Haydn's name

The name of the composer Joseph Haydn had many forms, following customs of naming prevalent in his time. Baptismal names and the use of “Franz” Haydn was baptized shortly after his birth, on 1 April 1732. The baptismal record indicates that he was given the names Franciscus Josephus; these are Latinized versions of the German names Franz Joseph, often used today to refer to Haydn. Both Franz and Joseph are names of saints whose saint’s days fell close to Haydn’s birth date. The choice of such saint’s names followed the common practice of Roman Catholicism (the parents’ religion) in Haydn’s time. Franz designates the saint Francis of Paola, whose saint’s day is 2 April, and Joseph designates Joseph the husband of Mary, whose saint’s day is 19 March. In later life, Haydn “hardly ever” used the name Franz. Jones explains the situation thus: “As was frequently the practice in Austria, Haydn’s parents gave their children two Christian names, the second of which was routinely used.” Foreign-language versions of “Joseph” Although Haydn sometimes called himself “Joseph Haydn”, he also used two foreign-language versions of his name. On legal documents and letters, he often used the Latinize