Is the term "baptism" or "christening" more accurate in old parish registers? Looking at Church of England parish registers from the 17th-18th centuries, some pages are titled "baptisms" while others "christenings". Now we use the terms more or less interchangeably, but would they have been interchangeable three hundred years ago? When it comes to entering the event into my genealogy program I have the option of entering either. For the sake of accuracy, which should I enter it as?

This came up recently on a mailing list on which I participate, and I think the best answer was this (from a retired Minister).

In summary:

> the bottom line is - if you are Christened in a Christian Church you are “Baptised with water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” It is one of the ‘Sacraments’ of the Church on which all major denominations are agreed.

and

> basically, you can choose how you record the event but the generic term is Baptised if you want consistency, regardless of the recipient’s age.

Do read the whole post.