Christian name

A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often given by parents at birth.^[1] In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name is commonly their first name and is typically the name by which the person is primarily known.

Traditionally, a Christian name was given on the occasion of Christian baptism, with the ubiquity of infant baptism in modern and medieval Christendom. In Elizabethan England, as suggested by William Camden, the term Christian name was not necessarily related to baptism, used merely in the sense of "given name": Christian names were imposed for the distinction of persons, surnames for the difference of families.^[2] In more modern times, the terms have been used interchangeably with given name, first name and forename in traditionally Christian countries, and are still common in day-to-day use.

Strictly speaking, the Christian name is not merely the forename distinctive of the individual member of a family, but the name given to the person (generally a child) at their christening or baptism. In pre-Reformation England, the laity was taught to administer baptism in case of necessity with the words: "I christen thee in the name of the Father" etc. To "christen" in this context is therefore to "baptise", and "Christian name" means "baptismal name".^[2]