Saint Names
For centuries, Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican families have named children after saints, giving each child a heavenly patron, a role model and a feast day to celebrate alongside their birthday. The custom is still strong: Catholic confirmation candidates choose a saint’s name, and many parents pick a first name the same way.
Here are more than 100 saint names, grouped into boys, girls, Irish and Celtic saints, apostles and early martyrs, great teachers of the church and saints of the modern era. For each we list who the saint was, their patronage and their feast day on the Roman calendar (some local calendars differ). For the wider tradition, see our Christian names and biblical names.
Popular saint names for boys
These saints’ names have stayed near the top of baby name charts across the Christian world for generations.
| Name | Patron of | Feast day |
|---|---|---|
| Francis | St. Francis of Assisi: animals and the environment | October 4 |
| Anthony | St. Anthony of Padua: lost things | June 13 |
| Patrick | St. Patrick: Ireland | March 17 |
| Joseph | St. Joseph: fathers, workers and the universal Church | March 19 |
| Sebastian | St. Sebastian: athletes and soldiers | January 20 |
| Nicholas | St. Nicholas of Myra: children and sailors | December 6 |
| George | St. George: England and soldiers | April 23 |
| Michael | St. Michael the Archangel: police and protection | September 29 |
| Vincent | St. Vincent de Paul: charities and the poor | September 27 |
| Dominic | St. Dominic: astronomers; founder of the Dominicans | August 8 |
| Jerome | St. Jerome: translators and librarians | September 30 |
| Christopher | St. Christopher: travelers and drivers | July 25 |
| Luke | St. Luke: physicians and artists | October 18 |
| Thomas | St. Thomas Aquinas: students and universities | January 28 |
| Ignatius | St. Ignatius of Loyola: soldiers; founder of the Jesuits | July 31 |
| Maximilian | St. Maximilian Kolbe: prisoners and families | August 14 |
| Martin | St. Martin of Tours: soldiers and the poor | November 11 |
| Valentine | St. Valentine: love and couples | February 14 |
| Jude | St. Jude Thaddeus: lost causes | October 28 |
| Leo | Pope St. Leo the Great, who met Attila the Hun | November 10 |
Beautiful saint names for girls
Many classic girls’ names, from Teresa to Cecilia, spread across Europe because of devotion to a single woman. See our classic girl names for more timeless picks.
| Name | Patron of | Feast day |
|---|---|---|
| Teresa | St. Teresa of Ávila: writers and headache sufferers | October 15 |
| Therese | St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “the Little Flower”: missionaries and florists | October 1 |
| Catherine | St. Catherine of Siena: Italy and Europe | April 29 |
| Clare | St. Clare of Assisi: television and eyes | August 11 |
| Bernadette | St. Bernadette of Lourdes: the sick | April 16 |
| Agnes | St. Agnes: girls and young people | January 21 |
| Lucy | St. Lucy: the blind; her name means “light” | December 13 |
| Cecilia | St. Cecilia: musicians | November 22 |
| Monica | St. Monica: mothers and patience | August 27 |
| Rose | St. Rose of Lima: the Americas; first saint of the New World | August 23 |
| Joan | St. Joan of Arc: France and soldiers | May 30 |
| Brigid | St. Brigid of Kildare: Ireland, dairy workers | February 1 |
| Faustina | St. Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy | October 5 |
| Gianna | St. Gianna Beretta Molla: mothers and unborn children | April 28 |
| Scholastica | St. Scholastica: nuns and schoolchildren | February 10 |
| Hildegard | St. Hildegard of Bingen: musicians and scientists | September 17 |
| Margaret | St. Margaret of Scotland: Scotland and queens | November 16 |
| Anne | St. Anne, mother of Mary: grandmothers | July 26 |
| Elizabeth | St. Elizabeth of Hungary: bakers and charities | November 17 |
| Kateri | St. Kateri Tekakwitha: ecology and Native Americans | July 14 (US) |
| Josephine | St. Josephine Bakhita: Sudan and survivors of trafficking | February 8 |
| Helena | St. Helena, mother of Constantine: converts | August 18 |
Irish, Scottish and Welsh saint names
The early Celtic church produced a wave of monks and missionaries whose names are now everyday Irish boy names and Irish girl names.
| Name | The saint | Feast day |
|---|---|---|
| Brendan | St. Brendan the Navigator, legendary Atlantic voyager | May 16 |
| Columba | St. Columba (Colm Cille), founder of Iona | June 9 |
| Kevin | St. Kevin, hermit of Glendalough | June 3 |
| Declan | St. Declan of Ardmore, early Munster missionary | July 24 |
| Aidan | St. Aidan, Irish monk who founded Lindisfarne | August 31 |
| Finbar | St. Finbar, founder and patron of Cork | September 25 |
| Kieran | St. Ciarán, founder of Clonmacnoise | September 9 |
| Columbanus | St. Columbanus, missionary to France and Italy | November 23 |
| Dymphna | St. Dymphna, patron of mental health | May 15 |
| Ita | St. Ita, “foster-mother of the saints of Ireland” | January 15 |
| Enda | St. Enda of Aran, father of Irish monasticism | March 21 |
| Fiacre | St. Fiacre, patron of gardeners | August 30 |
| Malachy | St. Malachy, archbishop of Armagh | November 3 |
| Oliver | St. Oliver Plunkett, martyred archbishop of Armagh | July 1 |
| David | St. David (Dewi Sant), patron of Wales | March 1 |
| Winifred | St. Winifred, Welsh virgin martyr of Holywell | November 3 |
| Ninian | St. Ninian, early apostle to Scotland | September 16 |
| Mungo | St. Mungo (Kentigern), patron of Glasgow | January 13 |
Apostles and early martyrs
The first generations of Christians gave the church its oldest feast days. Most of these names are also in our biblical boy names.
| Name | The saint | Feast day |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen | St. Stephen, the first martyr (Acts 7) | December 26 |
| Peter | St. Peter, chief of the apostles and first pope | June 29 |
| Paul | St. Paul, apostle to the Gentiles | June 29 |
| Andrew | St. Andrew, patron of Scotland | November 30 |
| James | St. James the Greater, patron of Spain | July 25 |
| John | St. John the Apostle, patron of writers | December 27 |
| Mark | St. Mark the Evangelist, patron of Venice | April 25 |
| Matthew | St. Matthew, patron of accountants | September 21 |
| Bartholomew | St. Bartholomew, apostle | August 24 |
| Lawrence | St. Lawrence, deacon martyr; patron of cooks | August 10 |
| Agatha | St. Agatha of Sicily, patron of nurses | February 5 |
| Perpetua | St. Perpetua, martyr of Carthage | March 7 |
| Felicity | St. Felicity, martyred with Perpetua | March 7 |
| Polycarp | St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna | February 23 |
| Justin | St. Justin Martyr, patron of philosophers | June 1 |
| Blaise | St. Blaise, patron of throat ailments | February 3 |
Saint names from the great teachers of the church
Theologians, monks and bishops whose writing shaped Christianity. Their names suit a thoughtful, classic style; many have Latin roots found in our Latin names.
| Name | The saint | Feast day |
|---|---|---|
| Augustine | St. Augustine of Hippo, author of the <em>Confessions</em> | August 28 |
| Ambrose | St. Ambrose of Milan, patron of beekeepers | December 7 |
| Gregory | Pope St. Gregory the Great, patron of musicians | September 3 |
| Basil | St. Basil the Great, father of Eastern monasticism | January 2 |
| Athanasius | St. Athanasius, defender of the Nicene Creed | May 2 |
| Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, Franciscan theologian | July 15 |
| Bernard | St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercian abbot | August 20 |
| Anselm | St. Anselm of Canterbury, philosopher | April 21 |
| Isidore | St. Isidore of Seville, encyclopedist | April 4 |
| Bede | St. Bede the Venerable, first historian of England | May 25 |
| Albert | St. Albert the Great, patron of scientists | November 15 |
| Cyril | St. Cyril, apostle to the Slavs; Cyrillic is named for him | February 14 |
| Methodius | St. Methodius, brother and partner of Cyril | February 14 |
Modern saint names
The last 150 years have produced saints from every continent, including the first American-born saint and, in 2025, the first millennial saint.
| Name | The saint | Feast day |
|---|---|---|
| Pio | St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Capuchin friar | September 23 |
| John Paul | Pope St. John Paul II | October 22 |
| Oscar | St. Óscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador | March 24 |
| Carlo | St. Carlo Acutis, teen computer programmer, canonized 2025 | October 12 |
| Pier Giorgio | St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, mountaineer and student | July 4 |
| Josemaría | St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei | June 26 |
| Edith | St. Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) | August 9 |
| Damien | St. Damien of Molokai, served leprosy patients in Hawaii | May 10 (US) |
| Katharine | St. Katharine Drexel, Philadelphia heiress and educator | March 3 |
| Frances | St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, patron of immigrants | November 13 |
| Elizabeth Ann | St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, first American-born saint | January 4 |
| Junípero | St. Junípero Serra, founder of California missions | July 1 |
| Marianne | St. Marianne Cope, nurse on Molokai | January 23 |
| Juan Diego | St. Juan Diego, visionary of Our Lady of Guadalupe | December 9 |
| André | St. André Bessette, Montreal doorkeeper and healer | January 6 |
How to choose a saint name
- Look at the calendar. A saint whose feast falls on or near your baby’s birthday is a traditional and meaningful match.
- Match a family story. Irish roots? Brendan, Brigid or Kevin. A family of musicians? Cecilia or Gregory.
- For confirmation, read a life first. Pick a saint whose story genuinely inspires you, not just one whose name sounds nice.
- Use a longer name as a middle. Scholastica, Bonaventure and Maximilian make striking middle names.
- Remember the archangels. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are honored as saints too; see our archangel names.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular saint name?
Mary and Joseph have long been the most widely used saint names worldwide. In the US today, saint names like Sebastian, Lucy, Luke and Nicholas remain very popular.
How do I pick a confirmation saint name?
Choose a saint whose life, virtues or patronage speak to you. Many people read short biographies and consider feast days, careers or hobbies linked to a saint.
Does every saint have a feast day?
Yes. Every canonized saint has a feast day, usually the anniversary of their death. Not all are on the universal Roman calendar; many are celebrated locally.
Who is the patron saint of lost things?
St. Anthony of Padua. Many Catholics say a quick prayer to him when they misplace keys or a phone.
Can a boy be named after a female saint?
Traditionally names follow the saint’s gender, but some families use a male form (Frances to Francis, Joan to John) to honor a female saint.