What about Salvador? Is that still an acceptable name? Or Emmanuel?
On the plus side, he’ll usher in a period of peace and freedom.
Pssst! Post #6. 
The judge is an idiot AND the name is stupid. But people are allowed to name their kids stupid names and judges aren’t supposed to make decisions based on their nutty religious beliefs.
Also, as usual you guys are wrong to assume he will be ridiculed for the name. Seriously, haven’t any of you ever known people with weird names who weren’t made fun of for them?
I’m more offended by the stupid middle name DeShawn.
Bugger.
Apparently you were home-schooled.
Two men say they’re Jesus, one of them must be wrong.
nm
I wasn’t, and I’ve known people with names so weird I can’t say them because they’d be too easily searchable. Popular people who didn’t get any shit for their names in school.
That’s not to say no one gets made fun of for having a weird name, but Messiah could easily go either way depending on how well he pulls it off. I think it’s stupid no matter what, the whole narcissistic, special snowflake aspect of it is obnoxious, plus I hate boy names that end in an “ah” sound anyway. But he’ll probably be just fine and if he’s a popular kid, his classmates will think his name is awesome.
The parents and the judge are equally stupid.
Eh, if kids want to make fun of someone, they’ll find something about them to make fun of. I don’t think having an unusual name really makes a difference.
Plus as the article notes, it’s an increasingly common name in the States, so its hardly impossible the kid will end up not being the only Messiah in his class.
And the name itself doesn’t seem any sillier then Jesus, Moses, Mohammad or any of the other common names based on religious figures.
Finally, even if the parents wanted to name the kid Poopypants McGee, its none of the Judges business.
A kid will survive having their name picked on. It’s really not a big deal. There are worse things kids get picked on about in school. Having your name be the target is really getting off super duper easy compared to some of the other targets. If my kid came home all upset about having her name picked on, I’d take that as an opportunity to teach the kid some perspective.
But Messiah is a dumb name. It calls so much imagery to mind that it is just annoying for everyone…the kid and those who have to interact with the kid.
More so then “Jesus”, “Moses” or “Mohammad”?
I actually find it less distracting then those. I refer to the aforementioned religious leaders by name semi-frequently, so the names are pretty closely linked in my head to those figures. But I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually used the word “Messiah”, and the main association I have with it is that Monty Python movie.
“If Jesus was Jewish, how come he had a Mexican name?”
Yeah, if “Jesus” isn’t pronounced, “Hay suus”, then yes, it is annoying. Mohammad isn’t really, because it is so common.
So the judge didn’t like Messiah’s handle?
He felt it too complex.
Musical nitpick: I don’t recall “shall be called” ever being echoed. 
Oh? You’re not familiar with the Goldfarb Variations then?