# Why do only Spanish cultures use Jesus as a first name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034 "2005-07-25T11:29:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/1 "2005-07-25T11:29:33Z")
The title pretty much says it all. Many cultures are Christian, but only the Spaniards and the Spanish-speaking people of the Americas use it as a first name. It can’t be a Catholic thing because many other countries are Catholic too and you never meet anyone named Jesus O’Flannery or Jesus Kowalski. So why? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/2 "2005-07-25T11:48:24Z")
Well, ‘Jesus’ is ‘Issa’ (or Essa if you prefer) in Arabic. It is a fairly common name. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/3 "2005-07-25T11:48:40Z")
Is “Jesus” a common name in European Spain? If not, then it could have something to do with the fact that Catholicism in the Americas have undergone heavy syncretism. Either way, it’s interesting to note that in the New Testament, the pastoral epistles, at a minimum, were almost certainly written by someone other than Paul. It’s only Western thought that finds the prospect horrifying–back then the authors believed they were honoring Paul (and possibly Matthew & John) in assuming their identities. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/4 "2005-07-25T11:50:14Z")
D’oh! **Paul in Saudi** has it nailed. We do have a “Jesus” in our language… it’s Joshua. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/5 "2005-07-25T14:00:47Z")
I think Joshua is just Joshua. Like in the Old Testament Book of Joshua. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/6 "2005-07-25T14:02:01Z")
As **Paul** said, your premise is incorrect. I’ve met a couple of Malays named Isa (Jesus). Haj ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/7 "2005-07-25T14:06:40Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > I think Joshua is just Joshua. Like in the Old Testament Book of Joshua. Actually, Jesus’ name as it was used by his contemporaries would have been Yeshua, or, as we say, Joshua. Yes, Joshua is Joshua. But the Greek cognate for Joshua is Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/8 "2005-07-25T14:12:34Z")
**Hajario** ’s right. In Arabic it has only one s. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/9 "2005-07-25T14:18:59Z")
I asked this question on the boards a VERY long time ago. While I don’t recall ever getting an answer, one thing I can tell you: Jesus is not Joshua. Joshua in Hebrew is YeHOshua, whereas Jesus in Hebrew was Yeshua. And Joshua in Spanish is not Jesus…it’s [Josue.](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%201;&version=42;) ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/10 "2005-07-25T15:05:29Z")
Don’t ask me for cites on this, it’s purely anecdotal. During the three years I lived in Spain, I don’t think I met a single Jesus - they exist of course, but it doesn’t seem common. Jose-Maria and Maria-Jose are very common though. I was told that it used to be a law that parents could only name their kids after saints. With a limited amount of names to choose from, this explains why there are so many double names in Spanish (and maybe French, for that matter): Jose Ignatio, Juan Pablo, Rosa Maria ASF. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/11 "2005-07-25T15:20:05Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I asked this question on the boards a VERY long time ago. While I don’t recall ever getting an answer, one thing I can tell you: Jesus is not Joshua. Joshua in Hebrew is YeHOshua, whereas Jesus in Hebrew was Yeshua. Any chance that the two names derive ultimately from a common source? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/12 "2005-07-25T15:51:41Z")
Doesn’t “Vladimir” translate to “prince of peace?” ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/13 "2005-07-25T15:55:17Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > Doesn’t “Vladimir” translate to “prince of peace?” Tricky, because the Russian word _mir_ means both “world” and “peace” (“World peace” is translated as _miru mir_😃 ). My understanding is that the Russian name _Vladimir_ is a rough cognate to Old-French-derived _Raymond_, meaning “king of the world”. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/14 "2005-07-25T16:14:01Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I asked this question on the boards a VERY long time ago. While I don’t recall ever getting an answer, one thing I can tell you: Jesus is not Joshua. Joshua in Hebrew is YeHOshua, whereas Jesus in Hebrew was Yeshua. And Joshua in Spanish is not Jesus…it’s [Josue.](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%201;&version=42;) Oh, come off it… let’s forget about not _wanting_ Jesus’ name to be a common Hebrew one. It **is** “Joshua.” _Yehoshua Bar-Yosef_, to be exact. If there was some drift and he pronounced his name “Yeshua” rather than “Yehoshua” that’s really just splitting hairs. I don’t think that there can be any reasonable doubt that his parents fully intended to name their son after the Biblical warrior for whom the Book of Joshua was named. ( **borderlond** , I think that answers your question, too) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/15 "2005-07-25T16:39:02Z")
> [@Noone Special](#): > > I don’t think that there can be any reasonable doubt that his parents fully intended to name their son after the Biblical warrior for whom the Book of Joshua was named. What seems to add to the confusion is that the mentions of Jesus are confined to the New Testament, which is in Greek rather than Hebrew or Aramaic or any other Semitic language. So the Hebrew/Aramaic names mentioned therein are filtered through Greek transliteration. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshua) sez, > [@](#): > > Yeshua (yod-shin-vav-`ayin) is believed by many to be the Hebrew or Aramaic name for Jesus. […] The name was common (the Hebrew Bible mentions ten individuals with this name), and was pronounced with a tsere (a long e as in “neighbor”, but not diphthongized) not with a schwa (as “Y’shua”) or segol (“Yesh-shua”). Greek speakers used the name “Iēsoûs” (Jesus) for both Yehoshua (Joshua) and Yeshua. > > The name is derived from the three-letter root yod-shin-`ayin which has the meanng of "to save", but the name is not identical to the word "salvation" (y'shu`ah) or to any verb form such as “he will save” (yoshia`). It does not contain part of the name of God YHWH as the name Yehoshua` (Joshua) appears to do, although this name (yod-he-vav-shin-`ayin) could be considered a third person imperfect hiph'il verbal form of the same yod-shin-`ayin root. > > The claim that the form Yeshua is the original name for Jesus is debatable - other possibilities are that it was Yehoshua or that the Greek form itself was the original (Greek speaking communities existed in Israel already during the Hellenistic period and moreover our oldest manuscripts of the entire New Testament are in Greek). However, Jesus and his milieu normally spoke Aramaic, and Eusebius reports that Matthew wrote a gospel in “Hebrew” (a term used at the time for Aramaic). There is also evidence that the Gospel of John was originally written in Aramaic. In the Septuagint and Greek language Jewish texts such as the writings of Josephus and Philo of Alexandria, Iēsoûs is the standard Greek form of the name Yehoshua (Joshua). Yeshua on the other hand is said to be a shortened form of Yehoshua in the dialect spoken at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and not undisputedly attested in other periods. […] > > An argument in favor of the form Yeshua is that the name used for Jesus in the Old > Syriac Bible (c. 200 AD) and the Peshitta has the same spelling as Hebrew Yeshua. (The modern Syriac pronunciation of this is Eesho but ancient pronunciation was similar to Yeshua`.) These were translated from the Greek but the name is not a simple transliteration of the Greek form. It can be argued that the Aramaic speakers who used this name could have had a continuous connection to the Aramaic speaking disciples of Jesus and thus preserved the actual name used for him. Even if derived from Hebrew Yeshua, the possibility that it was simply chosen based on the correspondence between Iēsoûs and Yeshua in the Septuagint cannot be ruled out. > > The Arabic name for Jesus used by Christians, Yasū`, is derived from Yeshua but it is not the name used for Jesus in the Qur'an and other Muslim sources. The traditional Islamic name for Jesus is `Isa (`ayn-ya-sin-ya). This superficially resembles the Hebrew name `Esav (Esau, `ayin-sin-vav). Juferi [3] argues that it is derived from the Aramaic Yeshû` which he regards as the original name. However, the Aramaic has `ayin only at the end, whereas the Arabic has `ayn only at the beginning. So yes, it looks as though the original Hebrew or Aramaic name represented by “Jesus” is at least related to the name represented by “Joshua”, but it’s not certain that Jesus was actually named Joshua, if you follow me. As for the tradition of naming a (Christian) boy baby after Jesus: Are you only counting names that directly represent the name “Jesus”, such as Hispanic “Jesus” and Arabic “`Isa”, or would you also count other names that specifically signify Jesus to Christians, such as “Emmanuel”, “Christos” (“anointed one”), and “Salvatore” (“savior”)? In that case, there are a lot of other cultures that name kids after Jesus, not just Hispanic and Arab Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/16 "2005-07-25T17:39:01Z")
The question I think the OP is asking, and the question I definitely want to ask, is why, in places where Jesus of Nazareth as mentioned in the New Testament is called “Jesus,” do people not use “Jesus” (NOT Joshua, etc. – **Jesus** ) as a first name (with the exceptions noted in the OP)? ---
**Author:** ![acadian\_driftwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@acadian\_driftwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acadian_driftwood)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/17 "2005-07-25T17:48:59Z")
Could it be that the Iberian culture’s proximity to and rule under Muslims influenced this in the following way? Muhammad is the arguably most common name for male Muslims. Now Islam doesn’t hold Muhammad to be the 'son of God," but a mortal prophet. Yet, its possible that many Christians living alongside Muslims would wish to acknowledge their faith’s “founder” in a similar fashion to their Muslim neighbors. This could also explain why “Christo” is a given name among Balkan Christians - peoples who also lived under Muslim domination for centuries. By contrast, French, German, or British people did not have the same prolonged Muslim presence along their immediate frontiers - other than Jews, any of their non-Christian neighbors would have been polytheistic, and would not have shared many common names derived from a religious figure. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/18 "2005-07-25T20:57:47Z")
> [@acadian\_driftwood](#): > > Yet, its possible that many Christians living alongside Muslims would wish to acknowledge their faith’s “founder” in a similar fashion to their Muslim neighbors. Let’s get this stright, because it’s a myth perpeptuated by Spanish revisionist history during a long and nationalistic time, and it’s spread to most other countries as well. The indigenous people of Spain (call them Spanish, Iberian or whatever) did _not_ live alongside Muslims. They _were_ Muslims. At least paying lip service. The Muslim rulers were a very small group of people who, having conquered a large part of the country, settled down. Your average Iberian peasant was officially a Muslim, because the rulers were Muslims. They quickly converted to Christianity after _Los Reyes Catolicos_ conquered Granada and kicked Boabdil out of Alhambra (but not out of Spain, he got a fiefdom some 30 kms south of his old palace). The nationalistic and very religious Spanish rulers since 1492 have always maintained that _Los Moros_ were kicked out, because it doesn’t fit their national self image that most of them are descendants of “dirty infidels”. Let’s not forget that Spain has been a Muslim country longer than it’s been Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/19 "2005-07-25T21:48:52Z")
> [@The Gaspode](#): > > The indigenous people of Spain (call them Spanish, Iberian or whatever) did _not_ live alongside Muslims. They _were_ Muslims. At least paying lip service. The Muslim rulers were a very small group of people who, having conquered a large part of the country, settled down. Your average Iberian peasant was officially a Muslim, because the rulers were Muslims. Except the Spanish Muslim rulers didn’t mandate conversion, and so there were large (and in most places, majority) Christian populations in Spain under Muslim rule. Uniformity in religion didn’t come to Spain until the Christian conquest, where the Christian rulers forced both Muslims and Jews to convert to Christianity (the Jews in 1492, the Muslims in the early 1500s). ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034/20 "2005-07-25T23:29:10Z")
Noone Special: > [@](#): > > Oh, come off it… let’s forget about not _wanting_ Jesus’ name to be a common Hebrew one. It is “Joshua.” Yehoshua Bar-Yosef, to be exact. Don’t be silly. No Jew denies that Jesus was Jewish. No one will deny that his mother was Miriam, or his father (as it were) was Yosef, or that Paul was Shaul, all of which are common Hebrew names. The fact is that today’s “Hebrew Christians” or “Jews for Jesus”, fully aware that Jewish Joshuas the world over call themselves “Yehoshua” in Hebrew, refer to him as “Yeshua” not “Yehoshua.” And the Spanish form of the Hebrew “Yehoshua,” as my like clearly demonstrates, is “Josue” rather than “Jesus.” It’s not a distinction of my making. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-only-spanish-cultures-use-jesus-as-a-first-name/314034.md?page=2)