Jesús

Meaning: “the Lord saves”

From Latin Iēsūs, from Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), from Hebrew ישוע (yēšūaʿ). The exceptional use of Jesús as a first given name in Spanish-speaking countries contrasts with other historically Catholic or otherwise Christian societies. It has been linked to the widespread use of the name مُحَمَّد (muḥammad, “Muhammad”) by Muslims, whose custom would have induced their Christian peers to do something comparable during the Arab reign in Muslim Spain, from the 8ᵗʰ to the 15ᵗʰ century. Other hypotheses are its alleged use by New Christians from the 15ᵗʰ century onwards to integrate into Catholic society; the influence on Spanish Catholics of the rise in the devotion to Jesus' name led by mendicant orders and later by the Jesuits in the 14ᵗʰ and 15ᵗʰ centuries; and the Spanish custom of using religious names for orphaned children in Catholic institutions, their names being passed on to their descendants. However, those hypotheses are unlikely. It was only in the late 19ᵗʰ century that the name Jesús was popularised in Spain, appearing on registers just five times in 1800-1820, but 576 times in 1880-1900, with similar results for Mexico, where it was first recorded in 1852. Hence, the use of the name Jesús is likely attributable to the reaction of some militant Catholic forces to the efforts towards secularisation and to the anticlericalism prevalent in the period. Cognate with Sicilian Gisuzzu.