Fun Friday Question: Would you choose the same Confirmation name?

sanctanomina Fun Friday Question

Happy Friday everyone! I posted a consultation last night that I don’t want you to miss — it’s for a family who would like a German or German-friendly name for their baby boy.

My kids are off from school today so I’m not running around crazy this morning like usual, and my oldest’s Confirmation is tonight, and I was thinking about this question, so I thought I’d post it: If you were getting confirmed now, would you choose the same name that you chose back when you got confirmed? (Assuming that you were confirmed as a teen and that you chose a new name — but I welcome comments from those who weren’t and didn’t!)

I chose Jacinta, which was exactly perfect for me when I was 16. I’d gone on a pilgrimage to Fatima two years before, which I consider the turning point in my faith life — when the faith of my parents became my own — so it made sense to choose a name associated with Fatima. Jacinta was my favorite, so it wasn’t a difficult choice.

If I were to be confirmed today, I do still love Jacinta, but I could see myself considering several other names (and probably even having a difficult time choosing!):

  • A form of Mary (Mary itself, or maybe Mariae, which has long been a favorite, I just love its meaning: “of/belonging to Mary,” or maybe an Irish form)
  • Anne, for our good St. Anne and my grandmother Anne
  • Rita or Margaret, for St. Rita
  • Rose, for Our Lady and St. Rose of Lima (I was born on her feast day!)
  • Susanna, which is the name we would have given a girl in honor of my mom and her mom, and remains my favorite name for a daughter of mine
  • Karoline, for St. John Paul II

So many beautiful, holy options! Tell me about you!

(If it’s helpful for you or your kids or anyone else you know, I’ve written before about how to choose a Confirmation name, how to find your patron Saint, and how to find your baby’s patron Saint.)

My son is taking Pio as his Confirmation name, which is perfect, as he was born on the feast of St. Pio, and I’ve asked St. Pio for his intercession for my kids’ well being and myself as a mother ever since. Please pray for my boy, and all who are being confirmed this spring!

Have a great weekend!!

My book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon (not affiliate links) — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life! (And check out my buy-the-book-get-a-consultation deal!)

43 thoughts on “Fun Friday Question: Would you choose the same Confirmation name?”

  1. I would! Mine is Ann, for St. Anne, and also my mother’s given middle name. As a teen, I chose it, with that spelling, for the connection to my own mother (her first name is my given middle name), and the fact that it was Our Lady’s mother’s name was a happy coincidence… Or wink from the Holy Spirit. As an adult, I have a greater devotion to the Holy Family, I pray the St. Anne novena for her feast each year, and I know more about my maternal grandmother’s special devotion to St. Anne, so I feel pretty sure that St. Anne chose me even more than I chose her.

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  2. I chose St. Brigid of Kildare, as I was feeling very connected to my Irish heritage at 14. I would probably make the same choice today, but it would be harder to choose between all the saints for whom I named my children. My oldest three have been confirmed. One chose the saint whose feast day was his birthday, and two chose saint’s who they admired the most. One of my 6 year old’s has already chosen her Confirmation saint!

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  3. Oh, I *love* this question!!!

    Absolutely yes, with the caveat that I’m an adult convert, so I was 28(ish) when I chose my confirmation name, for St Teresa of Avila.

    So many reasons I chose it, but many years later, our women’s group at church read her writings and studied her life. I knew SO little about her when I converted – I mainly wanted to choose a female Doctor of the Church – but when I finally spent time with her work, I knew that I’d been drawn to her for all the right reasons.

    I also chose it because my sister has a Teresa-related name. And while she’s not Catholic, I liked the idea that it would echo her name, too – particularly in case I ever used the name for a daughter. (Which didn’t happen. But I still like that the name connects family and faith.)

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  4. I chose Lucy – I was between her and St Bernadette, who had been my favorite saint as a child (who knows why, though she is great!). I told myself on a particular Sunday that I’d choose that day, and the mass readings that day were all about the light of God so I picked Lucy.

    I think if I’d known about St. Edith/Theresa Benedicta of the Cross at the time, I’d have picked her because when I did meet her when I was older, I came to identify with her quite deeply and named my daughter after her, even!

    I also “get along” with St. Theresa of Avila quite well so maybe I’d choose her today, since I already have the Edith connection from naming a child after her.

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  5. I chose St. Catherine of Alexandria as my Confirmation saint, mainly because she’s the patron saint of librarians and because I love the story about the conversion of the 50 philosophers. 🤓📚

    Shortly after I was confirmed, I read a biography of St. Teresa of Calcutta and felt a really strong connection to her. I don’t regret choosing St. Catherine (I’m sure there’s a reason and I’m grateful to have her interceding for me!) but I DO think I would have chosen Teresa if I had learned about her sooner.

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  6. I don’t technically have a confirmation name. I was confirmed as an adult. At the beginning of my RCIA classes, we were given a form asking what name we might want to use, but we were told we didn’t have to pick just then, so I decided to wait and think it over. I assumed we would be given another chance to choose when it was closer to the actual confirmation, but we were never asked again. I was pretty bummed about that! If we had been asked again, I was going to choose Veronica, so I consider that to be my unofficial confirmation name.

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    • Ohh yes, I agree with you about Veronica! I don’t remember about my own Confirmation or what is standard practice (if any) but when my son was confirmed last week, the bishop asked him his name and he replied with his Confirmation name, as he’d been told to do, but it wasn’t written down anywhere, there’s no official record, so I’d say Veronica is just as official for you!

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  8. Yes and no. I was born on the Feast of the Annunciation, and have always felt a connection to the angels, so I went with the feminine form of Gabriel. I wish 1) I had stuck with Gabriel and 2) that maybe I had thought more about some other powerful saints (not that I don’t love Gabriel- he’s come through for me on several occasions!- but there are some great ones out there I didn’t consider due to being “handed” the Annunciation and angel connection. 🙂
    Another cool thing is my brother and sister took the other archangels as their Confirmation names, so we have that going for us!

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    • While I certainly understand choosing a feminine form of Gabriel, I don’t think a lot of people realize girls can take a male saint’s name (without alteration) and vice versa, so I can see where you’re coming from with wishing you had chosen Gabriel itself (though Gabrielle and Gabriel(l)a are beautiful!). Also feeling like an Annunciation/angel name was “handed” to you, I can see that. I love that you and your sibs all took the archangel names! So cool!

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  9. My confirmation name is Elizabeth, mainly because I liked the name and it is my mother’s middle name and I didn’t particularly like her first name, Margaret, when I was 13. I would probably still choose the name but I might have picked a patron saint like Elizabeth Ann Seton or Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, who is honored in the Russian Orthodox Church as St. Elizabeth the New Martyr. As a journalist I have developed an appreciation for St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of reporters. My father decided to convert to Catholicism a few years ago and chose Benedict as his confirmation saint.

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    • It is interesting to me how many people choose Confirmation names based on liking or disliking certain names — I know that totally informed my choice! (Though I love Lucia, I like Jacinta better.) I like seeing one’s faith journey through the Saints one feels close to at different points.

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  10. Like a true name nerd, I started my Confirmation name list years before my confirmation, and I had a process. First, I looked through the index of Lives of the Saints (volumes 1 and 2) and the Picture Book of Saints that our family had and I looked for names that I thought were pretty. If a name caught my eye, I read the information about that saint. If I liked both the name and the story, it went on my list. I can’t remember all the names on the list, but I eventually chose St. Brigid of Kildare. I also can’t remember exactly why I chose her over the others, but I think I liked her humility and that she wasn’t as well known as some of the other choices.

    I don’t regret my choice, and as I have learned more about her, I have come to appreciate her story even more, but I am not sure that I would make the same choice if I was to be confirmed today.

    Since I was confirmed, I have really grown to identify with St. Teresa of Calcutta, and every quote of hers that I read strikes a major chord with me. She would be a strong contender. The other saint that I love is Lucy. You can’t beat having a martyr on your side!

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  11. I have always been name-obsessed, so, nearly 15 years later, I can still so vividly remember the rationale that went through my very irrational 13-year-old head.

    I went through so many saints before deciding on St. Anne. In a way, I chose her because I was planning for the future. I have always wanted to get married and have kids, so it seemed like she could come in handy later. And as a particularly religious 8th grader, I had lots of religious sisters, priests, and random others really hoping and praying I’d end up a Sister in the future. Wanting to get married so badly and being deathly afraid God could *actually* eventually call me to religious life, I thought my one rebellion against all those people’s (well-intentioned) off-handed comments to me was choosing a saint who was married and a mother.

    More practically, I also just wanted a “normal” name in case I ever wanted to add it to any legal documents (have not and don’t plan on doing this). I have always had a particular devotion to St. Therese, but her name was WAY TOO French for me at the time, which is hilarious to think about now. And, of course, in my 8th grade mind, if I chose St. Therese, I was essentially sealing the deal on my doomed fate for religious life.

    I am happy to report, my spiritual life and and religious rationale has matured greatly since those days. St. Anne has been a solid patroness all these years, so I think I’d choose her again. But if I chose any other saint now, I think it would be a verrrry close race between St. Anne and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who has been following me around for several years now and happens to be both a married mother and religious sister.

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    • Ohmygosh Katie, this is all hilarious and fabulous!! I can relate to your feeling “deathly afraid” that God might be calling you to the religious life — I remember feeling similarly, and feeling at a certain point like I just needed to brave and face this question — I went to Fatima with the Blue Army Sisters and did a discernment weekend with the Little Sisters of the Poor (during which I spend my free time sketching wedding dresses, as I was dating my now-husband at the time! It was a last attempt to be sure of what God was asking of me, and I was so relieved it was marriage! Haha!). I love that you thought St. Anne “could come in handy later”!! And so interesting about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton following you around! I love that she has Ann in her name too — seems like St. Anne was a great choice for you!

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    • Oh my! It’s funny because I really wanted to get married and feared being called to be a nun. I was confirmed at age 24, and somehow it totally escaped me that that might “seal my fate” haha!!! That’s the kind of thing I normally would worry about! I think maybe because she begged God to be a Carmelite, which seemed like she had a strong desire (like me) and it was, in fact, God’s will for her. So I hoped my desire was also God’s will for me! I think I also feared choosing a wife/mother and kind of jinxing myself and never ending up married. Ah, the angst of young vocation discernment! Haha!

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    • I don’t hear too often from people who stayed with their given name (on purpose, instead of not given a choice) instead of choosing a new name — I like your story!!

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  13. I’m Orthodox, so we do baptismal names and no other confirmation saints unless we’re becoming monastics/clergy. I was 6, so the priest gave me 3 choices: Brigid, Lucy, or Martha. Martha’s self-sacrifice was not appealing to my tiny self, Lucy was a virgin martyr and I have always struggled with them as a category, but Brigid! She gave away other people’s butter!

    I have no regrets.

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  14. This is such a good question. I was confirmed five years ago and chose Monica. No regrets, but I do think I’d have to think about it a lot more now because I know of so many more saints. Actually, I would probably be paralyzed by indecision now- at the time I think I just googled patron saints for mothers because that’s what felt most applicable to me!

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    • “I would probably be paralyzed by indecision now” — I totally get this! I love that you googled patron saints for mothers — sounds like as good a method as any!

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  15. Love this question!

    When I was confirmed around 15 years ago, I took Saint Catherine of Alexandria as my Confirmation saint – I did that because my friends who had saint names just picked the saint with their name, and since their was no saint named Alexandria, I figured Saint Catherine of Alexandria was as close as I’d get.

    Once I learned about her, I came to appreciate her very much – I’ve always loved reading and learning (and debating!), and I feel I was guided to her because of a special bond. I think Saint Catherine will always be one of the most important guiding figures for me, but I have recently gotten married, and since Saint Catherine has patronage over unmarried women, I’ve been thinking about a figure for this new phase of my life – marriage and then motherhood. I’ve been most drawn to Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, and would probably consider Mary as a “new” Confirmation name.

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    • Your reasoning behind choosing St. Catherine of Alexandria is great! I love that you came to love her as you learned more about her! And I love reading your thoughts about a patron for your new phase of life. ❤ (Congratulations on your marriage!!)

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  16. I was confirmed at age 24. I chose St. Therese, “The Little Flower,” because I was a professional writer, and I was drawn to the fact that she is a Doctor of the Church and a writer. Or rather, she drew me to her? It seems St. Therese works that way. Would I choose the same Saint now? I don’t know! I was single then, hadn’t studied the Saints much, and now, of course, many other Saint stories resonate with me. I did read St. Therese’s, “Story of a Soul” twice after I was confirmed and was deeply moved and influenced by it. She also interceded for me in meeting and marrying my husband. And she really introduced me to the deep love the Saints feel for us. I know that she was the right choice at that time, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.

    Interestingly, my identical twin – who was confirmed a couple years before me – chose “Big Teresa” (Avila), so we both felt drawn to these influential Doctors.

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  17. I’ve long been kind of embarrassed by my confirmation name story! I was 13 and very into Harry Potter, so when I came across a certain character’s name in a little book of female saints, I couldn’t resist, and my parents were like “well, she IS a saint, so I guess it works…?” The name was… St. Hedwig, who shared her name with Harry’s pet owl. And I had to write a whole essay for my CCD class about why I related to/looked up to St. Hedwig, who was a 13th century Polish queen who married at age 12, had seven children, and then lived among nuns as widow. Quite a life, but very different from my life as a middle schooler!

    Weirdly enough, there was another Harry Potter fan who chose the name Hedwig in my large confirmation class! I’m sure this confused/amused the bishop. But my twin chose Rose, which is much more recognizable. My mom ordered a cake that said “God bless Rose and Hedwig” which apparently confused the grocery store workers! Everyone always laughs when I tell them what name I chose. But anyway, St. Hedwig, pray for us!

    If I had to choose today, I’m not quite sure what name I’d go with. Probably a Marian name, since I adore both the Blessed Mother and my own mom named Mary. Maybe something that doubled to honor one of my grandmothers? I’m fond of their saintly names, Marguerite (but always went by Peggy!) and Bernadette.

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  18. I chose St. Therese of Lisieux, and my confirmation name was Theresa. I was a very Anne Shirley-esque child, and though that Therese’s story with the title of Little Flower was just so romantic, including (in a morbid way, tbh) dying of tuberculosis. As an aside, I feel like dying of TB was oddly common in books I read growing up, and it just seemed so literary.
    Then, when I got to college, I wished I had picked another patron for that name, like Teresa of Avila or Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). I wanted someone bolder and fiery and not flowery and delicate like Therese of Lisieux.
    Now, I feel like I’ve come full circle. As a mom with a boring 9-5 job, I feel like Therese and the little way speak to me again, and she seems like a good patron for where I find myself now, not working in a big shiny job, with a very private life. I think of how Therese wanted to be a missionary, but found herself making the most of her life at Carmel.

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  19. I chose Maximilia after Maximilian Kolbe, whose feast day is my birthday. I wish now I had just kept the masculine name instead of feminizing it, as someone mentioned above. His story is just as powerful to me today as it was to me as a teenager, so I think I would pick him again, though many of the mother saints would appeal to me in my vocation as it is now. I also ended up going to Franciscan University of Steubenville, and later learned that St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan, so I like to think he had a hand in my choice of colleges, which was very formative for me!

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  20. Honestly, probably. I picked Alexandria after Saint Alexander. I first just liked the name after I saw it, but then when I was reading about St. Alexander I came across a prayer that I liked saying something about don’t worry about other people’s problems. My other choice would have been Josephine. Now I have such a love for so many Saints it would most likely be different. That just means a litany of Saints names for future babies!

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