I have a grandson whose mother blessed him with a name plucked straight from the Old Testament. She named him Joshua. With a name that is almost as old as the flood, I have playfully nicknamed him Moses.
Historically, according to the Bible’s books of Exodus, Numbers and Joshua, Joshua became the leader of the Israelite tribes after Moses, who had led them out of slavery in ancient Egypt. He too was born a slave in Egypt and it was the same Moses who gave him the name Joshua.
If you know anything about that part of Hebrew history, after 40 or more years of wandering in the desert, Moses sent Joshua and 11 other spies to check out the land of Canaan. But Moses died without being able to cross over and Joshua took over the reins as leader, conquered Canaan and divided up the land among the tribes.
Research shows that the name Joshua is definitely of Hebrew origin but it is also the same as the name Jesus, which is Aramaic. Somewhat like Pedro in Puerto Rico being the same as Peter in Barbados or Pierre in Martinique. Or Antonio, Anthony and Antoine.
So I have found myself wondering what would have been the reaction had my daughter opted to name my grandson Jesus instead of Joshua.
Would there have been shock and awe in the church when she took him to be christened and baptised; in the Registry when she went to make his name official; among her neighbours, work colleagues and friends when they heard what she had named him; among the teachers when she took him for admission to his first school; and so on and so on?
Now if we were living in Spain, Venezuela, Puerto Rico or any other Spanish-speaking country, I would not have to wonder about anything like that because in such countries naming a child Jesus is a common practice. It also has nothing to do with those countries being Catholic because I have never come across any Catholics in any English-speaking country, be it Ireland, Trinidad or St Lucia, with the name Jesus.
So why don’t we English speakers, like my daughter, name our children Jesus? According to what I have been able to dig up, it would appear that this custom has to do with keeping to the commandment about not taking God’s name in vain, and both English and American Protestants have historically taken a conservative view on religious names and reserved the name Jesus only for the Son of God.
In England, Mary was also once considered too sacred a name for common use until about 1300 and it wasn’t until the past 100 years or so that naming a baby after an angel ceased to be sacrilegious.
On the other hand, Jesus has been a common first and last name in Iberian countries since at least the 14th or 15th century and for many Catholics from both Spanish and Portuguese cultures, naming a child Jesus is considered a way to honour God rather than a violation of a commandment.
So henceforth, I will be calling my grandson Jesus.
• Al Gilkes is head of a public relations firm. Email [email protected]
