Today, August 2, is the name day of
Adriana, Akesha, Eusebius, Julia, Julian, Julan, Kalida, Kostja
In their long history, the first Christians had given themselves names of martyrs and apostles to differentiate themselves. This tradition was cultivated even more intensely during the crusades between 1099 and the 13th century:
At that time not only the names of well-known saints were borne, but also names from both the old and the new testament. In addition, special liturgical events were honored, for example in France by calling the children "Pascal", derived from "Pâques" (Easter), "Toussaint" (All Saints' Day) or "Noël" (Christmas).
In the course of the 16th century, the church decreed that all newborn children should be baptized by saints.
“The pastor should make sure that the children are not given any offensive or ridiculous names, or even names that have been taken from the legends or those of idols or pagans. Instead, as far as possible, the names of saints are preferable.”
The named saints should on the one hand be the protector of the child and on the other hand advocate before God's Last Judgment. So the little ones were baptized in the names of the saints, who were specially commemorated on the day of their baptism.
Martin Luther, born on November 10, 1483, baptized on November 11, was therefore given the name of St. Martin of Tours.
The Reformation led to a general decline in the use of saints' names, and Old Testament names such as Benjamin, Jonas, Daniel, David, Rebekka or Martha were preferred until the 18th century.
