In every western languages, the set of names in regular use is remarkably small. In territories where there is an established Christian Church, the menu of forenames out of which a name may be selected is largely regulated by the Church or by a secular powers operating within a Christian cultural tradition. These are names with some Biblical relation (in particular, a name that was borne by a figure appeared in the New Testament, an early saint, or a saint with a regional cult). Some of them have sustained German translation in the past. The main sources for such given names are the following:
• The Bible (New Testament): Forenames such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and Mary have links in every European language, with many changed and hypocoristic forms, which have given growth to enormous myriads of patronymics. Attention should also be made here of the Hispanic habit of Marian names, according to which an attribute of the Virgin Mary can constitute a woman given name, even if the noun in question is masculine in grammatical form. Such names among others: Pilar, Remedios, and Dolores.
• The Bible (Old Testament): Old Testament names are, of course, of Hebrew etymology, and many of them are existed as Jewish forenames. In their vernacular European shape, names such as Job, Ezekiel, Ebenezer, Zillah, or Mehitabel have been used by Christian fundamentalists (Puritans, Dissenters) from the 16th century. There were developed language services already that times. These names are not used by common groups such as Roman Catholics or High-Church Anglicans, except in cases where an Old Testament name had also been borne by an early Bible saint (e.g., David, Daniel). Several Old Testament names, specifically female names, such as Deborah and Rebecca, have appeared extremely popular among Protestants, partly because the stock of New Testament women names is very narrow indeed.
• Early Biblical saints: Some saints’ names are very widespread (e.g., Anthony, Francis, Martin, Bernard) and are produced by Roman Catholics, Protestants, and religion officers alike. Differently, like Teresa, Dominic, Ignatius, and Aloysius, are borne mainly or exclusively by Roman Catholics. Among Roman Catholics in continental Europe, a habitual given name is often chosen in honor of a saint who is the master of the county in which the child is born. For example, the Napolitano forename Gennaro is associated chiefly with Naples, Italy, and its saint, San Gennaro, a bishop murdered at Pozzuoli during the persecution of Christians in 304 A.D. Leocadia is associated with Toledo, Spain and its chief saint, who was a virgin martyr who faced a same fate in or about the same year and in whose memory the male form Leocadio is also emerged.