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**Averti$ingGuru** · 01-20-2008, 11:05 PM

Sometimes though priests find themselves in a difficult position when mothers or godmothers insist on names that have nothing to do with Orthodoxy.

You know, that in the end, it is the priest who names the child. The parents can suggest and for the most part the priest will cooperate with their suggestion. However, when the priest baptises the child and speaks his or her name in the sacrament, that's the name that is given the child. So a priest could be in an uncomfortable position with mothers (and fathers as well) - but he actually has the final say.

I had a family that wanted to name their son "Berkeley" after the city in California. (who knows why). In the end we baptized the child "Nicholas" but in common usage his parents call him "Berk". Another woman brought her child for baptism. The non-Orthodox father insisted on no full name, just the initials J.D. Thus in baptism he was named John Daniel (JD for short) but it is J.D. that appears on the birth certificate.

Fr David Moser

01-20-2008, 11:05 PM	#26
Averti$ingGuru Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 413 Senior Member	Sometimes though priests find themselves in a difficult position when mothers or godmothers insist on names that have nothing to do with Orthodoxy. You know, that in the end, it is the priest who names the child. The parents can suggest and for the most part the priest will cooperate with their suggestion. However, when the priest baptises the child and speaks his or her name in the sacrament, that's the name that is given the child. So a priest could be in an uncomfortable position with mothers (and fathers as well) - but he actually has the final say. I had a family that wanted to name their son "Berkeley" after the city in California. (who knows why). In the end we baptized the child "Nicholas" but in common usage his parents call him "Berk". Another woman brought her child for baptism. The non-Orthodox father insisted on no full name, just the initials J.D. Thus in baptism he was named John Daniel (JD for short) but it is J.D. that appears on the birth certificate. Fr David Moser
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