The name day is the annual anniversary associated with a person’s first name, which coincides with the day on which the liturgical calendar celebrates the saint who bears the same name. In a broader sense, a name day is therefore the celebration of one’s name. The celebration is distinct from that of a birthday, which instead celebrates the date of birth. The tradition of the name day has origins at the beginning of the Christian era, when the liturgical calendar became widespread, in which each day is dedicated to a saint. As time passed, the custom of celebrating all the people who bore his name became established on the day dedicated to a saint. Today the name day is celebrated in most Catholic and Orthodox countries, but is generally considered less important than a birthday, which, despite having established itself later, arouses greater interest.
The origins of the name day
The tradition of celebrating name days dates back to the first centuries of Christianity. Among the first Christians, the custom of celebrating the figure of martyrs was established, that is, people killed because of their faith, which until the year 313, as we know, was considered illegal in the Roman Empire. The celebration fell on the anniversary of their death. In fact, the day of death was considered the true “birth”, because from that moment the “true life”, the afterlife, began (while earthly life was considered only a moment of passage). The date of death was therefore much more important than that of birth, which a large part of the population did not know.
On this basis, a liturgical calendar was established among Christians, in which the memory of one or more saints was celebrated every day.
Furthermore, since the first centuries of Christianity, the custom of assigning the names of saints to newborns spread, which replaced, in most cases, the previous Roman names. It was thought that the saint would protect the person who bore his name. In this way the tradition of celebrating name days was established: it became almost natural, in fact, to associate the celebration of a saint with all the people who bore his name.
More specifically, the name day became established in the Middle Ages in much of the Christian world. Therefore, it preceded the birthday by several centuries, which only became established in the modern age and has only spread on a large scale in recent centuries.
The meaning of the celebration of the name day today and the adespotic names
category: society and culture
Today the name day is a secular celebration, generally completely disconnected from its religious origin. Not surprisingly, even non-believing people celebrate it. There are, however, name days that are “more important” than others, that is, those of the most well-known saints, whose anniversary many people remember: to give a few examples, St. Joseph, celebrated on March 19, St. Anthony of Padua on June 13 (not to be confused with St. Anthony the Abbot, who is celebrated on January 17), St. Francis of Assisi (October 4), St. John the Baptist (June 24) and others.
The name day is celebrated today in all Catholic and Orthodox countries, but in most cases it is considered less important than the birthday.
Furthermore, not everyone has a name day: there are also “adespot” names, that is, names without a reference saint. To give a few examples, Gloria, Giada, Italo, Loris and others. They are often names linked to science, specific political traditions or pagan deities. Adespote names do not have a specific name day, but are generally celebrated on November 1st, All Saints’ Day.
