# Jesus as a given name



## Dymn

Hi all,

Recently a Portuguese friend of mine told me he was surprised some Spaniards are named Jesús, after the prophet. I had never thought about it. I think it's also common in Hispanic American countries. Is there any other Christian culture where Jesus has some usage as a given name?


----------



## AndrasBP

Dymn said:


> Is there any other Christian culture where Jesus has some usage as a given name?


Not in Central/Eastern Europe, as far as I know. In fact, I first found it very strange that in Spain there are people called Jesús.
I think it's a kind of a taboo here, although it shouldn't be: just look at the Muslim world - Muhammad is a really common given name there.


----------



## Olaszinhok

Not in Italy. Jesus as a given name has always been quite odd for me too.
As for Muhammad, I reckon that it is a bit different, he is not the son of (a) God, after all.  (According to Christianity, at least).


----------



## jazyk

I don't know why your friend was surprised.
Jesus is also a Portuguese given name: Lista de nomes portugueses – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre

There's a famous Portuguese coach called Jorge Jesus: Jorge Jesus - Wikipedia
(I know it is his last name, but still.)

I agree, though, it is not a common name among Portuguese speakers, but it's nothing to be surprised about.


----------



## Rocko!

Dymn said:


> I think it's also common in Hispanic American countries.


Yes. You can find a person named Jesús here in almost every corner.


----------



## Dymn

jazyk said:


> I don't know why your friend was surprised.
> Jesus is also a Portuguese given name: Lista de nomes portugueses – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre


Well, those are not Portuguese names but rather names allowed by the Portuguese state to be given to newborn citizens. It clearly includes foreign names like _Nguyên _or _Francizek. _Anyway the list is huge so I guess the average Portuguese would never come across many if not most of these names.

I wonder how many Portuguese people take the name_._ In Spain it's 1.21% of the male population, considerably less in the Canary Islands (0.44%), the Balearic Islands (0.52%), and Catalonia (0.57%) (in Catalan it's also spelled _Jesús_).


----------



## Rocko!

And nobody in Latin America is named *Jesucristo *because it would be weird and maybe a blasphemy.


----------



## jazyk

Many, if not most, are Portuguese names in the first link.

Anyway, this is a neat graph that shows the evolution of the name Jesus in Portugal across time: Nomes Próprios

Not completely, but somewhat related: Jesus is the ninth most common last name in Portugal: Lista dos cem apelidos mais frequentes em Portugal – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre


----------



## Perseas

Not in Greece. But the name Χρ*ί*στος (< Χριστ*ό*ς) is used. Note the difference on accentuation: Χρ*ί*στος is a (male) name, while Χριστ*ό*ς is the name we have for Christ.


----------



## Dymn

jazyk said:


> Anyway, this is a neat graph that shows the evolution of the name Jesus in Portugal across time: Nomes próprios em Portugal — Central de Dados


I can't find it   



Perseas said:


> Not in Greece. But the name Χρ*ί*στος (< Χριστ*ό*ς) is used. Note the difference on accentuation: Χρ*ί*στος is a (male) name, while Χριστ*ό*ς is the name we have for Christ.


 I hadn't thought about it. Only 511 men are named _Cristo_ in Spain.


----------



## AndrasBP

Perseas said:


> But the name Χρ*ί*στος (< Χριστ*ό*ς) is used.


*Христо* (Hristo) is a common first name in Bulgarian, too (possibly under Greek influence), but I don't think it's used in Russian at all.


----------



## jazyk

Link fixed.


----------



## merquiades

The name is not at all frequent in English.  I have heard the reason for this is that it would be considered blasfemous by religious people to take the son of God's name in vain.
In fact I was told the story of an elementary school teacher who refused to call an immigrant Mexican child by his first name, Jesús, because she found it indecent.  She changed it by force to Jesse (the closest sounding English name).


----------



## Awwal12

Perseas said:


> Not in Greece. But the name Χρ*ί*στος (< Χριστ*ό*ς) is used. Note the difference on accentuation: Χρ*ί*στος is a (male) name, while Χριστ*ό*ς is the name we have for Christ.


I suppose "Jesus" isn't traditionally used in Orthodox countries as a given name at all. Even "Χρίστος" in Greece is, in fact, surprising.
Also no "Joshua" in Orthodox Slavic countries as well, since in Church Slavonic these two names originally coincide (Исусъ, also with the alternative spelling Иисусъ; cf. Rus. Иисус).


----------



## bearded

Olaszinhok said:


> Not in Italy.


That's true. However, in Italy it appears in compound (Gesualdo) or diminutive names (Gesuina..).  And it should not be forgotten that many men are called Giosue or Giosuè, which is the same name just with a different pronunciation.


----------



## Olaszinhok

bearded said:


> called Giosue or Giosuè


Hello Bearded,
Giosuè is not the same name with a different pronunciation. It has nothing to do with Jesus the son of God.
Giosuè - Bibbiait


----------



## bearded

Hm, I wouldn't be so sure.  Please cf. Wikipedia:


> Il nome "Gesù" è un derivato di Giosuè, essendo nato dalla traduzione greca di יֵשׁוּעַ (_Yeshu'a_), una forma contratta aramaica di _Yehoshu'a_[


and


> Gesù è l'adattamento italiano del nome aramaico יֵשׁוּעַ (_Yeshu'a_), passato in greco biblico come Ἰησοῦς (_Iēsoûs_) e in latino biblico come _Iesus_[5]; si tratta di una tarda traduzione aramaica del nome ebraico יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (_Yehoshu'a_), ovvero Giosuè


[


----------



## Olaszinhok

I do think that the most important thing is that* Giosuè, *despite its etymology*, * doesn't refer to* (Gesù) Jesus the son of God*. The latter, as a given  name, is avoided  because it would be considered blasfemous. Besides, as for the other names you mentioned in your previous message, their usage is negligeable in contemporary Italian, unlike _Jesús_ in Spanish, which is a very usual name.


----------



## apmoy70

Dymn said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Recently a Portuguese friend of mine told me he was surprised some Spaniards are named Jesús, *after the prophet*. I had never thought about it. I think it's also common in Hispanic American countries. Is there any other Christian culture where Jesus has some usage as a given name?


You mean Joshua of Navi? In Greek both Joshua of Navi and Jesus Christ, are Jesus (Ἰησοῦς-Ĭēsoûs)


----------



## bearded

Olaszinhok said:


> Giosuè is not the same name with a different pronunciation





> despite its etymology*, * doesn't refer to* Jesus the son of God*



I never stated that it does. The name _Gesù _has everything to do with the name _Giosuè.  _If you don't like the expression ''different pronunciation'', then maybe ''a different rendering''. _Gesù _is one of the Italian adaptations of _Yehoshu'a.  _
I wanted to underline that the name is not completely absent from this country - although in different forms.


----------



## Olaszinhok

Bearded, you said:
"I never stated that it does":  I am sorry, but that's the point in my opinion...
There is actually a big difference between the two: to name someone after Joshua, Moses' assistant or after Jesus, the son of God, according to Christianity or a prophet (in Islam).


Giosuè is Joshua in English:

Joshua of the Bible


----------



## apmoy70

Perseas said:


> Not in Greece. But the name Χρ*ί*στος (< Χριστ*ό*ς) is used. Note the difference on accentuation: Χρ*ί*στος is a (male) name, while Χριστ*ό*ς is the name we have for Christ.


I think that spelling is recent, the name perhaps 10-15 years ago, was spelt *«Χρῆστος»* [ˈxris.tɔs] < Psalm 34 (33 in the Septuagint): «Γεύσασθε καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Κύριος» - "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good" (NKJV Psalm 34:8).
«Χρίστος» was (is) the familiar name of «Χριστόφορος» [xrisˈtɔ.fɔ.ɾɔs] --> _Christopher_


----------



## Dymn

apmoy70 said:


> You mean Joshua of Navi? In Greek both Joshua of Navi and Jesus Christ, are Jesus (Ἰησοῦς-Ĭēsoûs)


I mean Jesus Christ. Is Jesus a prophet? My knowledge of theology is very limited.


----------



## apmoy70

Dymn said:


> I mean Jesus Christ. Is Jesus a prophet? My knowledge of theology is very limited.


Well for those who adhere to Christianity, Jesus Christ is more than a prophet (for the Christians who follow traditional churches and confessions at least).
For Muslims, Jesus is indeed a prophet.


----------



## AndrasBP

I read somewhere on the net (can't remember, sorry) that the Spanish use of "Jesús" as a given name may have developed as a kind of "emphatic" use during Muslim rule in Spain. I don't know if this can be verified.


----------



## fdb

In the Qur’an Jesus is called ʻīsā and this is a very common given name among Muslims.


----------



## elroy

The situation among Palestinian Christians is interesting.

عيسى (_ʿīsa_) is only used by Muslims for “Jesus”; Christians use يسوع (_yasūʿ_).  Christians do not use _yasūʿ _as a given name, but they do use _ʿīsa_!


----------



## Awwal12

Awwal12 said:


> Also no "Joshua" in Orthodox Slavic countries as well, since in Church Slavonic these two names originally coincide (Исусъ, also with the alternative spelling Иисусъ; cf. Rus. Иисус).


...As well as in the Greek sources, apparently (Ιησούς).


----------



## francisgranada

Olaszinhok said:


> .... There is actually a big difference between the two: to name someone after Joshua, Moses' assistant or after Jesus, the son of God, according to Christianity or a prophet (in Islam). Giosuè is Joshua in English ....


I agree. _Jesus _from a Christian point of view is perceived (almost) as synonym of _God_, which is unique;  while _Joshua _is perceived as a biblical name like _David_, _Jacob_, _Jonathan_, etc. Also the history of these two names in modern languages is different, that's why the different forms and pronunciations  for _Jesus _and _Joshua _(not only in English and Italian, but also e.g. in Hungarian, Slavic languages, German, etc.), despite the common etymology. 





jazyk said:


> I don't know why your friend was surprised.


 I don't know either , however what is surprising for me, is the fact that _Jesus _as given name appears in the Iberian Peninsula and consequently in Latin America, but apparently not in other European countries with Christian traditions.  There has to be some explanation ....  (maybe it's due to the "Muslim rule in Spain ", as AndrasBP  suggested in his post #25, but if so, than some concrete information  would  be needed ). 

A propos:  Are (or were) the names of deities _Jupiter _and _Zeus _used somewhere as given names?


----------



## apmoy70

francisgranada said:


> ...
> A propos:  Are (or were) the names of deities _Jupiter _and _Zeus _used somewhere as given names?


Well, the names *«Διόδωρος»* (Diodorus) --> _Zeus' gift_, *«Ζήνων»* (Zeno) --> _of Zeus_ were fairly common and have a clear reference to Zeus


----------



## fdb

apmoy70 said:


> Well, the names *«Διόδωρος»* (Diodorus) --> _Zeus' gift_, *«Ζήνων»* (Zeno) --> _of Zeus_ were fairly common and have a clear reference to Zeus


But not (I think) ever used in its uncompounded form "Zeus" as the name of a mortal in antiquity. On the other hand, English Christians do occasionally call their sons "Jupiter".


----------



## velisarius

fdb said:


> English Christians do occasionally call their sons "Jupiter"


Do they, by Jove? I didn't know that. Have you ever come across one in the flesh, fdb?

... _at the farmers’ market in Madison, Wisconsin, we heard a hipster dad calling to his toddler son, “Stop right there, Odin!” Zeus, Jupiter, Andromeda, and Pandora are all similarly hipster heaven. _
10 Ways to Avoid Hipster Baby Names


----------



## AndrasBP

fdb said:


> On the other hand, English Christians do occasionally call their sons "Jupiter".





velisarius said:


> Do they, by Jove? I didn't know that.


I don't know about Jupiter, but its Germanic version *Thor *(Latin _dies Iovis_ > _"Thor's day"_) seems to be a fairly common given name in Scandinavia.


----------



## Schem

I always thought it would be blasphemous or something.

The theory about Iberian Christians using the name under Muslim influence/to rival Muslim habits seems likely... which could also explain the oddity of Levantine Christians using only the Muslim Arabic version of the name for themselves.


----------



## ahvalj

There is a rare Russian surname Isusov (of both Orthodox and Muslim origins, judging by the bearers) implying an ancestor named _Isus_.


----------



## Circunflejo

francisgranada said:


> Are (or were) the names of deities _Jupiter _and _Zeus _used somewhere as given names?


There are more than a thousand people named Zeus in Spain. It's a fairly recent name though because the average age of the people named Zeus is 19 years old.


----------



## pollohispanizado

Rocko! said:


> And nobody in Latin America is named *Jesucristo *because it would be weird and maybe a blasphemy.



I always loved the name Cristo Bedoya, a character from La crónica de una muerte anunciada by García Márquez.


----------



## Cossue

In Galicia the name of Jesus was not used as a personal name during the Middle Ages; in fact it was not used till the 19th century:



> "Con respecto a Xesús, aínda que resulte sorprendente, pode considerarse un nome do século XIX; ata ese momento o seu uso considerábase irreverente, pois é o nome de Cristo" - Frutos Fernández, 2008, _O Padrón de San Clodio de 1580_, page 65 (ISBN 978-84-692-1597-5) [link to the book - pdf]



My translation: "Regarding Jesus, although this fact can be surprising, it can be considered a 19th century name; until that moment its use was considered irreverent, since it is the name of Christ"

Also, and as long as I know, there is no patronymical name **Jesúsez in Spanish or other Iberian languages (patronymical names became surnames during the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era). So either it was a southern use not popularized until much later in the northern areas of the peninsula, or altogether is something relatively new.


----------



## Cossue

Relatively new, but old enough to be brought into Latin America!


----------



## jazyk

For some reason this didn't occur to me before. This little joke shows how some Portuguese speakers are called Jesus: 
Piadas de Igreja
Translation follows. 

A mãe de um menino chamado Jesus lhe fez um pedido:

- Filho, vá até a padaria e me compre 10 pães.

O menino meio distraído, pegou o dinheiro e foi. Alguns minutos depois Jesus ainda não havia encontrado a padaria, até que viu uma igreja, e achando interessante entrou nela. Chegando lá no meio de uma missa, o padre anunciou:

- Jesus veio para nos salvar.

E o menino disse:

- Não! Eu só vim comprar pão...

The mother of a boy called Jesus made him a request:

Son, go to the bakery and buy me 10 loaves of bread.

The boy, a little scatterbrained, took the money and off he went. A few minutes later, not having found the bakery, he happened upon an interesting church and decided to go in. He stepped in somewhere in the middle of the service, and the priest announced:

Jesus has come to save us. 

To which the boy said:

No, I'm out to buy some bread.


----------



## Quiviscumque

Cossue said:


> Relatively new, but old enough to be brought into Latin America!


A query in CORDE of "don Jesús" gives this first attestation (1824):


En la noche del 16 de diciembre de 1824, reunidos en la posada del M. I. S. P. interino Mariscal de Campo, don Antonio María Alvarez, los señores Regente, Oidores y Fiscal de esta Real Audiencia, con los señores coroneles don Francisco Sanjuanena y don Manuel Piedra y teniente coronel, comandantedel Batallón de Voluntarios de Guamanga, *don Jesús* María de la Fuente, se leyó el parte que antecede del señor comandante, don Antonio Garc ía, y en su vista y de lo demás que verbalmente informó el mismo, se declaró y se resolvió de común acuerdo:
Lo primero, que mientras no se sepa por medios auténticos si realmente ha capitulado el Excelentísimo Señor Virrey del Reino y se publica la capitulación, el señor don Pío de Tristán, como Mariscal de Campo más antiguo de los que existen libres, debe reasumir el gobierno superior del Perú y su decidido amor al Rey, a la nación y al país, le estimulará a velar por esta capital, así por ser centro del Reino que el Excelentísimo Señor Virrey eligió por de pronto para su residencia como por existir en ella la única Audiencia Real, la Casa de Moneda y otros establecimientos y funcionarios propios del gobierno superior, oficiándosele al efecto por el Señor Presidente con copia del parte anterior y de este acuerdo sin pérdida de instantes.





AÑO:​1824​AUTOR:​García, Antonio​TÍTULO:​comunicado [Documentos sobre la Batalla de Ayacucho]​PAÍS:​PERÚ​TEMA:​19.Cartas y relaciones​PUBLICACIÓN:​Juan Friede, Banco de la República (Bogotá), 1974​


----------



## Cossue

Well, I didn't consider it before, but maybe it was the other way around, and the use crossed the Atlantic west to east, from the Americas...


----------



## Circunflejo

Quiviscumque said:


> *don Jesús* María de la Fuente


Este señor también estuvo destinado en España y no tengo claro cuál es lugar de origen.

Pedro Urquinaona Pardo cita, en _Relación documentada del origen y progresos del trastorno de las provincias de Venezuela_, a un señor llamado Jesús María Franco que en 1810 era oficial real. El mismo señor aparece citado como contador en la página 838 del número 106 de la Gaceta de Caracas (11 de diciembre de 1816).


----------



## Penyafort

Dymn said:


> I wonder how many Portuguese people take the name_._ In Spain it's 1.21% of the male population, considerably less in the Canary Islands (0.44%),* the Balearic Islands (0.52%), and Catalonia (0.57%) (in Catalan it's also spelled Jesús).*



I suspect Jesus has historically never been a common name in the Catalan-speaking area. The peak seems to have been between the 1940s and the 1970s, probably coinciding with the coming of people from inland Spain. 

Statistically, it has decreased again to the levels before the 1930s.


----------



## Cossue

I've found one cadet, Jesús María Franco, being promoted in 1801 [link: Gaceta de Madrid] .... All these guys are named ''Jesús María" as in "Jesús, María y José" (Jesus, Mary and Joseph)... So _*maybe *_originally the name was acceptable (and accepted) as a devotional name to the sacred family, rather than as a direct reference to Jesus.

Edit: grammar


----------



## Cossue

A monastery of "Jesús María" was founded in Granada in the 16th century:

Compendio historico chronologico de la fundacion maravillosa del monasterio de Jesus Maria, de Capuchinas Minimas del Desierto de Penitencia de la ciudad de Granada, sus progressos, y vidas admirables de las Religiosas, que en el han florecido en virtud, y santidad,

and another one in México the next century.:

(Parayso occidental, plantado y cultivado por la ... mano de los ... reyes de Espana en su ... convento de Jesus Maria de Mexico: de cuya fundacion y progressos (etc.) da noticia el autor

Probably more, all over the empire... For the 18th century I've found people called "Sister Something of Jesús María", used almost as a surname... Right now I'm pretty sure that this use conduced _Jesús María_, and later _Jesús_, to become a first name by itself.


----------



## Circunflejo

Cossue said:


> For the 18th century I've found people called "Sister Something of Jesús María", used almost as a surname


That was in use way earlier. Fray José de Jesús María was born in 1562... The was also the variant without María; recall, for example, Santa Teresa de Jesús.


Cossue said:


> I've found one cadet, Jesús María Franco, being promoted in 1801 [link: Gaceta de Madrid]


Most likely, the same Jesús María Franco that I quoted on 43.

P.S.: Jesús alone existed already as a name in the XIXth century. One example, Jesús López Portillo (Jesús López Portillo - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre), who was born in 1818.


----------



## Welsh_Sion

*Iesu (Grist)* is not a common name in Wales, probably because we are traditionally a Protestant (Nonconformist) country and not Catholic.

However, if you read the story of Dr William Price and how he instigated a change in the law of cremation in England and Wales in the 19th century when he decided to burn the body of his son, *Iesu Grist*, then this is an interesting aside.

William Price (physician) - Wikipedia

Incidentally, traditional Bibles refer to the Christian Son of God as *yr Iesu* (the  Jesus), but newer translations (post 1988) only call him *Iesu* (Jesus). It's still a fairly offensive swear word to take his name in vain.


----------



## Cossue

Welsh_Sion said:


> However, if you read the story of Dr William Price and how he instigated a change in the law of cremation in England and Wales in the 19th century when he decided to burn the body of his son, *Iesu Grist*, then this is an interesting aside.



Wow. Not an ordinary man! (OT, I know)


----------



## sotos

In Greek it is translated to Soter (Saviour), which is a common name for both sexes.


----------



## Welsh_Sion

The 'S' of 'ichthus', eh, sotos? (And connected to your handle here, I guess …


----------



## miguel89

Cossue said:


> In Galicia the name of Jesus was not used as a personal name during the Middle Ages; in fact it was not used till the 19th century:


So it appears it wasn't used in Galicia, and neither was used in Catalan speaking regions, as another poster has pointed out. Is there data about Andalucía, or generally the south of Spain? Since the strongest influence in language in Latin America comes from that region.



Cossue said:


> I've found one cadet, Jesús María Franco, being promoted in 1801 [link: Gaceta de Madrid] .... All these guys are named ''Jesús María" as in "Jesús, María y José" (Jesus, Mary and Joseph)... So _*maybe *_originally the name was acceptable (and accepted) as a devotional name to the sacred family, rather than as a direct reference to Jesus.


That seems likely to me. It started as "Jesús María" and gradually the name "Jesús" itself became acceptable. Although that would discredit the theory mentioned in this thread that this usage is related to the Muslim population in Spain.


----------



## sotos

Welsh_Sion said:


> The 'S' of 'ichthus', eh, sotos? (And connected to your handle here, I guess …


It was actually created by Forum automaticallly.


----------

