MEANING & HISTORY
What does Jesus mean?
Jesus comes through Greek Iesous and Latin Iesus from Hebrew Yeshua, a shortened form of Yehoshua or Joshua. The conventional meaning is the Lord saves.
Spanish naming uses Jesús, and unaccented Jesus also appears in Philippine records. The historical connection with Joshua explains a relationship that is less obvious in modern English spelling. Religious association does not itself establish a bearer’s personal beliefs.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
English
- /ˈd͡ʒiːzəs/Received-Pronunciation · Jesus of Nazareth
- [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯zəs] ~ [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯zs̩]Received-Pronunciation · Jesus of Nazareth
- /ˈd͡ʒiːˌzʌs/Received-Pronunciation · Jesus of Nazareth
- [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯ˌzʌs]Received-Pronunciation · Jesus of Nazareth
- /ˈd͡ʒizəs/General-American · Jesus of Nazareth
- [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯zəs] ~ [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯zs̩]General-American · Jesus of Nazareth
- /ˈd͡ʒiːzɨ̞s/General-South-African · Jesus of Nazareth
- [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯zɨ̞s]General-South-African · Jesus of Nazareth
- /ˈd͡ʒiːzəs/South-Asia · Jesus of Nazareth
- [ˈd͡ʒiːzɐs]South-Asia · Jesus of Nazareth
- /ˈd͡ʒiːsəs/South-Asia · Jesus of Nazareth
- [ˈd͡ʒiːsɐs]South-Asia · Jesus of Nazareth
- /heɪ̯ˈsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [heɪ̯ˈsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
- /ˈheɪ̯ˌsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [ˈheɪ̯ˌsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
- /hɛˈsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [hɛˈsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
- /ˈhɛˌsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [ˈhɛˌsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
- /xeɪ̯ˈsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [xeɪ̯ˈsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
- /ˈxeɪ̯ˌsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [ˈxeɪ̯ˌsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
- /xɛˈsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [xɛˈsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
- /ˈxɛˌsuːs/Spanish · proper-noun
- [ˈxɛˌsʊu̯s]Spanish · proper-noun
Jes · us2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
CebuanoEtymology & source
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English Jhesus, Iesus, from Latin Iēsūs, from Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), from Biblical Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšū́aʿ), a contracted form of יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (yəhōšúaʿ, “Joshua”), meaning "the Lord saves". The form יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšū́aʿ) is attested in some of the later books of the Hebrew Bible (Ezra–Nehemiah), and translated as Jeshua or Yeshua in some English editions (the former appearing in the King James Version). The Greek texts make no distinction between Jesus and Joshua, referring to them both as Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs). In the Wycliffe Bible (Middle English), the forms used are Jhesus and Jhesu.
A male given name from Spanish in Spanish culture; an anglicized spelling of Jesús.; A male given name from Aramaic.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Jesus
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Nicanor Perlas
Filipino politician
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Jesus Tuquib
Catholic archbishop
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
83
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
13
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Jesus Tuquib, Nicanor Perlas
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Jesus in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Jesus
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Jesús♂The Lord is salvation; Spanish form of Jesus
- Jerus♂Cebuano shortening of Jerusalem
- Jess·Short form of Jesse, Jessica or Jessamy
- Jesusa♀Feminine form of Jesús; the Lord saves
- Jesie·Documented form in the Jesse name family
- Jesse♂♀Hebrew Yishai; possibly gift or existence
- Jessy♀Variant of Jesse or Jessie, with separate name histories
- Jean♀God is gracious; related to John and Jeanne
What rhymes with Jesus?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Jesus
11 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Anthony Jesus·Anthony: English form of Roman Antonius; Jesus: biblical form through Greek Iesous and Aramaic Yeshua
- Eddie Jesus·Ed-name familiar form Eddie with biblical Jesus
- Eleandro Jesus·Source record
- Jesus Chito·Yeshua-family Jesus with documented familiar name Chito
- Jesus Enrico Moises·Yeshua, Henry and Moses name families
- Jesus Luis·Yeshua-family Jesus; famous battle in Luis
- Jesus Yves·Yeshua-family Jesus with the Ivo yew-name history
- Joel Jesus·Yahweh is God with the Yeshua and Joshua history
Explore Jesus further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q1158269 — Jesus (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Jesus Tuquib (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1158269 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Nicanor Perlas (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1158269 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jesus (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jesus (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Jesus (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.