Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Messiah

Messiah is a given name which has only just recently come into circulation. Of course most people are aware that Messiah is the title traditionally given to Jesus Christ by Christians. The word is actually Hebrew in origin (Mašíaḥ) and means “anointed”. It is also not specific to Christians; the concept of the messiah is used among people of all major religions to signify a savior or liberator of their own people (Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc.). Originating with the Hebrews scores of centuries before Christ, messiahs were those monarchs or priests anointed with holy oil. Later Jewish beliefs held that “the” messiah will be anointed by God and come to rule the united tribes as a single future King of Israel descended from David (ushering in the Messianic Age). Of course the Christians believe that “the” messiah has already arrived in the form of Jesus Christ (Jesus got the title “Khristós” from the Greeks which means exactly the same thing as Messiah, i.e., “anointed”). Since Christians believe Jesus to be their savior and redeemer, the terms Christ and Messiah are essentially used synonymously. Muslims believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah to the Israelites and that he will return again to earth and join the Islamic al-Mahdi in defeating the Antichrist and ridding the world of all wickedness. In essence, the word Messiah is important to all the major monotheistic religions. Everyone is trying to get to the same place in the end (i.e., paradise on earth), which is a peaceful notion. They just have different viewpoints on who that leader (Messiah) is or will be – but in each case, their own people reign supreme in the eyes of their God. In any case, the term Messiah is pretty heavy and holy so we were quite surprised to see the name be given to modern baby boys. Then again, Salvador and Salvatore are the Spanish and Italian equivalents to the word “savior” which essentially means the same thing to Christians as Messiah. Spanish-speakers have a long history of using the name Jesús, as well. However, English-speakers have historically displayed a fair amount of discomfort with such names they have considered too holy for use. It appears they may be lightening up on this rule.

All About the Baby Name – Messiah

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME MESSIAH

The number 11 is a Master Number, and embodies heightened traits of the Two. This personality is on a life journey to find spiritual truth. They are extremely idealistic and intuitive. Elevens have a rare and exceptional spiritual energy that brings a sense of obligation to illuminate the world around them. It's a very powerful responsibility, but these people have far more potential than they know. It's important that they surrender to higher ideals. They have the capacity to see the bigger picture, and they possess the skills to inspire others spiritually. Elevens have strong diplomatic skills and can become great peacemakers. Master numbers can be both a blessing and a curse, as they walk the fine line between greatness and the potential for self-destruction.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME MESSIAH

We’re not going to mince words here; we were quite surprised to see a name like Messiah on the Top 1000 list of American masculine names. You can’t get much bolder with a name like this. We see names like Ace, Prince, King, Major, Maverick and Legend on the American boy’s naming chart today, but Messiah? That sort of makes these other boys look like chumps. Seriously, this one is a head-scratcher. It also appears to be distinctly American; in other words, there aren’t a bunch of Messiahs running around the preschools of Great Britain. As a given name for boys, Messiah first appeared on the U.S. charts in 2005. For Christians, the “real” Messiah appeared sometime around the turn of the first century A.D. Although Messiah has only been on the naming charts for less than 10 years, it’s been growing in usage, so what do we know? There are obviously enough parents out there who are unabashedly “anointing” their baby boys with this profoundly spiritual moniker, enough so to keep the name on the charts. Really. We don’t know if we should praise you or penalize you. We do know one thing, though – you have a lot of moxie. And we’ll give you points for that.

Quick Facts

ON MESSIAH

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

American

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

3

RANKING POPULARITY:

334

PRONUNCIATION:

mә-SIGH-ah

SIMPLE MEANING:

Anointed

Characteristics

OF MESSIAH

Inspirational

Highly Intuitive

Spiritual Teacher

Extremely Bright

Uplifting

Truth-seeker

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Messiah

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME MESSIAH

The Messiah is, well, we know who he is. Or He is, depending on your orientation. In the Christian, Jewish and Muslim religions, he is considered to be a savior sent from God to free His people from war and strife. Christians believe he has come already, Jews believe he is yet to come, and Muslims believe he has been and will return. Any way you look at it, this is someone with a BIG mission to have accomplished, to accomplish, or to have to accomplish yet again. Significantly, the Jews believe that his coming will usher in a period of untold benevolence and peace, a time in which even wild animals will become tame and domesticated. In our experience, such goings on haven’t yet been eye-witnessed by anyone we trust. We tend to agree with one famous Jew, Woody Allen, when he says: “And the lamb and the wolf will lie down together, but the lamb won’t get any sleep.” No irreverence intended; we’re just repeating what we’ve been told. So long live the Messiah, and may everything they say about him be true!

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME MESSIAH

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Messiah


Popular Songs

ON MESSIAH

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Messiah


Famous People

NAMED MESSIAH

We cannot find any celebrities or significantly famous people with the first name Messiah.

Children of Famous People

NAMED MESSIAH

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Messiah

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME MESSIAH

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Messiah