Naming a kid Jesus

[ServusDei]

I was wondering your opinions on this. Is naming a kid "Jesus" blasphemous? Some people say not, but as a name signifies a person, and as God's Name signifies Himself, wouldn't taking the Name of God upon oneself or one's child be blasphemous as it equates God with a mere human?

[Augustinian]

I don't see how. The name Jesus (hay-soos) is pretty common in Hispanic populations. It's not like these people are proclaiming their kids to be Jesus Christ Himself.

[jovan66102]

How about the Scandinavians who name their sons 'Christ' (pronounced with a short 'i' like Chris with a 't')? I think if either was 'blasphemous', the Church would long ago have forbidden their use as baptismal names.

[Te Deum]

I was wondering your opinions on this. Is naming a kid "Jesus" blasphemous? Some people say not, but as a name signifies a person, and as God's Name signifies Himself, wouldn't taking the Name of God upon oneself or one's child be blasphemous as it equates God with a mere human?

Consider this: Jesus wasn't the only man in Israel named "Jesus" (Yeshua, variant of Yehoshua, "Joshua"). It was a pretty common name among the Jews of the Second Temple Period. Why would God choose such a common name?

The tradition of naming children "Jesus," although absent in Anglo-Saxonic lands, is not that uncommon in the Latin Mediterranean, especially among the Spanish. It can also be a family name.

[ServusDei]

But is it appropriate or reverent to bestow a kid a Name whose very recitation causes "every knee to bend?" The CCC condemns irreverent uses of God's Name, and this I think counts.

[jovan66102]

But is it appropriate or reverent to bestow a kid a Name whose very recitation causes "every knee to bend?" The CCC condemns irreverent uses of God's Name, and this I think counts.

Then why  hasn't the Church banned it under Canon 855? It reads, 'Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to take care that a name foreign to Christian sensibility is not given.' It seems that the Church does not consider Jesus to be 'a name foreign to Christian sensibility'.

[Augustinian]

But is it appropriate or reverent to bestow a kid a Name whose very recitation causes "every knee to bend?" The CCC condemns irreverent uses of God's Name, and this I think counts.

Well then, I guess if you meet someone with the name Jesus, you'd better take care not to denigrate it. ;)

[Blind Horus]

I was wondering your opinions on this. Is naming a kid "Jesus" blasphemous? Some people say not, but as a name signifies a person, and as God's Name signifies Himself, wouldn't taking the Name of God upon oneself or one's child be blasphemous as it equates God with a mere human?

Can't find the page on the internet but I believe an edict from Rome allowed the Spanish to use the Holy Name for some deed preformed by the Spanish nation, (or something)...thus many Mexicans and Filipinos use the name Jesus.

[AnBotharGoEmmaus]

The problem I would see if that you might open the child up to being bullied. Furthermore if you were hoping to raise them as a Christian you might instead turn them off the faith by giving them a name that could be ridiculed. A variant like Joshua might be a better name IMO.