam Mary (baptismal, confirmation, and order names), Ann Ana Anne, Lizbeth Elspeth Isabel, or Helen Elaine Ellen with the names spelled exactly those ways in those specific orders and intentionally or unintentionally referring to her as e.g. Sr. Helen Ellen Elaine could be sinful, result in invalid or illicit acts, etc., or is this irrelevant pedantry?
- If two people take the same name in terms of spelling and pronunciation but they chose them based on different patron saints, does that have any meaning in terms of the name itself? E.g. if one person chooses Thomas the Apostle as their confirmation saint, and another chooses Thomas à Becket, do they get different confirmation names, or the same one?
