Do Catholics get a second middle name?
Ava Arnold
Updated on March 08, 2026
In many Catholic traditions, the person being confirmed chooses a new name, one to be added to his or her name (kind of like a second middle name). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia: the name is the name of a saint, chosen by the person to be confirmed and imposed by the bishop in Confirmation.
Why do Catholics have second names?
By the 1400s in Italy, the well-to-do started to give kids middle names that were also saints of the Catholic Church. The logic there was that naming a child after his Saint would offer additional protection.Do Catholics get a new name at confirmation?
Confirmation nameIn many countries, it is customary for a person being confirmed in some dioceses of Roman Catholic Church and in parts of Lutheranism and Anglicanism to adopt a new name, generally the name of a biblical character or saint, thus securing an additional patron saint as protector and guide.