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Help[Facts] Re: Recent increase in Christian/Cristian in Italy --Why?
in reply to a message by Cleveland Kent Evans
Pure speculation, but perhaps the religious population of Italy is shying away from saints` names or Biblical names, and this is their way of still expressing their beliefs. A family who 40 years ago might have named their son Giovanni or Paolo would settle on Christian today. I would suspect that is the reason for the rise in Western countries as well.
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But you don't need to be particularly religious to name your children Giovanni or Paolo, they just happen to be very common male names, very much like John and Paul in the English-speaking world. It's really not the kind of name that makes you think "oh, that kid's parents must be religious." Nor does Christian nowadays for the matter.
40 years ago or now, it's more likely that if someone gets named Giovanni or Paolo it's to honour a grandfather who had that name, rather than to express a religious belief.
And since Italians don't use surname-derived names, and made-up names or "exotic" names tend to be rare as well, the vast majority of names used by Italians, whether they're religious or not, are technically saints' names or Biblical names, by virtue of being traditional Western names.
I don't know any Christian's because the name isn't so common for my generation, but I know a couple of Cristiano's and I doubt any of them came from particularly religious families, nor are they religious themselves. I suspect their parents picked it just because they liked it.
There seems to be this myth of Italy as a country of ultra-devout Catholics, but it's really no longer the case, if it ever was. Religious practice is dwindling like in other places, and while the majority of the population is nominally Catholic in many cases they're not religious at all, really.
40 years ago or now, it's more likely that if someone gets named Giovanni or Paolo it's to honour a grandfather who had that name, rather than to express a religious belief.
And since Italians don't use surname-derived names, and made-up names or "exotic" names tend to be rare as well, the vast majority of names used by Italians, whether they're religious or not, are technically saints' names or Biblical names, by virtue of being traditional Western names.
I don't know any Christian's because the name isn't so common for my generation, but I know a couple of Cristiano's and I doubt any of them came from particularly religious families, nor are they religious themselves. I suspect their parents picked it just because they liked it.
There seems to be this myth of Italy as a country of ultra-devout Catholics, but it's really no longer the case, if it ever was. Religious practice is dwindling like in other places, and while the majority of the population is nominally Catholic in many cases they're not religious at all, really.
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Well I never said everyone with those names were named after apostles or saints, i just said that previous generations of parents seeking a name that shows their religion would chose a name such as that.
I also said that the trend could be started by religious parents, an then picked up by more secular ones for its aesthetic qualtities.
I know not all Italians are devout, but there are still some Christians there as everywhere.
I also said that the trend could be started by religious parents, an then picked up by more secular ones for its aesthetic qualtities.
I know not all Italians are devout, but there are still some Christians there as everywhere.
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If that was the case, the growing up form would be Cristiano and not the foreign Christian/Cristian.
Moreover, in the South European Catholic cultures (Portuguese, Italian, French, Spanish...), the way to express the devotion and Christianity through a name is not with the use of the equivalent to Christian as a name, but through names related to Catholic dogma, mysteries, festivities and advocations plus from some main Catholic characters. Even in the Middle Ages, when the equivalent forms of Christian appeared and were more common, they were not very usual.
Even if it is possible to found people named Christian-equivalents in South European Catholic countries, the use of those names were regarded as typically Protestant (including in this label, the Reformed churches and the Anglican communion) names until very recent times, just like some Old Testament names.
The current Italian trend is identical to the Spanish trend from the 80s (even more because both countries are of Latin culture, with very similar Romance languages and religiously very alike, in practices, devotion...), when Christian/Cristian grew up in popularity, absolutely not because of religious causes but because of the influence of American films and TV shows.
"Desde hace unas pocas décadas, y por importación foránea, este nombre ha arraigado en nuestro país con cierto éxito, en la mayoría de los casos escrito en la grafía extranjerizante Christian y acentuado en la primera sílaba." (Diccionario de nombres propios, by Roberto Faure, p.237)
I absolutelly agree with Fiammetta about the myth of some countries as ultra-devout Catholic countries, mainly Italy and Spain. Even ultra-devout Catholic people (as the members of Opus Dei, and in this specific case I have first-hand knowledge) pick the names mainly for aesthetic qualities, just like the rest of the population. The repertoire can vary, because every group has its own trends, but the motivation in the election is the same.
Moreover, in the South European Catholic cultures (Portuguese, Italian, French, Spanish...), the way to express the devotion and Christianity through a name is not with the use of the equivalent to Christian as a name, but through names related to Catholic dogma, mysteries, festivities and advocations plus from some main Catholic characters. Even in the Middle Ages, when the equivalent forms of Christian appeared and were more common, they were not very usual.
Even if it is possible to found people named Christian-equivalents in South European Catholic countries, the use of those names were regarded as typically Protestant (including in this label, the Reformed churches and the Anglican communion) names until very recent times, just like some Old Testament names.
The current Italian trend is identical to the Spanish trend from the 80s (even more because both countries are of Latin culture, with very similar Romance languages and religiously very alike, in practices, devotion...), when Christian/Cristian grew up in popularity, absolutely not because of religious causes but because of the influence of American films and TV shows.
"Desde hace unas pocas décadas, y por importación foránea, este nombre ha arraigado en nuestro país con cierto éxito, en la mayoría de los casos escrito en la grafía extranjerizante Christian y acentuado en la primera sílaba." (Diccionario de nombres propios, by Roberto Faure, p.237)
I absolutelly agree with Fiammetta about the myth of some countries as ultra-devout Catholic countries, mainly Italy and Spain. Even ultra-devout Catholic people (as the members of Opus Dei, and in this specific case I have first-hand knowledge) pick the names mainly for aesthetic qualities, just like the rest of the population. The repertoire can vary, because every group has its own trends, but the motivation in the election is the same.
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