Jesus

“Yahweh is salvation”, often expressed as “the Lord saves”.

Jesus is a masculine name whose Hebrew roots express the idea that the Lord saves. Its path through Greek and Latin connects it with Yeshua and Yehoshua, the name family that also underlies Joshua. The association with Jesus Christ is central to its religious significance. Spanish Jesús is used as a personal name. Its written accent marks the stress on the final syllable, and its initial sound differs from the English j. English Jesus begins like the j in jam and stresses the first syllable; Spanish Jesús begins with the sound represented by /x/ and stresses the second. The spelling alone should not decide how a particular person’s name is read. The Spanish rhythm gives Jesús a firm, concentrated finish that can feel strong without being elaborate. For someone drawn to an explicitly religious name, its appeal may lie in how directly it expresses that connection. A bearer’s own relationship to the name remains personal.

Etymology: From Greek Iesous and Latin Iesus, going back to Yeshua and the Hebrew name Yehoshua. Spanish Jesús belongs to the same name tradition.