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Now for the man of the moment, from whom we derive the name of Christmas. It is around the time of the winter solstice that Christians all around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus.
As a name, Jesus comes from the Latin Iesus, a form of the Greek Iesous, itself a form of the Aramaic name Yeshua. Yeshua is the name given to Jesus in Hebrew scripture, and is a contraction of the name Yehoshua meaning "Yahweh is salvation, Yahweh (is a) help."
Although Jesus isn't commonly used as a first name in English speaking countries, it is very popular in the Spanish-speaking world. Diminutive forms include Chucho, Chus and Chuy. It is also sometimes used for girls (in compound names such as Maria Jesus), as is Jesusa.
Several countries use lingual variants of the name. Isa, Issa and Essa are Arabic forms; Xesús is Galician, and Josu is Basque.
Joshua is an Anglicised form of Yehoshua, so can be considered cognate with Jesus. Joshua's many international forms include: Yushua (Arabic), Jozua (Dutch). Josué (French, Spanish), Jozsua (Hungarian) and Giosuè (Italian).
Christians refer to Jesus by the Hebrew word מָשִׁיחַ Messiah "anointed." The cognate Greek form was Christos, from which the name Christ is derived. Many masculine names contain this element: Christian, Christan, Christer, Christianus, Cristiano, Karsten, Kresten, Krister, Kristian, Christopher, Christophe, Cristobal, Cristoforo, Kester, Kit, Kitto and Kristoffer.
Feminine variations include Christina, Christine, Christiana, Christabel, Cairistiona, Christa, Christel, Crystin, Kerstin, Kirsten, Kirsty, Kristin and Kristina.
The Late Latin name Dominicus, meaning "of the Lord" was used in connection with Christ. The English form is Dominic while it is Dominique in French, Dominik / Dominika in German, Polish and Slavic, Domenico / Domenica in Italian and Domingo in Spanish.
The Spanish use the name Encarnación, meaning "incarnation," in honour of the Incarnation of Jesus in the womb. It is most often given to girls, with Encarnita and Encarna as diminutive forms.
Places connected to Jesus have also become commemorated in names. Belén is the Spanish short form of Bethlehem -- the place of Jesus' birth -- which is most commonly used for girls. Jesus' home town, Nazareth, is found in the Late Roman masculine names Nazarius and Nazarenus. Its modern forms include Nazaire (French), Nazzareno, Nazario (Italian), Nazar, Nazariy (Russian) and Nazario (Spanish).
