# No, you may not name your baby 'Messiah'
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 12, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038 "2013-08-12T14:22:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/1 "2013-08-12T14:22:58Z")
[Tennessee Judge Rules Baby Can’t Be Named ‘Messiah’](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tenn-judge-childs-messiah-19931569)
> [@](#):
>
> A judge in Tennessee changed a 7-month-old boy’s name to Martin from Messiah, saying the religious name was earned by one person and “that one person is Jesus Christ.”
Does this not sound like the Judge is enforcing her own religious views on U.S. citizens? Since she is acting as an agent of the State, is this not the establishment of an official religion?
What happens if the parents defy her order and name their kid ‘Messiah’ anyway?
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### Author:  [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/2 "2013-08-12T14:27:47Z")
Judge is a religious douchenozzle.
It’s not the way I would Handel this…
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### Author:  [@NotDeadYet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotDeadYet)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/3 "2013-08-12T14:29:22Z")
Judge is wrong. Somebody will help the parents with the legal fees and the ruling will be overturned.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/4 "2013-08-12T14:44:45Z")
Yep. Right idea, unacceptable reason. If the judge had limited herself to telling the parents about how much shit the kid would have to deal with in his life with that name, that might be OK.
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### Author:  [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/5 "2013-08-12T14:45:10Z")
They should go to another judge and change the name to Jesus F’in Christ McCullough.
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### Author:  [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/6 "2013-08-12T15:01:03Z")
He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!
(Can’t believe I got to post that!)
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### Author:  [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/7 "2013-08-12T15:03:42Z")
I wonder what the judge would do with a Hispanic person name Jesus.
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/8 "2013-08-12T15:04:09Z")
I resurrected an old thread about legality of baby names in GQ about this:
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288434&page=3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288434&page=3)
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### Author:  [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/9 "2013-08-12T15:05:19Z")
I am sure it will be overturned on appeal. In places like Germany, the govt. can tell you “No, that’s a stupid name. Name it something normal” but in America you have the freedom to be an idiot.
> [@](#):
>
> Messiah was No. 4 among the fastest-rising baby names in 2012, according to the Social Security Administration’s annual list of popular baby names.
Ah, just like the almost-but-not-quite-as-stupid name “Nevaeh” rocketed into popularity. Well, if there is one thing that children today need, it’s to feel like even MORE of a “special snowflake”, and what better way than to tell them their whole lives that they are LITERALLY JESUS CHRIST?
I am totally in favor of someone making the choice to change their own name to something silly that invites ridicule, but it annoys me when people give their kids names that will invite ridicule and keep people from taking the kid seriously. It shows that they don’t care if their kid succeeds in life.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/10 "2013-08-12T15:06:40Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#):
>
> Yep. Right idea, unacceptable reason. If the judge had limited herself to telling the parents about how much shit the kid would have to deal with in his life with that name, that might be OK.
I agree that pointing out that the child would be mocked is reasonable (though I suspect we are looking at it from a particular culture), I don’t think that it would be OK for the judge to force the parents to change the child’s name for that reason. This isn’t Iceland! 😛
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/11 "2013-08-12T15:10:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> I agree that pointing out that the child would be mocked is reasonable
For one thing, his nickname is going to be “Messy.”
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### Author:  [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/12 "2013-08-12T15:16:42Z")
> [@ducati](#):
>
> It’s not the way I would Handel this…
🙂
Hallelujah!
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/13 "2013-08-12T15:18:37Z")
> [@ducati](#):
>
> It’s not the way I would Handel this…
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#):
>
> 🙂
>
> Hallelujah!
:smack: I meant to comment on that, but I got distracted!
Now I can only join the chorus.
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### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/14 "2013-08-12T15:21:21Z")
and his name (and his name) shall be called (shall be called) Wonderful! Counsellor! Almighty God! the Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace Goldfarb.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/15 "2013-08-12T15:26:46Z")
So, you’re all assuming the kid isn’t _the_ messiah?
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### Author:  [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/16 "2013-08-12T15:31:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> So, you’re all assuming the kid isn’t _the_ messiah?
From Tennessee?
Only two things come from Tennesee, son… and he ain’t got no horns.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/17 "2013-08-12T15:35:41Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#):
>
> From Tennessee?
>
> Only two things come from Tennesee, son…
… And I saw you readin’ a book!
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/18 "2013-08-12T15:46:10Z")
The judge is right about how the kid will get hassled later on. She’s overstepping her authority by ordering a name change, though, AND she’s using a religious reason to do it.
I feel sorry for the kid, though. Mom and dad can’t agree on his name, and Mom thinks that Messiah is a perfectly good name for a kid? Kid’s gonna get into all kinds of situations.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/19 "2013-08-12T15:53:45Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#):
>
> I feel sorry for the kid, though. Mom and dad can’t agree on his name…
They seem to have agreed on the given name. The disagreement seems to have been over the surname that would be used.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-may-not-name-your-baby-messiah/666038/20 "2013-08-12T15:55:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> So, you’re all assuming the kid isn’t _the_ messiah?
He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!
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