Thank you Nivard. That clears it up quite well for me. Yes, most of mine have 3 forenames, one being the Saint's name. Some of them go by their Saint's name and others by their second name. Some seem to go back and forth. Makes it a bit confusing at times. I have a family with 6 Joseph and 5 Maria. The first son, as you say, was named after his father, François Xavier But I understand François is a Saint's name as well anyway. It's making sense now so thank you. . Marg >From the Beautiful British Columbia Cariboo Region, Canada ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nivard Ovington" <ovington1@sky.com> To: <irl-dublin@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 3:17 PM Subject: Re: [IRL-DUBLIN] Saints Name Query Hi Margaret I can only speak from experience, this comes from a Catholic albeit a rather rusty one We (I am the youngest of ten) were all baptised with three or four forenames, at least one being a Saints name The eldest son was named after our father and likewise the eldest daughter after our mother, apart from those two all others have Saints names first (and most of our other names) Our names are mostly connected ie Nivard is the youngest brother of Saint Bernard and also a brother of Gerard (two of my brothers names) we also have a Patrick and three Josephs (including me) When you are confirmed there is a choice (and that may vary ie some may not get a choice) of using one of your forenames or choosing another, this is invariably a Saints name The idea is that the Saint chosen becomes that persons patron Saint to pray to and for and in some ways emulate Of course a person may already have a patron Saint when baptised (as I did) As far as Mary is concerned there are several Saints with Mary as a first name I would say that in the past virtually all Catholic babies were baptised with at least one Saints name but like so many other things, that may have changed in recent years Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK)

There is no set in stone tradition/rule/law (these days at least) that you name your children a saint's name but it was the case until several years ago that a priest could refuse to baptise a child without a saint's name. What the Catechism has to say about Baptismal names... As Paragraph 2165 of the current Catechism of the Catholic Church states: 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." 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 Another thing pointed out to me many moons ago, is that if a child was born close to or on a Saints day, he/she was given a name, there is a lot of Saints who belonged to the Church so given that there must be a lot of saintly names of ancestors out there. Cheers Cara