The article describes the characteristics of names given to children born out of wedlock in the 19th century in the Bochnia poviat (Tarnów diocese). The language material was excerpted from two record books (birth books) of the Trzciana and Żegocin parishes from 1801–1900. The subject of the analysis are the names chosen for children most often, as well as rare and unusual names not recorded in the name books of children from formal relationships. The text also deals with the issue of multiple names and the main religious and cultural determinants that determine the choice of names.