Christian Christian Names: Baby Names inspired by the Bible and the Saints. Martin Manser
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(m)
[chad] from Old English name Ceadda, possibly from Celtic cad, meaning ‘battle’.
English bishop (died 672). Chad (or Ceadda) was born in Northumbria and was educated under St Aidan on Lindisfarne alongside his brother St Cedd. He succeeded Cedd as Abbot of Lastingham in Yorkshire before being appointed Bishop of York by King Oswiu of Northumberland’s son Alcfrith. He was subsequently removed from the post by Theodore of Canterbury in favour of the rival claim of St Wilfrid, who had been appointed to the same post by Oswiu himself. Chad’s dutiful acceptance of the demotion impressed Theodore sufficiently to persuade him to reinstate him some time afterwards, this time as first bishop of Mercia, based at Lichfield. During the remaining three years of his life, Chad continued to be true to his reputation for piety and humility and also founded a monastery in Lincolnshire.
Chantal (f)
[shahn-TAL] from Old Provençal cantal, meaning ‘stone’ and associated with French chant, meaning ‘song’.
Name given to honour St Jane Frances de Chantal.
Variant: Chantelle.
Charity (f)
[CHA-ri-tee] ultimately from Latin carus, meaning ‘dear’.
The name stands for the Christian quality of love, alongside Faith and Hope (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Variants: Charis, Charissa, Cherie, Cherry, Cheryl.
Charlene feminine form of Charles.
Charles (m)
[chahlz] from a Germanic word, meaning ‘man’.
Name of several saints: Charles of Sezze (1613–70), Italian mystic. Born John Charles Marchioni into a humble family in Sezze, Italy, he learnt a love of God from his grandmother but was prevented from entering the priesthood because of his lack of education. He chose instead the role of a Franciscan lay brother at Naziano, subsequently serving in various menial roles at monasteries near Rome. He became well known for his many mystical experiences, which he described in an autobiography, as well as for his simple holiness and was also respected for his wisdom, being consulted on spiritual matters by three popes.
Charles Borromeo (1538–84), Italian archbishop. Born into a wealthy family near Lake Maggiore, he was the nephew of Pope Pius IV and at the age of 22 was raised to the rank of cardinal and appointed administrator for the ruinous see of Milan before he had even been ordained a priest. Further senior posts quickly followed as the Pope’s favourite consolidated his reputation as a talented and tireless reformer. He played a prominent role in the final session of the reforming Council of Trent (1562), was made Bishop of Milan (1563) and became archbishop the following year.
Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916), French hermit. The Viscount Charles de Foucauld was born into a wealthy family and lived a dissolute youth as a soldier before turning to the church. He rejoined the church formally in 1886 and spent the next 10 years in Trappist houses. In 1897 he entered into the life of a hermit at Nazareth. He was ordained in 1901 and later resumed his hermit existence in the Algerian desert where he aimed to evangelise the desert tribes. Based at Tamanrasset in Algeria from 1905, he became well known in the region under the nickname ‘Little Brother Charles of Jesus’.
Charles Lwanga and Companions (died 1885–86). Martyrs of Uganda. The mentally unstable King Mwanga of Buganda launched a campaign of persecution against Christians in his country after Joseph Mkasa Balikuddembe, master of the royal pages and a Catholic, criticised the young king for his dissolute behaviour and specifically for the murder of the Anglican missionary bishop James Hannington in 1885. Balikuddembe was beheaded on the orders of the enraged king and replaced by Charles Lwanga, who was also a Christian. Some months later, when one of the pages refused the king’s sexual advances, Mwanga had Lwanga and all the other Christians among the royal pages arrested and condemned all 32 of them to death. They were duly burnt alive at Namugongo, wrapped in burning reed mats. Despite their youth, the victims of the massacre met their deaths with cheerfulness and with their faith in God intact.
Variants: Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Carol, Charley, Charlie, Chas, Chuck, Karl.
Feminine forms: Carleen, Carlene, Carol, Carole, Caroline, Charlene, Charlotte.
Charlotte feminine form of Charles.
Chloe (f)
[KLOH-ee] from Greek, meaning ‘green shoot’.
Chloe is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:11: members of her household (family or people) told Paul about what the church at Corinth was like.
Christian (m, f)
[KRIS-chuhn] from Latin Christianus.
First used as a nickname in the mainly Gentile church at Antioch in Syria, with the sense of ‘one who belongs to Christ’ (Acts 11:26). It occurs only three times in the New Testament: Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.
Variant: Chris.
Feminine forms: Christiana, Christie, Christina, Kirsty,
Tina.
Christiana, Christie, Christina feminine forms of Christian.
Christine (f)
[KRIS-teen] from Old English Cristen, meaning ‘Christian’.
A martyr of the early church, probably in the fourth century. She was born in Bofena, Italy. At the age of puberty she rejected the advances of local nobles. Her pagan father then locked her with servants in a tower, putting in her cell valuable pagan idols, which Christine smashed to pieces after receiving an angelic vision: she then gave the valuable pieces to the poor. When her father discovered what happened, he handed her over to a judge who tortured her, trying to make her renounce her faith: she, however, remained firm even under even more severe forms of torture.
Variants: Chris, Chrissie, Chrissy, Christian, Christina, Kirsten, Kirsty, Kristen, Kristina, Tina.
Christopher (m)
[KRIS-tuh-fuh] from Greek Christophoros, meaning ‘carrying Christ’.
Martyr of Lycia (third century). Nothing is known of the life of St Christopher beyond the belief that he died a martyr’s death in Lycia (in modern Turkey) during the reign of the Emperor Decius around the middle of the third century. He was sentenced to be burnt to death but when this failed he was shot with arrows and beheaded.
The substance of the modern legend of Christopher was invented in the medieval period. According to this tradition, he was a great giant who vowed to serve the most powerful king on earth. He swore loyalty initially to a Christian ruler, but subsequently abandoned him to serve the Devil. When the Devil revealed his terror of Christ, Christopher determined to serve the latter instead. He was told by a hermit that Christ might be found on the other side of a particular river. When Christopher reached the river he agreed to carry across a child, only to find that the child – which became heavier and heavier – was Christ (proved when the child made Christopher’s staff sprout fruit and flowers). Subsequently he obeyed Christ’s command to defend the Christians in Lycia at a time of harsh persecution.
He converted all those who sought to capture him but was eventually put to death for refusing to sacrifice to the gods. Today he is honoured as the patron saint