The number of names in the calendar over the past half century has increased significantly, therefore, it will not be difficult to find a correspondence to the Orthodox name given at birth, or to choose a similar one in meaning or consonance. In the absence of such, the final decision will be made by the parents of the baby or the person himself upon reaching a conscious age. Of course, by coordinating it with the priest.
Gone are the days when Orthodoxy insisted on giving the baby a name at birth according to the calendar (calendar of Orthodox names). If at the birth of a girl on this day only male names were offered according to the calendar, then the name was selected from the days closest to the date of birth. Today everything is much simpler, but when performing the rite of baptism, the name of the baby is supposed to be chosen from those that are in the calendar. Parents who are far from true faith in God, having a vague understanding of the origins of the baptismal ceremony, sometimes only complicate the tradition, starting the search for another "secret" name, which supposedly no one should know.
Does a middle name really appear at baptism?
In fact, you should not philosophize, but call the baby a name that mom and dad liked. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, one of the most authoritative figures of the 20th century church, explains this with amazing simplicity. He claims that since ancient times any name was considered a saint, requiring respect and veneration from childhood. To carry the purity and holiness of your "I" through your whole life - this is the most important purpose of a person. The tradition of naming a baby with the already "realized" name of a certain Saint arose much later and is not a canon.
Therefore, after the civil registration of a name in the registry office, it is not necessary to select another name of the Saint for the child, the day of veneration of which is close to the date of birth or baptism. Some parents believe that if there is no such "binding" to a certain date, then their child will be left without a patron. There is a difference between the concepts of a guardian angel without a name and flesh, given to everyone at baptism, and a patron saint who has the same name with a person who received the rite of baptism. Moreover, there may be several Saints with the same name, and each person has the right to choose for conversion the one who is closer to him mentally. On the day of the memory of their Saint, name days are celebrated, which often do not coincide with the date of birth. No matter how the child is named, at baptism he will still receive a guardian angel, called to accompany and protect him through life.
In the Bible, there is a warning from Jesus that the given name must be preserved throughout life in the form in which it is given. It's about a verbal formula. The Orthodox church calendar is replete with names of Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Slavic origin, therefore it is often not difficult to find a consonant name given in the world. Ivan - John, Denis - Dionysius, Yegor and Yuri will become George. But this does not mean that the person received a middle name. It's just an analogue of a secular name.
Is there a concept of "secret name"
At the dawn of Christianity, there were no saints, but this did not prevent people from accepting the rite of baptism. The information about the need to have a middle name, which is given at baptism and is kept secret, is most likely a myth, because the history of Christianity is silent about this. If you believe that the ancient Christians adopted secret names in order to divert the dark forces and misfortunes in the form of the evil eye from the real name, then the church is categorically against such an interpretation.
Perhaps the legend originates precisely in the impossibility of sometimes finding an analogue of a secular name in the calendar. After all, then one should rely not on the word form, but on the semantic component. So, Svetlana will be called Fotinia, since both names originate from the word "light" (Greek). Victoria will become Nika, Dobrynya - Agathon (good), Dmitry can become Thomas (twin), although today both names have a place in the calendar.
If the parents gave their child a too tricky name, which has nothing in common even in meaning with the names indicated in the calendar, then it is recommended to select something that is consonant anyway. The priests are sure that completely different names in sound and meaning will bring the same duality into a person's personal life, causing him, to put it mildly, inconvenience.
