Names on Baptismal Certificates
I was just reading some posts over at 24-7 Family History Circle and saw these valuable tips regarding names on baptismal certificates:
According to a birth certificate, my oldest sister’s birth name was Alberta. Her baptism certificate indicated her name was Margaret Alberta. This was because the Catholic Church required that a saint’s name be included. She used both names growing up. During my early years I was confused at this and just lately, at her death, I realized what happened. Someone else may have had the same circumstances. I hope this helps.
~Robert
When our daughter was baptized in 1962 we told the priest that we had named her Karen Marie. The pastor said that Karen is derived from the name Catherine, and Marie is derived from Mary. Then he further commented that since Mary is the mother of God her name had to come first. So Karen Marie is stated as Mary Catherine on her baptismal certificate, but has never gone by either of those names. If you were looking at her baptismal certificate and trying to find her by that name, you never would.
~Louise
I have an ancestor that is listed in documents by a few different names, most of them are church records, and now I wonder if this is part of the reason.
She used the name Malinda (or variations of it) in day-to-day life, but whenever she was mentioned in a church record, the name of Margarethe was used, sometimes in conjunction with the name Magdalena (sometimes before, sometimes after, Magdalena).
For the longest time I wondered if I had the correct person or if she simply went by a different name, depending on her mood.
I’ve recently realized that Malinda was probably just a shortened, anglicized version of Magdalena, but I always wondered why I never saw the name Margarethe in records other than from the church.
I don’t know if I will ever be able to answer this question, but until then, maybe I can just blame it on the church. 
I’ve heard of some people going by different names through their church before… like picking a biblical baptism name.
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October 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am