To any former, lapsed or current Catholics. Can you remember your Confirmation name?

Francis Xavier as it was 1985 and I was a huge fan of the X-Men and wanted to have the name Xavier.

Never had one. I knew I was never going to get married (to a woman) and so I got a part-time job after school as a way to avoid those dreadful Confirmation classes.

Mine is Peter. I chose it because he was the bad boy who denied Jesus.

Former Southern Baptist (yikes) here. I went through the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) at age 26.. I chose St. Thomas Aquinas as my confirmation name. I answer that, as a younger person, I had a thing for Flannery O'Connor and St. Thomas A. If I had a do-over, it would be a different Saints name.

I picked my own name, which I don't particularly like, because I thought the whole thing was strange; I just went along. Why if I couldn't use the new one? It was an obligation to fulfill. I didn't even realize kids got presents or a celebration meal until this thread. Yes, my parents were tacky cheap.

Mark, after my uncle.

I made my First Confession, First Communion and Confirmation in the space of less than one month back in 1959. That's just the way things went down in the Baby Boomer years.

Confirmation was on a weekday night and other than my mother (my dad worked evening shift at the time) and my sponsor (a hurriedly chosen teen aged son of a family friend, no one else attended and there was no special party afterwards (unlike First Communion).

It was Catherine.

[quote]Can you remember your Confirmation name?

Do you think you're addressing dementia patients?

I wanted Damian but they wouldn't let me have it . It was about the time that movie was famous. The Church forbade us from seeing it - it was quite a scandal. But I think little gay boys always like a little scandal.

Pookie

Peter

Rose

Meghan

George, because both my sponsor and my godfather (also an uncle) were named George.

May, 1979 - I chose Michael, as my paternal cousin (oldest cousin on my father's side, whom I always looked up to) was my sponsor. It was a tradition on my dad's side of the family that you had to choose the first name of your sponsor when confirmed.

Valerie

Cher

Stephen

After nobody. I just liked the name. With a PH (not a V) because I was a fledgling gay.

Avigdor.

If I was a female, I'd have chosen Yentl, or maybe Hadass.

My mother once told me that spelling with the PH was the pagan way of spelling it.

A Confirmation name is taken very seriously at the beginning of one's adult faith tradition, even if it's later abandoned. NOT remembering it would seem to be the exception.

Michael, after my grandfather and my brother who was my sponsor.

Yes. I was named for my Uncle who was my sponsor.

Mark. For no particular reason except I liked the name

Beelzebub

I was nine and wanted it to be Jimmy (not James, but Jimmy), but my mother nixed that and suggested Francis, after my godfather who had just died. I don’t remember who my sponsor was.

Veronica. Big Elvis Costello fan. 1989

Sharkeisha No

Regan MacNeil

C of E: Christian,George, Andrew, Patric, David.

Joanne

Ignatius

RuPaul

Whoopi, after my sponsor Whoopi Goldberg.

Conshermation Shrane.

Francis

Went to a parochial school. The big question going around was whether the bishop would slap us (he didn't). Confirmed by an auxiliary bishop of the diocese, who later became a cardinal. He was a rightwing conservative in the mold of John Paul II. Horrible about women in the church and LGBT issues (of course). And, of course, he got caught up in the Abuse scandal...turning a blind eye to it and reassigning those accused.

Although I believe in a loving, forgiving God, I wouldn't mind if this guy is rotting in hell.

When I made mine, each Parish in my diocese held it on their own day from March - mid-May, skipping Holy Week. The Bishop would have to travel to each Parish most every weeknight to conduct the Sacrament and say the Mass.

About a decade later (late 80s), that changed in which the diocese was split up into two or three groups made up of a number of parishes, and each group had to go to the Cathedral, and the Bishop would conduct the service - this way everyone got confirmed within a week rather than over two months. When they switched to one big service, they also got rid of those being confirmed having their own sponsor - the diocese assigned two people to be the sponsor of every individual. A woman for the girls, a male for the boys. It seemed more streamlined and more efficient. I'm not certain whether that's still the way or not (I know they made changes during Covid, not sure what happened after that).

Remember ? I’m still trying to forget that entire debacle.

Immaculata.

At what age did you all do your Confirmation? It was typical for like 15-16 years-old where/when I grew up.

It was Gregory or Thomas, so my old Catholic name was Michael Francis Gregory.

Back in St Bridget's school in East Falls, I did Communion in 1968 at 8 years& Confirmation at 9 years in 1969.

Thanks for Cher-ing, r17.

R40 I was 15.

Mine was Peter, like several others in this thread. I had to do it at nine or 10; the archbishop had gotten some kind of permission from the Vatican to lower the confirmation age. This was in the mid-1990s in Miami.

R40, We were confirmed in the seventh grade, so I was 13.

Here's an old Gawker story about the archbishop.

Magnolia

1979, 8th grade. I had chosen Joseph but we had to cut out the letters on felt and glue them onto a white sash to wear during the ceremony. As a non crafty kid with terrible ADHD (no drugs for it back then or even a diagnosis/name for it) I had a really hard time tracing the letters and cutting them straight. By the time I got to the S in Joseph, I was frustrated and bored so changed it to the shorter John. My N was wonky.

Bernadette

Of course I remember, what a weird question.

That’s a lot of letters, r49

Theresa, after St. Theresa of Avila.

Louis. A strange choice for me - no relatives of that name, not a common name in the US. I just liked the sound of it with my first name, and I don't have a traditional middle name. I have a family surname as a middle name. But I've never used it. I don't remember having a sponsor.

r20, maybe your mom is somewhere where she can have a talk with St. Stephen, very FIRST martyr of Christianity. (Stephanos in Greek). Steven is a modern variant. But I know lots of Stevens and they are all nice people, which I'm sure you are as well.

I was 11 in sixth grade at a French Canadian School in 1977. Confirmation names were not thing there at the time. I don't recall it even being metioned.

I can’t believe there’s a St. Rita - it’s such a va va voom name.

Brooke Shields chose Camille.

Patrick - my birth date is March 17th. My sponsor was supposed to be my Godfather, but family relations were, to put it mildly, strained. So my sponsor was a man the family was very close to, kind of him. Big thanks to Uncle Joe for stepping up; Mom always appreciated your help.

[quote]R52 Theresa, after St. Theresa of Avila.

I always imagine her and St. Thérèse of Lisieux bitching at each other and vying for domination in the afterlife.

Catherine, after St Catherine of Siena

[quote]I can’t believe there’s a St. Rita - it’s such a va va voom name.

I have no idea what this means. I knew about 5 Ritas growing up. Lots of "Aunt Ritas" in the neighborhood. It's a common name, the shortened form of "Margarita," so it's similar to Peg, Maggie, Greta, etc. Today it's an old lady name. St. Rita of Cascia lived in the 15th century. Pretty sure "va va voom" had not entered the vernacular at that point.

One thing I remember from back then was that we were told our sponsor would be referred to as a Godparent. So my male cousin who sponsored me is also considered my Godfather in the Church, just like my uncle who baptized me. Both sacraments are considered just as important. (So technically, in the eyes of the Church, I had two Godfathers and one Godmother).

Origin

Pius XVIII

[quote]R60 I have no idea what this means. I knew about 5 Ritas growing up… St. Rita of Cascia lived in the 15th century. Pretty sure "va va voom" had not entered the vernacular at that point.

I guess it’s a cultural thing. I’ve never met a Rita in my life. I just associate it with Rita Hayworth and Rita Moreno, who basically played whores.

As for margaritas, those could make you puke and go into a blackout, you drank so many.

I don't remember the sponsor part. Was it required? Did I have sponsors that I don't remember? I do remember the slapping. This was late 60s in NY.

There's a St. Rita's Catholic church in my area.

Also, I was confirmed in the early 60s in the 4th grade and we didn't have sponsors either. Never heard of them.

R52, I am R 4. St. Theresa of Avilla would probably be my 'do over' name, if I could. I have become a fan

We were assigned the same sponsor for my entire group of those being confirmed.

[quote]I had two Godfathers

Did either of them make you an offer you couldn't refuse?

To R66-we didn't have sponsors back in the 1960s and 70s. That happened much later in the Catholic church.

r70 I was confirmed in a Catholic Church in California in 1965 and we most definitely had sponsors.

^^^That did not happen in Philly in the 60's and 70's^^^ Too many children making Confirmations back then.

It’s St. Teresa of Ávila, not Theresa.

Peter. I was going to pick Sir Thomas More until my cousin informed me he had put Jews to death for no other reason then that they didn't follow Christ. Peter was a sinner, denied Christ three times, and still created the church. I figured he was a fisherman on his way up. And I liked the idea of being Christ's second hand man.

What a fool I was. I should have picked St. Francis of a Sissy. Goats and a lisp- that's my life story.

Engelbert.

My oldest sister was my sponsor. We had to go to a class followed by a Mass a few weeks before. Then after I was confirmed, we had a party back at the house with my family, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmother. None of my friends were invited because they were all celebrating their own confirmations with their families.

Confirmation is the sacrament where we young Catholics are openly accepting the Church and its teachings, correct? We're all baptized into the Church (which makes us lifelong Catholics), but through confirmation we have publicly and of freewill acknowledged that we are of the Church... do I need correcting? Perhaps a slap or spank?

Oh shit, I went through Confirmation, and I can't remember my Confirmation name! How do I find out that info these days? All the relatives who would know are dead.

I guess I really AM going to hell now.

R70 I was confirmed in 1979, my sister in 1976. We had sponsors.

I do remember my mother telling us when she was confirmed in the late 40s, they had nuns sponsor the girls, and priests sponsor the boys. (My dad said the same thing - confirmed around the same time).