Christian name, a type of first name that Christians place before the family name, and that the godfather and godmother give to a child when he or she is baptized. These sorts of names are ordinarily drawn from Scripture; but everyone does not hold to this. It is already too much, says La Bruyère, to share with the people the same religion and the same God; could one thus possibly be called Pierre , Jean , Jacques , like the merchant or the laborer? Let us avoid having anything in common with the multitude; to the contrary, let us display all the distinctions which separate us: if they appropriate for themselves the twelve apostles, their disciples, the first martyrs (such men, such patrons); if they see with pleasure the return each year of that particular day that each celebrates as his name day; for us other great men, let us have recourse to profane names; let us baptize ourselves with those of Hannibal, Caesar, or Pompey, these were great men; with that of Lucretius, there was an illustrious Roman; with those of Renaud, of Roger, of Olivier, of Tancrede, these were Knights, and the novel has no more marvelous heroes; with those of Hector, Achilles, Hercules, all demigods; even with those of Phoebus and Diane: and who will prevent us from having ourselves named Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, or Adonis!