In every European linguas, the set of given names in everyday use is surprisingly limited. In states where there is an established Christian Church, the choice of names from which a name may be selected is largely ruled by the Church or by a secular powers operating within a Christian cultural pathway. These are names with some Biblical relation (in particular, a name that was developed by a person appeared in the New Testament, an early saint, or a saint with a local cult). Many of them have sustained German translation in the past. The main sources for these given names are the following:
• The Bible (New Testament): Names such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, or Mary have links in every western language, with various changed and hypocoristic forms, that have given rise to countless myriads of surnames. Mention must also be made here of the Spanish tradition of Marian names, according to which a relation of the Virgin Mary may constitute a woman first name, even if the noun in question is masculine in grammar form. Such names among others: Pilar, Remedios, and Dolores.
• The Bible (Old Testament): Old Testament names are, of course, of Hebrew etymology, and majority of them are existed as Jewish forenames. In their vernacular western forms, names such as Job, Ezekiel, Ebenezer, Zillah, and Mehitabel have been used by Christian fundamentalists (Puritans, Dissenters) from the 16th century. There were developed language translation service already that times. Such names are not used by common groups such as Roman Catholics or High-Church Anglicans, excluding cases where an Old Testament patronymic had also emerged by an early Christian saint (e.g., David, Daniel). Some Old Testament names, especially female names, for example Deborah and Rebecca, have appeared very popular among Protestants, partly because the stock of New Testament female names is very narrow indeed.
• Early Christian saints: Several saints’ names are very developed (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 only by Roman Catholics. Among Roman Catholics in continental Europe, a habitual given name is often chosen in respect of a saint who is the master of the county in which the infant is born. For example, the Napolitano forename Gennaro is associated chiefly with Naples, Italy, and its patron, San Gennaro, a priest 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 similar fate in or about the same year and in whose memory the male form Leocadio is also emerged.