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Baby Names Inspired by Saints
Saintly baby names are reminders and stories alike. Each one of them relates directly or indirectly to one of the thousands of saints known worldwide. If baby’s going to be raised in the Roman Catholic denomination, then there are over 10,000 saint names to choose from—not counting all the variations! However, this list makes the new parent’s life that much easier by expanding the worldly options to outside the Vatican while narrowing the selection down to just 309 saintly baby girl, boy, and gender-neutral names.
Explore Baby Girl and Boy Names Inspired by Saints
How does a person get sainted?
In Catholicism, saints are established through a process called “canonization.” This process begins five years after the death of the figure that the application is made on behalf of, and the application itself must be sent directly to the Vatican. Through the canonization process, the to-be-saint is evaluated in their service of God and proof that they lived a life of heroic virtue. However, in other religions—for instance, some polytheistic ones—saints are recognized not through the canonization process, but through their selflessness and spirituality, mixed with a heavy dose of “extraordinary otherness.”
Who are the most famous saints?
With 1.3 billion people practicing Catholicism, Catholic saints are likely the most popular saints worldwide. Saint Jude, St. Joan of Arc, St. Joseph, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Michael the Archangel are often seen as the most famous saints—with an honorable mention of St. Thomas Aquinas—that are prayed to in times of trouble. Saint Jude, the patron saint of hope and impossible causes, became sainted for his love of Jesus. But in counterpart to pure love, heroic battlers like St. Joan of Arc and St. Michael the Archangel are reminders of the merit of fighting valiantly for your cause. And lastly, St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love of all creation, but somehow is perhaps one of the most relatable saints despite being canonized just two years after his death in 1226. Due to his life of partying turned philanthropy, he represents the changes you can undergo at any point in your life and has become a pillar of faith for millions of people around the world.
What religions do saints exist in?
Saints are common knowledge in Abrahamic religions, but there are also saints in the eastern world too. In Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Shinto religions there are different versions of saints. Respectively, these religions’ saints go by the names of guru, bodhisattva, zhenren or shengren, and kami. These divinities, however, can’t be explained in the same way as Christian and Catholic saints. They might be simply divine spirits that embody earthly elements or sages who have achieved immortality and has risen above earthly desires. No matter where you are around the world, there are people who believe in divinity and the power a figure holds.
