Happy Friday everyone! Appropriately, today is the feast of the Saint of joy, Philip Neri! Read more about him here and here.
I read a question online the other day from a Catholic mama wondering how other mothers chose their children’s Confirmation names. I found it to be such a startling question! While I do know that parents would choose a Confirmation name for a very young child who can’t do so him/herself, as this reader and her husband did for their baby who would be very sick at birth (for those who remember me sharing about Meagan [here, here], and posting her little sister’s consultation and birth announcement, you’ll love to know that she has two more younger sisters!), and another friend did so for her very little ones who were Chrismated (the Eastern equivalent of our Confirmation), I’m more familiar with the practice of confirmands choosing their own Confirmation names as teens (or adults, for those who are confirmed later). I never considered choosing my boys’ Confirmation names, and indeed have delighted in witnessing their process of identifying the Saints they feel closest to and choosing their names. I definitely like to bring up the subject with them, and maybe make suggestions, but I’ve never thought of taking over that decision. I chose my own without my parents’ help as well, and so did my friends, but maybe our experience isn’t the norm? Maybe there are regional differences?
And speaking of regional differences (and my second mention of German naming practices this week!), I have friends in Germany whose son was just confirmed and when I asked if he took a Confirmation name she said that that’s not really a thing there. Do you know other places where it’s not common to take a Confirmation name? (Here is the article I wrote for CatholicMom on Confirmation names a few years ago, which might be helpful for anyone choosing a Confirmation name [parents or confirmands].)
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Read all about how to get your own baby name consultation from either Theresa or myself here.
For help with Marian names, 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). It’s perfect for expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady!
Sancta Nomina 
I would think that in the case of confirmation for an infant, “taking a confirmation name” wouldn’t be the practice. especially since confirmation would be taking place immediately after baptism and the parents would have just chosen the child’s baptismal name!
I don’t believe choosing a confirmation saint is necessary to be confirmed, but rather a good and meaningful practice (I’m trying to find anything written about this but can’t, really)… i have definitely heard from others that in the place where they were confirmed, either as young people or through RCIA, they didn’t choose a saint. But then I’ve also heard from people who were never required to go to confession before receiving their first communion, either as children or through RCIA so who knows if it’s a question of whether this is required!
In any case it is definitely weird to choose your child’s confirmation name if they are old enough to be confirmed as a not-infant.
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not a thing in italy as far as my friends were concerned.
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Buying a St Michael statue at store I had a conversation with the employee about how boys love St Michael and how her son chose him as his confirmation saint (so did one of my boys) she was talking about in Mexico where she’s from that wasn’t a practice and another close friend who was born and raised in Mexico said as much, too.
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I’m definitely getting the feeling that choosing a Confirmation name might be a predominately American practice … thank you for sharing!
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My children were confirmed 13 months after first communion, so about age 8. They needed a lot of “help” choosing a saint… in our tradition a saint name is chosen at confirmation. I must admit, I kind of chose, but took into account their preference. If they disliked the name, it was rejected.
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That seems very appropriate given their ages! Do you mind me asking what tradition you’re a part of?
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I never thought about the fact that a name isn’t a requirement for Confirmation until just now. From what I can tell, this is accurate. However, at the time of my Confirmation, I was intensely focused on the ability to choose a name for myself!
With that said, I recently did a Confirmation Class, and one of our projects involved taking the definitions of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost and how our patron saint to be used those gifts. It turned out to be an enjoyable project. I, too, did my own patron saint – St. Elizabeth of Hungary – and learned a lot.
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I love that project idea!! I will keep that in mind! Is Catherine your religious name? If so, would you mind if I emailed you with a few questions about it? Thank you, Sister!
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Yes, I am named after St. Catherine of Bologna – a Franciscan nun. And yes, you can email me anytime.
sistercatherine.tor@gmail.com
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