什麼是"Christian name"?

given name=Christian name
A given name is a name which specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name. A given name is a name given to a person, as opposed to an inherited one – such as a family name. So, strictly speaking, the term excludes names acquired by other means – such as changing one's name[1]. This article does not generally assume the strict definition.

In much of the world, the given name comes before the family name, and so is known as a forename or first name (see usage below). But in East Asia (for example in Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam), and also in Hungary, the given names traditionally come after the family name. In those cases, even part of the given name may be shared among all members of a given generation in a family and the family's extensions, to differentiate those generations from other generations.

Under the common Western naming convention, people generally have one or more forenames (either given or acquired). If more than one, there is usually a main forename (for everyday use) and one or more supplementary forenames. But sometimes two or more carry equal weight (see the list of well-known people known by two or more forenames). Beyond the fact that forenames come before the surname there is no particular ordering rule. For some people the main forename is at the beginning, so they have a first name and one or more middle names. For others nothing comes between the main forename and the surname, so they have a central name and one or more precursory names. It is, of course, also possible for a person to have both precursory and intervening names. (The existence of a list of well-known people in these last two categories perpetuates the popular belief that it is in some way remarkable for the main forename not to be placed first.)

Given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is used instead, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname. The idiom "on a first name basis" alludes to the fact that using a person's given name betokens familiarity.

詳情 : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_name

看過前面的人的答案,竟然那麼多人以為 Christian Name 就等於 Given Name, 或一般英文名, 很震驚.
Christian Name顧名思意, 是跟基督教有關, 教徒為了記念對教會有貢獻的人,會將孩子改成他們的名字以作紀念,或希望孩子學習他們的品德. 對天主教來說, Christian Name 尤其重要, 因為天主教十分尊崇聖人, 教徒都應有一個跟某個聖人一樣的名字, 以示決心向聖人學習. 因此, Christian Name可以不是英文名, 如果有人打算跟一個中國裔的聖人 (不過目前為止好似無)改名, 他可以有一個中文聖名

2006-11-01 17:03:52 補充：
不過千萬不要改自己的名字作耶穌啊, 因為耶穌是神,妄用神的名是犯十誡的

Christian = 基督教
有D人信基督教, 會改個教名.
會參照聖經人物的名字, 如Joseph, Maria, Mary

如果：Chan Tai Man Peter是一個姓陳，名字是大文的人，而陳大文的英文名是Peter的話

…

那麼：
LAST NAME = SURNAME = 姓氏。在以上的例子便應該寫Chan

因為在以上例子，Peter可能是陳大文自己改的英文名，或名是父母給他改的名。若果在普通分類中只有LAST NAME和FIRST NAME便會用以下(1)的寫法。如果有更仔細的分類如CHRISTIAN NAME / MIDDLE NAME等，便可用(2)的寫法。

(1)FIRST NAME就是SURNAME之外的名字，有時稱作OTHER NAME，在以上的例子，即是陳大文的「大文」，應該寫Tai Man或者Tai Man, Peter

(2)如FIRST NAME / MIDDLE NAME / CHRISTIAN NAME這種細分，便應該將Tai Man寫在FIRST NAME，Peter則寫在MIDDLE NAME或CHRISTIAN NAME之項目。

注意MIDDLE NAME較為中性，意指除SURNAME和FIRST NAME之外的名字。而有些較舊式的英文用法是把MIDDLE NAME稱為CHRISTIAN NAME，因為從前英國列基督教(新教)為國教，所以人們都會改多一個CHRISTIAN NAME。

Christian name同英文名係無分別慨。