Middle Name - Catholic

Catholic

Males in some predominantly Catholic communities (Belgian, French, Irish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Polish Catholics) are sometimes given what would otherwise be considered a female given name, especially the name Marie or Maria (famous examples being Erich Maria Remarque and Rainer Maria Rilke). In France, the most common case is to give a compound first name, such as Jean-Marie or, more rarely, André-Marie or Bernard-Marie; more rarely, Marie is used as third or subsequent given name. Females, too, are often given compound names which feature male given names, i.e. Marie-Pierre, or Marie-Georges. See French names for more details on naming practices in France.

Hispanic females, conversely, sometimes have the middle name José. This is particularly common in Roman Catholic families. Therefore, the name "María José" is a common female name, while "José María" is a common male name, such as with PGA Tour golfer José María Olazábal.

The use of such names is primarily a cultural issue, rather than a religious issue. There is no Church teaching regarding such names.

In many English-speaking countries it is customary for a person being confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church to adopt a Confirmation name, that may be used as a second middle name, and is without effect in civil law, unless, of course, the confirmand pursues the appropriate legal avenues.

In Malta, a person is given a first name, which is used in official documents. This name would be also the name given at baptism. Custom has it that that one has two godparents, and these choose a name each. These names are generally not officialised, but are recognised by the Church. These are then used as middle names. For example if the parents choose Noel as a first name, and the godparents choose David and Luke, the surname being Dimech, the child is named Noel David Luke Dimech. A common choice for godparent names used to be the name of an important person such as an ancestor, great grandparents, etc. However, often these names are not used by their holders and are referred to only if another person has the same first and last name, e.g. Noel D. Dimech.