Saint names for boys

Choosing a name for a son is one of the first prayers a Catholic parent makes for him. When we give a boy the name of a saint, we give him a friend in heaven who has already run the race, an example to grow into, and an intercessor who prays for him. The Catechism puts it simply: "the patron saint provides a model of charity; we are assured of his intercession" (CCC 2156).

The list below gathers saint names for boys from A to Z. Every name links to the saint's full entry on this site, with his story, his miracles, his prayers and how he is shown in art. Common variants follow each name, so a family looking for Spanish, Italian, Irish or French forms can find them. The date in parentheses is the saint's feast day, which becomes your son's name day.

Why Catholics give boys saints' names

The custom is very old. Around 260, St. Dionysius of Alexandria wrote that many Christians took the name of the apostle John "on account of their love for him, and because they admired and emulated him," adding that "many of the children of the faithful are called Paul or Peter." The historian Eusebius preserved his words in his Church History.

A century later St. John Chrysostom scolded the parents of Antioch for naming their babies by lighting lamps and choosing the name of whichever burned longest, "caring not to call it after the saints, as the ancients at first did." He urged them instead to choose the names of holy men known for their virtue. That is still the Church's counsel. The baptismal name may be a saint's name or one that "can also express a Christian mystery or Christian virtue," and canon 855 asks only that no name be given that is "foreign to Christian sensibility."

The Gospel itself tells the story of a naming. When Elizabeth's son was born, the relatives wanted to call him Zechariah after his father, but Zechariah, still unable to speak, asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name" (Luke 1:63). The name came from God, and the boy became St. John the Baptist.

Saint names for boys, A to Z

A

• Aidan: St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, the gentle Irish monk who brought the faith to northern England (August 31).
• Alban: St. Alban, the first martyr of Britain, who sheltered a hunted priest (June 22).
• Albert (Alberto, Albertus): St. Albert the Great, teacher of Thomas Aquinas and patron of scientists (November 15).
• Alexander (Alejandro, Alessandro, Alex): St. Alexander Nevsky, the Russian prince who died a monk (November 23).
• Aloysius (Luigi, Luis, Alois): St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a young Jesuit who died nursing plague victims, patron of young people (June 21).
• Alphonsus (Alfonso, Alphonse): St. Alphonsus Liguori, lawyer turned bishop and Doctor of the Church (August 1).
• Ambrose (Ambrosio, Ambrogio): St. Ambrose of Milan, the bishop who baptized St. Augustine (December 7).
• Andrew (Andrés, Andrea, André, Andreas, Drew): St. Andrew the Apostle, the first called, patron of Scotland (November 30); St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest (September 20); St. André Bessette, the humble doorkeeper of Montreal (January 6).
• Anselm (Anselmo): St. Anselm of Canterbury, who described theology as "faith seeking understanding" (April 21).
• Anthony (Antonio, Antoine, Anton, Tony): St. Anthony of Padua, the preacher we ask to help us find what is lost (June 13); St. Anthony the Great, father of monks (January 17).
• Athanasius (Atanasio): St. Athanasius of Alexandria, who defended the divinity of Christ through five exiles (May 2).
• Augustine (Agustín, Agostino, Austin): St. Augustine of Hippo, the restless sinner who became the Doctor of Grace (August 28); St. Augustine of Canterbury, apostle of the English (May 27).

B

• Barnabas (Bernabé, Barnaby): St. Barnabas, the "son of encouragement" who vouched for St. Paul (June 11).
• Bartholomew (Bartolomé, Bartolomeo, Bart): St. Bartholomew the Apostle, the Nathanael in whom Jesus found "no guile" (August 24).
• Basil (Basilio, Vasily): St. Basil the Great, bishop, monk and builder of hospitals (January 2).
• Bede: St. Bede the Venerable, the monk who wrote the first history of the English Church (May 25).
• Benedict (Benito, Benedetto, Bennett, Ben): St. Benedict of Nursia, father of Western monks, whose medal is worn worldwide (July 11); St. Benedict the Moor, the Sicilian friary cook, son of enslaved Africans, who became superior (April 4); St. Benedict Joseph Labre, the homeless pilgrim of Rome (April 16).
• Bernard (Bernardo, Bernie): St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Cistercian abbot who sang Mary's praises (August 20).
• Blaise (Blas, Biagio): St. Blaise of Sebaste, the bishop invoked for sore throats (February 3).
• Bonaventure (Buenaventura): St. Bonaventure, the Franciscan Doctor of the Church (July 15).
• Boniface: St. Boniface, the English missionary who became the apostle of Germany (June 5).
• Brendan (Brandon): St. Brendan the Navigator, the Irish abbot of the famous sea voyage (May 16).
• Bruno: St. Bruno, founder of the silent Carthusians (October 6).

C

• Cajetan (Gaetano, Cayetano): St. Cajetan, patron of job seekers (August 7).
• Camillus (Camilo, Camillo): St. Camillus de Lellis, a soldier and gambler who became a saint of the sick (July 14).
• Casimir (Kazimierz): St. Casimir, the young Polish prince known for his prayer and care for the poor, patron of Lithuania (March 4).
• Charles (Carlos, Carlo, Karl, Charlie): St. Charles Borromeo, the reforming archbishop of Milan (November 4); St. Charles de Foucauld, the desert hermit (December 1); St. Charles Lwanga, martyr of Uganda (June 3); St. Carlo Acutis, the teenage programmer who loved the Eucharist (October 12).
• Christopher (Cristóbal, Cristoforo, Kit): St. Christopher, the "Christ-bearer," patron of travelers (July 25).
• Clement (Clemente): St. Clement of Rome, the third successor of St. Peter (November 23); St. Clement of Alexandria, the Greek teacher who showed Christ as the true teacher (December 4).
• Columba (Colm, Columcille): St. Columba of Iona, the Irish monk who carried the Gospel to Scotland (June 9).
• Constantine (Constantino, Konstantin): St. Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, honored in the East with St. Helena (May 21).
• Cornelius (Cornelio, Neil): Pope St. Cornelius, who defended mercy for repentant sinners (September 16).
• Crispin: St. Crispin, the shoemaker martyr (October 25).
• Cuthbert: St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, shepherd boy turned bishop (March 20).
• Cyprian (Cipriano): St. Cyprian of Carthage, bishop and martyr of North Africa (September 16).
• Cyril (Cirilo, Kirill): Sts. Cyril and Methodius, brothers and apostles to the Slavs (February 14); St. Cyril of Jerusalem, who taught new Christians near the tomb of Christ (March 18); St. Cyril of Alexandria, defender of Mary as Mother of God (June 27).

D

• Damien (Damian, Damián): St. Damien of Molokai, who lived and died among the lepers of Hawaii (May 10); Sts. Cosmas and Damian, the twin doctors who healed for free (September 26).
• David (Dafydd, Dewi): St. David of Wales, patron of Wales, who told his monks to "do the little things" (March 1).
• Demetrius (Dimitri, Dmitri): St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, soldier-martyr loved in the East (October 26).
• Denis (Dennis, Dionysius): St. Denis of Paris, first bishop of Paris (October 9).
• Didacus (Diego): St. Didacus of Alcalá, the Franciscan brother for whom San Diego is named (November 13).
• Dominic (Domingo, Domenico, Dom): St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (August 8); St. Dominic Savio, John Bosco's young pupil (May 6).

E–F

• Edmund (Edmond): St. Edmund the Martyr, the king of East Anglia killed by Danish invaders in 869 (November 20); St. Edmund Campion, the Oxford scholar who became a Jesuit martyr (December 1); Blessed Edmund Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers (May 5).
• Edward (Eduardo, Ned, Ted): St. Edward the Confessor, the peaceable king who built Westminster Abbey (October 13); St. Edward the Martyr, the boy king murdered at Corfe (March 18).
• Eligius (Eloy, Eloi): St. Eligius, goldsmith and bishop (December 1).
• Ephrem (Ephraim, Efrén): St. Ephrem the Syrian, the "Harp of the Spirit," who taught the faith through hymns (June 9).
• Erasmus (Elmo): St. Erasmus, the bishop-martyr sailors call St. Elmo (June 2).
• Eugene (Eugenio, Eugène, Gene): St. Eugene de Mazenod, founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (May 21).
• Fabian (Fabián, Fabiano): Pope St. Fabian, chosen when a dove settled on his head (January 20).
• Fiacre: St. Fiacre, the Irish hermit-gardener (August 30).
• Florian (Florián): St. Florian, the Roman soldier who is patron of firefighters (May 4).
• Francis (Francisco, Francesco, François, Frank): St. Francis of Assisi, the little poor man who loved all creation (October 4); St. Francis Xavier, missionary to Asia (December 3); St. Francis de Sales, gentle bishop and patron of writers (January 24); St. Francis of Paola, the hermit of Calabria (April 2); St. Francis Solanus, the "wonder-worker of the New World" (July 14); Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, the Redemptorist who died nursing yellow fever victims in New Orleans (October 5).
• Fulton: Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, the bishop who preached Christ on television (December 9).

G–H

• Gabriel (Gabriele, Gabe): St. Gabriel the Archangel, who brought the Annunciation to Mary (September 29); St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, the cheerful young Passionist (February 27).
• George (Jorge, Giorgio, Jürgen): St. George, the soldier-martyr and dragon-slayer of legend (April 23); St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, mountaineer and friend of the poor (July 4).
• Gerard (Gerardo): St. Gerard Majella, the Redemptorist brother mothers ask to pray for a safe birth (October 16).
• Giles (Gil, Egidio): St. Giles, the hermit who sheltered a wounded deer (September 1).
• Gregory (Gregorio, Greg): St. Gregory the Great, the pope who sent missionaries to England (September 3); St. Gregory of Nazianzus, "the Theologian" (January 2); St. Gregory of Nyssa, mystic and brother of St. Basil (January 10); St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, "the Wonderworker" (November 17).
• Hilary (Hilario, Ilario): St. Hilary of Poitiers, bishop and Doctor of the Church who defended the divinity of Christ (January 13).
• Hubert (Huberto): St. Hubert of Liège, the bishop who, in legend, was converted by a vision of a stag while hunting (November 3).
• Hugh (Hugo): St. Hugh of Lincoln, the Carthusian bishop with the wild swan (November 17).

I–J

• Ignatius (Ignacio, Íñigo, Nacho): St. Ignatius of Loyola, the wounded soldier who founded the Jesuits (July 31); St. Ignatius of Antioch, who wrote letters on his way to martyrdom (October 17).
• Irenaeus (Ireneo): St. Irenaeus of Lyon, defender of the apostles' teaching (June 28).
• Isaac: St. Isaac Jogues, Jesuit martyr among the Mohawk (October 19).
• Isidore (Isidro): St. Isidore the Farmer, the field hand of Madrid (May 15); St. Isidore of Seville, the scholar some call patron of the internet (April 4); Blessed Isidore Bakanja, the young Congolese catechist who would not take off his scapular (August 15).
• Ivo (Yves, Ives): St. Ivo of Kermartin, the priest who defended the poor in court, patron of lawyers (May 19).
• James (Santiago, Diego, Jaime, Giacomo, Jacob, Jim): St. James the Greater, apostle and patron of pilgrims to Compostela (July 25); St. James the Less, apostle, whom tradition links with the leader of the church in Jerusalem (May 3).
• Januarius (Gennaro, Jenaro): St. Januarius, bishop-martyr and patron of Naples (September 19).
• Jerome (Jerónimo, Girolamo): St. Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin (September 30).
• Joachim (Joaquín, Gioacchino): St. Joachim, father of the Virgin Mary and patron of grandfathers (July 26).
• John (Juan, Giovanni, Jean, João, Sean, Ian, Ivan, Jack): St. John the Apostle, the beloved disciple (December 27); St. John the Baptist (June 24); St. John Bosco, father to poor boys (January 31); St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests (August 4); St. John Paul II (October 22); St. John of the Cross, poet and mystic (December 14); St. Juan Diego, who received the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 9); St. John Berchmans, patron of altar servers (August 13); St. John of Nepomuk, martyr of the seal of confession (March 20); St. John Ogilvie, the Scottish Jesuit martyr (March 10).
• Joseph (José, Giuseppe, Josef, Joe, Pepe): St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus (March 19); St. Joseph of Cupertino, patron of students taking exams (September 18); St. José Sánchez del Río, the 14-year-old Cristero martyr (February 10); St. José Gregorio Hernández, "the doctor of the poor" (October 26); St. Giuseppe Moscati, the Naples doctor who treated the poor for free (November 16).
• Jude (Judas Thaddeus, Tadeo): St. Jude Thaddeus, the apostle we turn to in hopeless causes (October 28).
• Junípero: St. Junípero Serra, Franciscan founder of the California missions (July 1).
• Justin (Justino): St. Justin Martyr, the philosopher who found the truth in Christ (June 1).

K–L

• Kevin (Caoimhín): St. Kevin of Glendalough, the hermit of the Irish valley of two lakes (June 3).
• Kilian (Killian, Cillian): St. Kilian, the Irish missionary bishop martyred at Würzburg (July 8).
• Lawrence (Lorenzo, Laurence, Laurent, Larry): St. Lawrence of Rome, the deacon who called the poor the Church's treasure (August 10); St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint (September 28); St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Capuchin preacher and Doctor of the Church (July 21).
• Lazarus (Lázaro): St. Lazarus of Bethany, the friend Jesus raised from the dead (July 29).
• Leo (León, Leone): St. Leo the Great, the pope who met Attila (November 10).
• Linus (Lino): St. Linus, the first successor of St. Peter as bishop of Rome (September 23).
• Louis (Luis, Luigi, Ludwig, Lewis): St. Louis IX of France, the just king (August 25); St. Louis de Montfort, apostle of consecration to Mary (April 28); St. Louis Martin, father of St. Thérèse (July 12).
• Luke (Lucas, Luca): St. Luke the Evangelist, the "beloved physician" and patron of artists (October 18).

M

• Mark (Marco, Marcos, Marc): St. Mark the Evangelist, patron of Venice (April 25).
• Martin (Martín, Martino): St. Martin of Tours, the soldier who shared his cloak with a beggar (November 11); St. Martin de Porres, the Dominican brother of Lima (November 3).
• Matthew (Mateo, Matteo, Matt): St. Matthew the Apostle, the tax collector who left everything (September 21).
• Matthias (Matías): St. Matthias the Apostle, chosen to take the place of Judas (May 14).
• Maximilian (Max, Maksymilian): St. Maximilian Kolbe, who gave his life for a stranger at Auschwitz (August 14).
• Maximus (Máximo, Massimo): St. Maximus the Confessor, the monk who suffered for the truth about Christ (August 13).
• Michael (Miguel, Michele, Mikhail, Mike): St. Michael the Archangel, defender against evil (September 29); Blessed Miguel Pro, the Mexican Jesuit martyr (November 23); Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus (August 13).
• Moses (Moisés): St. Moses the Black, the robber who became a monk of peace (August 28).

N–O

• Nicholas (Nicolás, Nicola, Nikolai, Klaus, Nick, Colin): St. Nicholas of Myra, the gift-giving bishop (December 6); St. Nicholas of Tolentino, who prayed for the souls in purgatory (September 10); St. Nicholas of Flüe, "Brother Klaus," patron of Switzerland (March 21); St. Nicholas Owen, the Jesuit brother who built hiding places for priests (March 22).
• Ninian: St. Ninian, the first missionary of Scotland, who built the white stone church at Whithorn (September 16).
• Norbert: St. Norbert, founder of the Premonstratensians (June 6).
• Olaf (Olav): St. Olaf, king and patron of Norway (July 29).
• Oscar (Óscar): St. Óscar Romero, the archbishop shot at the altar (March 24).

P–Q

• Patrick (Pádraig, Patricio, Paddy): St. Patrick, the former slave who became the apostle of Ireland (March 17).
• Paul (Pablo, Paolo, Paulo, Pavel): St. Paul the Apostle (June 29); St. Paul Miki, martyr of Japan (February 6); St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists (October 19); St. Paul VI (May 29).
• Peter (Pedro, Pietro, Pierre, Piotr): St. Peter the Apostle, the rock (June 29); St. Peter Claver, "slave of the slaves" in Cartagena (September 9); St. Peter Canisius, catechist of Germany (December 21); St. Peter Chanel, first martyr of Oceania (April 28); St. Peter Julian Eymard, apostle of the Eucharist (August 2); St. Pedro Calungsod, the teenage Filipino catechist martyred on Guam (October 21).
• Philip (Felipe, Filippo, Phil): St. Philip the Apostle (May 3); St. Philip Neri, the saint of joy (May 26); St. Philip of Jesus, the first Mexican saint (February 5).
• Pius (Pio): St. Pius X, the pope who let children receive Communion young (August 21); St. Pio of Pietrelcina (September 23); St. Pius V, the Dominican pope of the Rosary and Lepanto (April 30).
• Polycarp (Policarpo): St. Polycarp of Smyrna, the disciple of St. John who was martyred at 86 (February 23).
• Quentin (Quintin, Quinn): St. Quentin, the Roman martyr of northern Gaul (October 31).

R–S

• Raphael (Rafael, Raffaele, Rafa): St. Raphael the Archangel, the healing guide of Tobias (September 29); St. Raphael of Brooklyn, shepherd of Arab Orthodox immigrants in America (February 27).
• Raymond (Ramón, Raimundo, Ray): St. Raymond Nonnatus, patron of childbirth (August 31).
• René (Renato): St. René Goupil, the surgeon who was the first of the North American Martyrs to die (September 29).
• Richard (Ricardo, Riccardo, Rick): St. Richard of Chichester, the farmer's son who became a bishop of the poor (April 3).
• Robert (Roberto, Rob): St. Robert Bellarmine, Jesuit cardinal and Doctor of the Church (September 17).
• Roch (Rocco, Roque): St. Roch, the pilgrim who nursed plague victims, always shown with his dog (August 16).
• Sebastian (Sebastián, Bastian): St. Sebastian, the soldier-martyr and patron of athletes (January 20).
• Seraphim (Serafín): St. Seraphim of Sarov, the beloved Russian monk (January 2).
• Sergius (Sergio, Sergei): St. Sergius of Radonezh, patron of Russia (September 25).
• Simon (Simón): St. Simon the Apostle, called the Zealot (October 28); St. Simeon, who held the infant Jesus in the Temple (February 3).
• Stanislaus (Stanisław, Stan): St. Stanislaus Kostka, the teenager who walked hundreds of miles to become a Jesuit (November 13).
• Stephen (Esteban, Stefano, Étienne, Steven): St. Stephen, the first martyr (December 26); St. Stephen of Hungary, first king of the Hungarians (August 16).

T–Z

• Theodore (Teodoro, Ted): St. Theodore the Studite, the abbot who defended the holy icons (November 11).
• Thomas (Tomás, Tommaso, Tom): St. Thomas the Apostle, "My Lord and my God" (July 3); St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of students (January 28); St. Thomas More, "the king's good servant, but God's first" (June 22); St. Thomas Becket (December 29).
• Timothy (Timoteo, Tim): St. Timothy, St. Paul's young companion (January 26).
• Titus (Tito): St. Titus, bishop of Crete (January 26); St. Titus Brandsma, the Carmelite journalist who died at Dachau (July 27).
• Toribio (Turibius): St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, archbishop of Lima (March 23); St. Toribio Romo, Cristero martyr and patron of migrants (May 21).
• Valentine (Valentín, Valentino): St. Valentine, priest-martyr of Rome (February 14).
• Vincent (Vicente, Vincenzo, Vince): St. Vincent de Paul, apostle of charity (September 27); St. Vincent Ferrer, the Dominican preacher (April 5); St. Vincent of Saragossa, deacon and martyr of Spain (January 22); St. Vincent Pallotti, who taught that every baptized Catholic is called to be an apostle (January 22).
• Vitus (Vito, Guy): St. Vitus, boy martyr and patron of dancers (June 15).
• Vladimir (Volodymyr): St. Vladimir the Great, the prince who brought Kyiv to baptism (July 15).
• Wenceslaus (Václav): St. Wenceslaus, "Good King Wenceslas" of Bohemia (September 28).
• Zachary (Zechariah, Zacarías, Zach): St. Zechariah, father of John the Baptist (September 23).

How to choose a saint's name for your son

Begin with prayer, and with the saints your family already loves. Many parents look first at the saint whose feast falls on or near the baby's birthday or baptism day; in Italy and Spain, the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, it has long been common to name a child after the saint on whose feast he is born. Our feast days calendar and the saint of the day make that easy to check.

Others honor a grandfather or godfather by finding the saint behind his name. A few look for a patron whose story fits a hope for the child: a Joseph for a son of a carpenter, a Luke for a family of doctors, a Patrick for an Irish line. All are good reasons.

Read the life before you decide. A name can be lovely and the saint behind it little known; the entries linked above tell each story, with legend kept apart from history. Then tell your son the story as he grows. A name means most to a child who knows why he was given it.

If your son already has a name that isn't a saint's, nothing is lost. Give a saint's name in the middle, or choose a patron for him anyway. The Church asks only that the name not be "foreign to Christian sensibility," and every baptized boy can take a saint as his friend. He may also choose a saint's name again at confirmation.

Keeping his name day

A name day is the feast of the saint whose name a child carries. In Poland, Greece, Spain and Italy it is often celebrated more than a birthday. A family can begin simply: Mass on the feast if possible, the saint's story read aloud at dinner, a small cake, and a short prayer asking his patron to pray for him. Let us ask the saints whose names our sons bear to watch over them all their lives.

Looking for a daughter's name? See our list of saint names for girls. To learn how the Church recognizes saints in the first place, read what a saint is and how to become a saint.