Church History · 1500s to 1600s

How We Got the Name Jesus

Jesus' Hebrew name was Yeshua. It became Iesous in Greek and Iesus in Latin, and the 1611 King James Bible printed Iesus. The letter J split from I in the 1600s, and Jesus with a J became standard in later printings.

Read it in the Bible: Matthew 1:21 Luke 1:31 Acts 4:12 Philippians 2:9-11 Hebrews 4:8

The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew name Yeshua, a short form of Yehoshua, the same name as Joshua. It means Yahweh saves. When the New Testament was written in Greek, the name was spelled Iesous. In Latin it became Iesus. The first King James Bible of 1611 printed it Iesus, because English did not yet treat J as its own letter. During the 1600s printers began using J for the consonant sound, and the spelling Jesus became standard. So Jesus and Yeshua are not two different names. They are one name in two languages.

What Was Jesus' Name in Hebrew?

Jesus grew up speaking Aramaic, and He would have also known Hebrew. His family and friends would have called Him Yeshua, or something very close to it. It was a common Jewish name at the time. Archaeologists have found it on many ossuaries, the stone boxes used for burial in first century Judea.

Yeshua is a shorter form of Yehoshua, the name of Moses' helper Joshua. Later books of the Old Testament, like Ezra and Nehemiah, use the short form Yeshua. The name combines a short form of God's name, Yahweh, with a word meaning to save or rescue. The angel explained it to Joseph.

She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

How Did Yeshua Become Iesous in Greek?

Greek has no sh sound, and Greek men's names usually end in s. So when Jewish scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek in the Septuagint, they wrote Joshua's name as Iesous. When the apostles wrote the New Testament in Greek, they used the same spelling for Jesus.

That is why, in a couple of places, older English Bibles call Joshua Jesus. The King James Version does this in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8, which confused many readers. Modern translations, including the Berean Standard Bible, say Joshua in those verses, because that is who is meant.

How Did Iesus Get Into English?

Latin took the Greek spelling and made it Iesus. In Latin, the letter I could be a vowel or a consonant that sounded like the y in yes. So Iesus was pronounced roughly yay soos.

Old English speakers at first did not use the name much. They often called Jesus Hælend, which means the Healer or Savior. In Middle English, borrowed through French, the name usually appeared as Iesu. By the 1500s the Latin form Iesus became the normal English spelling. Tyndale, the Geneva Bible and the 1611 King James Bible all printed it that way.

Over the centuries the sound of that first letter shifted in French and English from a y sound to the j sound we use today. So English speakers were already saying something like Jesus while still writing Iesus.

When Did the Letter J Appear?

The letter J started as a fancy way of writing I, often at the end of a Roman numeral like iij for three. In the 1500s some scholars, including the Italian Gian Giorgio Trissino in 1524 and the French scholar Petrus Ramus, pushed to use J as a separate letter for the consonant sound. Printers in different countries adopted it at different times.

In English the change happened in the 1600s. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest example of the spelling Jesus comes from 1632, and the split between I and J was mostly settled by about 1640. In King James Bibles, the Cambridge edition of 1629 began printing J along with the modern use of u and v. Later printings, including the Cambridge edition of 1638, helped make spellings like Jesus normal. By the time of the 1769 Blayney edition, which most KJVs follow today, it was Jesus throughout.

Is It Wrong to Say Jesus Instead of Yeshua?

No. Names naturally change from language to language. Peter is Pierre in French and Pedro in Spanish. Even Yeshua itself is a short form of a longer name. The New Testament writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, were happy to write His name in Greek as Iesous. They were more concerned about who He is than about spelling.

Some Christians, especially Messianic Jews, prefer to say Yeshua because it reminds them that Jesus is Jewish and fulfills the promises to Israel. That is a beautiful reminder. Others say Jesus, Jesús, Isa or Yesu depending on their language. People all over the world call on the same Savior. You can read more in the section on Jesus, Yeshua and Lord in the Introduction on this site.

Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

What About the Name Christ?

Christ is not His last name. It is a title. It comes from the Greek Christos, which translates the Hebrew Mashiach, Messiah, meaning the Anointed One. So Jesus Christ means Jesus the Messiah. People in Jesus' day did not have last names. They were known as son of someone, or by their town, like Jesus of Nazareth.

Why It Matters for You Today

The power of His name is not in the letters. It is in the Person. Whether you say Yeshua, Iesous or Jesus, the meaning is the same good news. Yahweh saves.

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9 to 11

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Questions People Ask

What was Jesus' real name?

Jesus' Hebrew name was Yeshua, a short form of Yehoshua, the same name as Joshua. It means Yahweh saves. Jesus is the same name passed through Greek and Latin into English, so both are His real name.

Did the 1611 King James Bible say Jesus?

The 1611 King James Bible printed the name as Iesus, because English did not yet treat J as a separate letter. Printers started using J in the 1600s, and later King James editions spell it Jesus.

When did the letter J come into English?

J began as a variant of I and was used as a separate consonant letter in English during the 1600s. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest example of the spelling Jesus is from 1632, and the change was mostly complete by about 1640.

Should Christians say Yeshua instead of Jesus?

Either is fine. Names change between languages, and the New Testament itself wrote His name in Greek. Some believers prefer Yeshua to honor His Jewish roots, while most English speakers say Jesus.

Sources

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