Christian name

See also: Christian-name

English

Etymology

From Christian + name.

Noun

Christian name (plural Christian names)

1. (Christianity) A first name formally given to a child at a Christian baptism.
2. (by extension) Any forename.
   • 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XII, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume I, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, pages 137–138:

     This was all overheard by Miss Dashwood; and in the whole of the sentence, in his manner of pronouncing it, and in his addressing her sister by her christian name alone, she instantly saw an intimacy so decided, a meaning so direct, as marked a perfect agreement between them.

   • 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XIV, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, pages 277–278:

     Mrs. Dashwood had never been so much pleased with any young women in her life, as she was with them; had given each of them a needle-book, made by some emigrant; called Lucy by her christen name; and did not know whether she should ever be able to part with them.

3. (Singapore) An English given name, particularly for ethnic Chinese who usually have a separate Chinese name.
4. (chiefly Korea) A baptismal name or confirmation name used in religious contexts, but not part of the legal name.
   • 2000, U.S. Catholic Historian:

     At the convent he is known as "Andrew." This is Shin's baptismal name. Korean Catholics baptized as infants take on a Christian name which also acts as their confirmation name.

   • 2003 January 30, R L Trask, Mind the Gaffe: The Penguin Guide to Common Errors in English, Penguin UK, →ISBN:

     Many of these, however, thoughtfully join their given names with a hyphen, or even write them solid, so that Lee Soo Man may present himself as Soo-Man Lee or Sooman Lee. A Korean who is a Christian will additionally take a Christian name, and so our Mr Lee may present himself as Noah Lee.

   • 2011, Manfred Schmeling, Hans-Joachim Backe, From Ritual to Romance and Beyond: Comparative Literature and Comparative Religious Studies : Proceedings of the ICLA Conference at Jacobs University, Bremen, August 6-8, 2008, Königshausen & Neumann, →ISBN, page 46:

     An Chung-gun (baptized Thomas as his Christian name), Korean 'national hero,' who assassinated the Japanese Prime Minister and was a criminal from the Japanese point of view […]

Usage notes

Many non-Christian people find this term offensive when used to refer to them. The synonyms can be used to avoid any possible offense.

Synonyms

• first name
• forename
• given name
• front name

Derived terms

• Christian-name (verb)

Related terms

• Sunday name

Translations

first name at Christian baptism

• Breton: anv-badez (br) m
• Catalan: nom de fonts (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 教名 (zh) (jiàomíng) (religious name), 名字 (zh) (míngzi)

• Czech: křestní jméno (cs) n
• Dutch: doopnaam (nl) m
• Esperanto: baptonomo
• Finnish: ristimänimi (fi)
• French: nom de baptême (fr) m
• German: Taufname (de) m, Vorname (de) m
• Hungarian: keresztnév (hu)
• Irish: ainm baiste m
• Italian: nome di battesimo m
• Japanese: クリスチャンネーム (ja) (Kurisuchan nēmu), 洗礼名 (ja) (せんれいめい, senreimei), 名前 (ja) (なまえ, namae)
• Macedonian: ќрсно и́ме n (ḱrsno íme)
• Polish: imię chrzcielne n
• Portuguese: nome de batismo f
• Romanian: nume de botez (ro)
• Russian: и́мя, да́нное при креще́нии n (ímja, dánnoje pri kreščénii), и́мя (ru) n (ímja)
• Scottish Gaelic: ainm-baistidh m
• Spanish: nombre de pila (es) m
• Turkish: vaftiz adı
• Vietnamese: tên thánh (vi)

any forename — see forename