to see that names of deities or of godless pagans are not given in baptism (curet ne obscoena, fabulosa aut ridicula vel inanium deorum vel impiorum ethnicorum hominum nomina imponantur). A pronouncement from Bourges (1666) addressing parents and godparents urges: "Let them give to boys the names of male saints and to girls those of women saints as right order requires, and let them avoid the names of festivals like Easter (Pâques), Christmas (Noël), All Saints (Toussaint) and others that are sometimes chosen." Despite such injunctions "Toussaint" has become a common French Christian name and "Noël" has also found popularity abroad. The addition of Marie, especially in the form Jean-Marie, for girls, and of Joseph for boys is common in present-day France. In Spain and Italy Marian festivals have also created names for girls: Concepción, of which the diminutive is Concha, as well as Asunción, Encarnación, Mercedes, Dolores etc. in Spanish, and in Italian Assunta, Annunziata, Concetta, etc. The name Mary has not always been a favourite for girls. In England in the 12th century, Mary as a Christian name was rare. The name George, often given in recognition of the Saint George the patron saint of England, was not common in the 13th and 14th centuries, though it grew in popularity after the Protestant Reformation. In the registers of Oxford University from 1560 to 1621, the more common names used by the students in order of popularity were: John, 3826; Thomas, 2777; William, 2546; Richard, 1691; Robert, 1222; Edward, 957; Henry, 908; George, 647; Francis, 447; James, 424; Nicholas, 326; Edmund, 298. In Italy and Spain it has been common practice to call a child after the saint upon whose feast they are born. Confirmation names The practice of adopting a new name was not limited to baptism. Many medieval examples show that any notable change of condition, especially in the spiritual order, was often accompanied by the reception of a new name. In the 8th century, the two Englishmen Winfrith and Willibald going on different occasions to Rome received from the Pope, along with a new commission to preach, the names respectively of Boniface and Clement. Emma of Normandy when she married King Ethelred in 1002 took the name Ælfgifu; while the reception of a new, monastic name upon entering a religious order remains almost universal. At confirmation, in which the interposition of a godfather emphasizes the resemblance