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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

confirmation names

30 replies

alita7 · 07/05/2014 21:37

Sorry this isn't about baby names but still names so I thought I could post?

When I was 13 I was confirmed as my family is Catholic. I now class myself as an atheist/ agnostic but I was thinking, what's happened to my confirmation name? It was nice to choose a new name for myself but was there any legality to it or is it just there if you want it etc? I've not written it with my name since about a year after as the novelty wore off... but I was wondering if it technically exists or not?

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DogCalledRudis · 07/05/2014 23:50

With Catholics, when you baptise children, you give them a saint name. That would be their middle name.
Myself i had a saint name as my first name, i was not given second.

CleverOl10 · 07/05/2014 23:17

Pretty sure they are not legal in any way, just choosing a saint whose life you admire to follow.

Original poster
alita7 · 07/05/2014 22:58

no supposedly it's like an extra middle name but I haven't used mine for years.

OP posts:
SpeedwellBlue · 07/05/2014 22:56

Do they become their new second name or something?

DramaAlpaca · 07/05/2014 22:53

I don't think there's any legality to confirmation names, they are just symbolic. I'm not Catholic but DH is & the DC were baptised in the Catholic faith although as older teenagers they have now lapsed totally. They were encouraged by their school to choose traditional saint's names. Happily, they all chose names that I like and that work well with the names we chose for them when they were born. They never use them in daily life.