St. John Chrysostom on the Name of a Child

For Chrysostom, the Christian training of a child begins with the very name he or she is given by the parents:

“Let none of us hasten to call his child after his forebears—his father or mother or grandfather or great-grandfather, but rather after the righteous—martyrs, bishops, apostles. Let this be an incentive to the children. Let one be called Peter, another John; and let another bear the name of one of the other saints.”

As we know, this is a strong Orthodox tradition to this day— to give the new child the name of a saint, and thus to make sure he or she has a patron saint. Chrysostom believes that this will bring great benefit not only to the children, but also to the parents. As he goes on to say:

“So let the names of the saints enter our homes through the naming of our children, to train not only the child but the father, when he reflects that he is the father of John or Elijah or James. For, if the name be given with forethought…, and we emphasize our kinship with the righteous rather than [or, at least, more than] with our forebears, this too will greatly help us and our children.”

(from "The Home as a Little Church:The Vision of St. John Chrysostom" by Dr. David C. Ford)