What does Jesus’ name mean?

In his home language, Jesus’ name means “the Lord saves”. But only in his home language of Aramaic (or Hebrew).

Fact is, “Jesus” is not the real name of the man from Nazareth followed by millions of people. And fact is, that’s ok.

What is Jesus’ real name? And do we need to know it to connect with him?

When I first learned Jesus’ real name, I was concerned. I had been calling him by a different name my whole life. And I’m not alone! Nearly every English bible translation spells it J-e-s-u-s. Languages around the world call him by some form of this name.

And yet that’s not his name. Not his birth name anyway.

I wondered, is he okay with this? Or is our Lord and Savior, seated at the right hand of the Father,¹ deeply offended every time we get his name wrong? Does he even pay attention when we use this foreign, altered name?

That’s the big question: Is calling him “Jesus” interfering with our connection with him?

Do you know someone that goes by a new name? When you use that name, are they offended? Or are they eager to connect with you? Do they respond with a frown or a smile?

Jesus has many reasons to accept this pronunciation of his name. Consider:

Many people in Jesus’ time went by a different name. Yes, every person was given a name at birth. Many were named after an Israelite ancestor. And many names had great meaning in their original language, Hebrew.

Later in life, some people got a new name. They didn’t pick it for themselves, And that’s the name we know them by today.

• Paul the apostle was born Saul (Sha’ul) of Tarsus (Acts 13:9)
• Barnabas was actually Joseph from Cyprus (Acts 4:36)
• Mark, author of the second gospel, was born John (Yochanan) (Acts 15:37)
• The apostle we call Peter was originally Simon (Shim’on) (Mark 3:16) ²

And who gave Simon the new name Peter (Kefa)? Jesus himself!³ Jesus is ok with new names.

Each one of these people responded to their new name. Many strangers and even some friends only knew them by that new name. And that was fine!

Likewise, Jesus is eager to connect with us!

Besides, Jesus knows everything. He knows when his followers are praying in his name, are spreading his good news around the world.

Clearly, Jesus is completely fine with us using that name. But when we’re hearing about his birth, we really need to know Jesus’ name in the original Hebrew language.

An angel visited Mary and said, “You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31, NET2)

An angel told Joseph the same thing: “You will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21, NET2)

Mary and Joseph did not name him “Jesus”. That’s not a Hebrew or Aramaic name.

In his home language, his name is Yeshua. Ye is the beginning of God’s name. And shua means “saves, rescues, delivers”. Every time someone called out “Yeshua” they were saying “God saves”!

Now what the angel told Joseph makes sense! “You will name him Yeshua (God saves) because he will save his people from their sins.”

(Most English bibles have a footnote explaining this. Check your bible at Matthew 1:21)

And actually, Jesus wasn’t the only one named Yeshua. Paul mentioned a Jew in Rome by the same name in Colossians 4:11. Before Jesus, at least five persons had the same name, usually Jeshua in English.

To top it off, Yeshua is a variant of Y’hoshua, whom we call Joshua.⁴ Joshua assisted Moses and led the army during the 40 years in the desert. When the Israelites reached the Jordan river, Joshua was appointed to lead them into the promised land.

With such a rich family history, we can imagine there were many boys named Yeshua in Jesus’ time. So what made this Yeshua, born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, so special?

Let’s join Mary and listen to the angel again:

“You will name him Jesus (Yeshua). He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Luke 1:31-33 (NET2)

No other Yeshua was called Son of the Most High. Who else has an everlasting kingdom? Who else showed God’s love through every action, every word? Who else gave his life to pay for all sins, and rose back to life? Who else is at the Father’s right hand, and will return to fulfill his kingdom? Only this Yeshua, only this Jesus.

1. See Hebrews 12:2 ↩︎
2. Original Hebrew names in parenthesis from the Complete Jewish Bible ↩︎
3. John 1:42, Complete Jewish Bible ↩︎
4. “Yeshua”, Pronouncing Explanatory Glossary, Complete Jewish Bible ↩︎

Complete Jewish Bible: an English version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament) (1st ed.). Stern, D. H. (1998). Jewish New Testament Publications.

NET2: The NET Bible (Second Edition). Biblical Studies Press. (2019). Thomas Nelson.