ABSTRACT
The name Jesus was imported into English from the Latin Iesus, which is a mere transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς. The latter is a cognate of the original Hebrew name, Yeshua, which in its turn represents the contraction of Yehoshua, “Yahweh is salvation.” Accordingly, Joseph is told by the angel of the Lord to name Mary’s divine child “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”1 As to the appellation “Christ,”2 it originates from the Latin Christus and the Greek Xριστός (the anointed one), which is the title the disciples attributed to Jesus upon the realization that he was the Messiah or the promised liberator.3 More often than not, in the New Testament Xριστός is used as Jesus’ other name.4
