Your name day is the feast day of the saint whose name you received at baptism. It’s your patron saint’s day, and we celebrate it as a spiritual birthday of sorts.
When you’re baptized in the Orthodox Church, you don’t just get dunked and dried off. You receive a Christian name, the name of a saint who becomes your patron for life. That saint prays for you, stands as your example, and walks with you through your whole Christian life. The day the Church commemorates that saint each year becomes your name day.
This isn’t just a nice custom. It’s deeply tied to what baptism means. At baptism you die and rise with Christ. You’re joined to the Church, which includes all the saints who’ve gone before us. Taking a saint’s name makes that connection personal and concrete. St. Nicholas isn’t just some guy from the fourth century, he’s your Nicholas, your patron, your intercessor.
How We Celebrate
The main way to observe your name day is to go to church. If your patron’s feast falls on a weekday, try to make it to Liturgy that morning. Venerate your saint’s icon. Ask the priest to commemorate you during the prayers. Light a candle. Receive Communion if you’re prepared.
At home, read your saint’s life if you haven’t in a while. Pray to your patron and ask for help with whatever you’re struggling with. Thank God for giving you this particular saint as a companion. If you’ve got an icon of your patron saint (and you should), spend some time with it that day.
Many Orthodox families celebrate name days with a meal, maybe invite friends over, bake something special. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the focus stays on the saint, not on you getting presents and attention like a birthday. You’re honoring the person you’re named after and thanking God for their prayers.
In some Orthodox countries, name days matter more than birthdays. Greece, Russia, Romania, people show up at your house if it’s your name day, you feed them, everyone celebrates. Here in Southeast Texas that’s less common, but you’ll find families who’ve adopted the practice. At St. Michael, don’t be surprised if someone brings koliva on their name day to share after Liturgy.
What If Your Name Isn’t Obviously a Saint’s Name?
This comes up all the time with converts. Maybe you were baptized Orthodox as Jennifer or Brandon or Tiffany. Your priest might’ve found a saint’s name that’s close, Genevieve for Jennifer, Brendan for Brandon. Or maybe you chose a saint’s name at chrismation that became your Christian name even if you still go by your birth name at work.
If you’re not sure who your patron saint is or when your name day falls, ask your priest. He’ll know, or he’ll help you figure it out. Some names have multiple saints, there are tons of St. Johns, for instance, so you pick one whose life speaks to you or whose feast day works well.
And if you’re still an inquirer reading this, thinking about Orthodoxy? Choosing a patron saint is one of the joys ahead of you. You get to read saints’ lives, find someone whose struggles or virtues resonate with you, and ask that saint to be your companion. It’s like gaining a new family member who happens to be standing before the throne of God.
Your name day reminds you that you’re not alone in this. You’ve got a saint in your corner, praying for you, cheering you on. That’s worth celebrating.
