Confirmation
Confirmation is the rite in which a baptized person, usually in the early teens, affirms the faith; in many churches it led to full membership and communion.
In Catholic and Episcopal churches a bishop confirmed with the laying on of hands. Lutherans, Anglicans and other Protestant churches treated confirmation as the step to full membership, usually after a course of instruction.
Confirmation lists give a name, often an age or birth date, and sometimes the parents. Because confirmation came years after baptism, these lists can place a teenager in a congregation when no other record does.
As seen in a recordLutheran confirmation list, 1800s
Confirmed Palm Sunday 1868: Louisa Brandt, aged 14, dau. of Fred. Brandt
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Confirmation." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/church/confirmation. Last checked 2026-10-03.