First the bad news: Tennessee judge orders new name given to child named “Messiah”

August 12, 2013 • 9:52 am

Real news (and intellectually deep thoughts) are thin on the ground today, but I have some good news and some bad news. Here’s the bad news. I’ll put up the good news in an hour.

Only in America!  Today’s BBC reports a bizarre incursion of religion into law. The whole story is in the first line of the report.

A judge in the US has ordered a baby’s first name to be changed from Messiah to Martin, arguing that the only true messiah is Jesus Christ, reports say.

Pity the judge wasn’t Jewish. . .

The parents of seven-month old Messiah DeShawn Martin had gone to court in Tennessee over his last name.

But Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered the first name changed too, local broadcaster WBIR-TV said.

Last year more than 700 babies were named Messiah in the US, according to the Social Security Administration.

. . . The judge in Cocke County said the name Messiah could cause the boy difficulties if he grew up in a predominantly Christian area.”It could put him at odds with a lot of people and at this point he has had no choice in what his name is,” Judge Ballew said.

She was able to make the order because the parents were already in a child support hearing in a dispute over what their son’s last name should be.

Instead the judge ruled that the baby was to be named Martin DeShawn McCullough, which includes both parents’ last name.

“The word Messiah is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ,” she said.

The baby’s mother, Jaleesa Martin, told WBIR she would appeal against the judge’s order.

“I didn’t think a judge could change my baby’s name because of her religious beliefs,” she said.

She said she chose the name not because of its religious connotations, but because she liked how it sounded with her two other children’s names, Micah and Mason.

Messiah came in at number 387 in the list of the most popular of baby names in the US in 2012, up from 633 in 2011.

This has to be stopped now.  Think of all the Hispanic kids named “Jesus” who would have to get new names!

article-2389673-1B4063D6000005DC-190_634x324
Jaleesa Martin and the child formerly known as Messiah

104 thoughts on “First the bad news: Tennessee judge orders new name given to child named “Messiah””

  2. “Think of all the Hispanic kids named “Jesus” who would have to get new names!”

    Or of the kids named Mohammed. Mohammed is THE most popular name I believe worldwide so there would be quite a few in the US!

    1. The practice of naming a child “Jesus” was adopted by Christians during the Islamic rule of Spain, emulating the Muslim practice of naming a child “Mohammed”.

      2. I see. As a child I wondered why no one was named Jesus and I was told it was too sacred a name for normal people to have, then I found out about the Spanish who clearly don’t see it that way.

        1. Actually, “Joshua” is the more common Anglicization of that particular ancient Hebrew name. So you probably did know a few people named, essentially, “Jesus.”

          b&

  3. “The word Messiah is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ,” she said.

    Cut and wrap! Air-tight video evidence that the judge’s action constitutes an imposition of her religious beliefs on others.

      1. Or Muslims. Or Buddhists. Or atheists (not to imply that atheism is a religion). Or Zoroastrians. Or Wiccans. Or Hindus. Or Taoists. Or Jains. Or…

        God–how do you know you’ve chosen the right one? (thus saith the T-shirt)

        1. True, but I didn’t intend to cite the whole list of religions. Therefore I took the religion which invented the concept of the messiah, judaism. Many religions, such as buddhism or hinduism, do not have any concept of messiah at all.

          2. Yes, but as you say the similarities are vague. However, a Boddhisatva is supposed to save all living being regardless of their particular believes. Whereas christians believe only christians will be saved by the Messiah, and jews believe the messiah will save the jews from injustice. Further, buddhists believe that in principle every person can become a boddhisatva, and they also reject the idea that there is only one boddhisatva.

      1. I agree. Someone needs to put that judge on the bench…LOL I want someone to ask the judge if the child is the Messaiah returned how dumb would the reasoning behind the change be. Besides that, there are other chilren named Messaiah. Namely, TI and Tamika Cottle named their son messaiah. It only means messenger of Elohim. Who is to say that he is not a messenger of Elohim? How is she to say that he is not a messaiah. Ann annointed one. The ignorance is beyond my comprehension.

  6. “Only in America!”

    Actually, I believe there was a NZ case where a judge ordered parents to change their kid’s name because it was “Satan.” Same religious bias, different application.

    In any event, I would bet on a quick overturn (once it reaches the appeals court).

      2. I know Quebec doesn’t allow names that would be detrimental to the child and there may be other provinces as well but I couldn’t quickly find a resource.

          1. That was ‘Tallulahdoesthehulafromhawaii’ as I recall. And in that particular instance I think the judge was dead right. In fact the girl was 9 years old at the time and the judge made her a ward of the court specifically so she could change her name to one she found less embarrassing.

          2. Yeah I remember that one. Poor kid. I’m glad the state actually stepped in here.

    2. There was a story not that many years ago where a boy from Germany, immigrating to Australia, whose name was Hell (= bright or light, as in ‘hellbraun’, light brown), was told to change his name. I don’t know the sequel though.

    3. Thanks for all the replies. I would in fact be a bit pro-US in this respect. Sure, we have here a crazy TN judge that did this. But I don’t expect it to stick, which may be a step up from other countries.

    4. “Satan” (pronounced differently – he was Czech or something) was the family name of a hockey player (Sabres, I think) a while back – wonder if that would have worked as an argument.

  7. I’m happy to live in a country, the Netherlands, where a judge like this one would get fired the same day.

    1. Not sure what you’re basing that on. Firing judges in the Netherlands isn’t that easy.

      But I suspect that a judge making that sort of decision would swiftly receive a visit from a couple of senior colleagues asking what on earth he/she was thinking of.

      1. “I’m happy to live in a country, the Netherlands, where a judge like this one would get fired the same day.”
        Sorry Rob, the Netherlands is absolutely no shining example, whatsoever, of rationality in allowing freedom in naming children. I worked in the Netherlands on a major software project in the early 1990’s – the work being done by a major American software house. One of my colleagues, a Texan, wanted to name his new baby son, born in Apeldoorn, Dwane (a traditional Western USA name). This was vetoed by the Dutch registration authorities on the basis that this unusual name might hamper the emotional development of the poor child. Stupidity in officialdom is a worldwide phenomenon.

      1. Google is your friend… 

        Lutetium
        Chemical Element
        Lutetium is a chemical element with the symbol Lu and atomic number 71. It is a silvery white metal which resists corrosion in dry, but not moist, air. It is the last element in the lanthanide series, and traditionally counted among the rare earths. Wikipedia
        Symbol: Lu
        Electron configuration: Xe 4f14 5d1 6s2
        Discovered: 1907
        Melting point: 1,663 °C
        Atomic number: 71
        Atomic mass: 174.967 ± 0.001 u

        [my emphasis]

        (Actually, these infoboxes Google puts at the top of search results are pretty cool. When you’re doing a quick fact check, you might not even have to click on any of the results.)

        OK, yes, it’s pretty tenuous and doesn’t explain “Ann … so… “& a lunar crater near Mons Bradley.”

        /@

        1. Yes, I can use Google, thanks :-). I missed the point that you were referring to the magistrate’s name, and spent 10 minutes trying to find a connection between Lu and Messiah. I need to brush up my reading skills. And yes, it was all there in the info box.

    1. Actaully, they didn’t. The people at the hospital forced Zappa and his wife Gail (they were both very young) to Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa (the first names of his band members.)

      He later learned of the situation and legally chnanged it back to Dweezil, as his parents intended.

      (I just recently re-read The Real Frank Zappa Book, his autobiography, which, by the way is an excellent book (well, at least until the end when he goes off on the recording industry.) Recommended.

      Readers of this site will enjoy his refreshing honesty, humor, and opinions on religion.

    2. Well he was a genius. Don’t forget the other two Zappa sprogs:- Diva Muffin & Ahmet Emuukha Rodan

  12. A judge in the US has ordered a baby’s first name to be changed from Messiah to Martin, arguing that the only true messiah is Jesus Christ, reports say.

    No, that isn’t bad news. It is good news. Think of the material it will provide to stand-up comedians for weeks to come. And then, when it is eventually overruled on appeal, it will provide many more weeks of entertainment.

  13. I can see problems withe the Irish name Concepta or Spanish Concepcion. Also I have Sicilian friends called Salvatore (How dare they?). There must be thousands of them in Italy, usually shortened to Salvo. I suppose Messiah could be shortened to Messy. The judge will surely have the ruling overturned as having allowed a religious judgement (also erroneous since there are several Messiahs in history).
    Colombus was a name given to orphans or foundlings since they were children of the dove (columba) which is a symbol of the Holy Ghost.
    Isn’t Joshuah also the original for of Jesus which I believe is actually the Latin form.
    Apparently Misha means ‘who is like God’: just asking for trouble naming your child like that!
    Amadeus or Theophile: “who loves god” I suppose that’s okay, although as an atheist I would hate it if my parent had given me a name with religious connotation.
    We have to have a purge on all names with any Christian association then. There’s another one: Christian!

    1. Apparently Misha means ‘who is like God’

      “Is petty, vengeful and genocidal.”

    2. That would be pretty drastic. All the Chris* ones, plus all the ones with “el”. (Gabriel, Michael, etc.) Then there are names of books and “authors” of bible stuff (Peter, Paul, Mark, etc.) I’m for secularism, but you’d lose a lot of names that way.

      1. That’s me gone then, since my first name is Christopher. Just to make it even better though, one of my sisters-in-law thinks the proper abbreviation to use in emails is ‘Christ’. This bemuses the daylights out of me but I am still trying to think of a response which is adequately sardonic without causing offence.

  14. How is this not a clear contravention of the separation of church and state? Surely this is not legal in any way shape or form. And this is a judge’s ruling? I am so confused.

    1. This certainly is a violation of church and state. This is a local magistrate. If it is appealed to higher level federal or even state judges, I expect it to be reversed.

  15. The kid dodged a bullet if you ask me. He’d be in for a lifetime of “He’s not the Messiah. He’s a very naughty boy!” quips.

  16. Think of all the Hispanic kids named “Jesus” who would have to get new names!

    Which reminds me of an old joke:

    If Jesus was Jewish why did he have a Puerto Rican name ?

  18. While that judge is arbitrarily changing names, she should take a close look at the name of her own county.

    2. Following the judges own flawless logic, I cannot accept that until the judge can make an absolute incontrovertible determination that the baby in NOT Jesus Christ (in his promised second coming) that the child is not to be allowed his own proper name.

        1. Yeah the Brian theme was better 🙂 From: Why Evolution Is TrueSent: Monday, August 12, 2013 9:20 PMTo: ddmacpherson@gmail.comReply To: Why Evolution Is TrueSubject: [New comment] First the bad news: Tennessee judge orders new name given to child named “Messiah”

          a:hover { color: red; } a { text-decoration: none; color: #0088cc; }

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          /* @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) { .post { min-width: 700px !important; } } */ WordPress.com

          blueollie commented: “:-) I thought that you were going to say something about “Bright Side of Life”.”

  20. If I were the parents…well, first, I wouldn’t be naming my children after that sort of fictional character. But, that aside, I’d let the judge write whatever name he saw fit on the birth certificate and then call the child whatever name I actually chose to give him.

    If the child so cared at some later point in his life, it’d be his problem to do something about either official records or what people called him. Though, if he asked, I’m sure I’d lend advice and a hand.

    It’s very common for people’s names to only vaguely — or less — resemble what’s printed on official documentation. What you print on your tax return may make the government happy, but, so long as you’re not engaged in fraud, there’s no reason why it has to have any other bearing in reality.

    b&

  25. Don’t forget the parents that named their kid “Adolph Hitler Campbell”. The name came to attention of authorities when a grocery store wouldn’t write “Happy Birthday Adolph Hitler” on his cake.

    Anyway, the kid was removed by the state and then the dad came to the hearing wearing a toothbrush moustache and full Hitler uniform. Another daughter was named “JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell”.

    I don’t know what eventually happened but the parents have certainly proved unfitness for parenthood.

    P.S. One article I read had a great reader comment, first calling the guy a nutball, and then criticizing him for having some details of his uniform all wrong. (A military history/reenactor/uniform buff of some kind.)

  26. Jim, I was writing when you were!

    I’m pretty sure the guy ended up blaming it on the Jews, now there’s a big surprise.

  27. The mother is right, though. Messiah does fit smoothly with Micah and Mason. Not so much Martin. It’s just too bad the name has such strong religious connotations and would no doubt cause this kid a lifetime of awkward moments.

  28. I’m assuming there are no Americans called Earl or Duke as these are also titles. Or is it only religious titles that aren’t allowed

    2. I am not allowed to sing, but can manage the “Duke of Earl”, Gene Chandler, when I am alone in the shower . . .

      1. A classic, even with such a silly title. I can hear the bassman now: “dook, dook, dook, dook of earl, dook, dook…”

          1. Damn! That was meant to be facetious (a play on “Harold”), but it’s actually true:

            Bareth (short for Fionnbharrth), Barra, Barrath, Barenth, Barold, Bearrach or Finbarr. The Irish meaning is spear. [Wp]

            /@

  31. The judge can be safely ignored since this is clearly a case of the state pushing a favored religion. As far as I know neither the Jews nor the Muslims (nor anything other than the christian cults) consider Jesus the messiah.

    Some idiots in New Zealand have actually banned “Lucifer” among other things; the christian cults’ distortion of Lucifer has nothing to do with the original myths. The name is simply the male equivalent of Venus (the planet).

    1. In Germany, the name Judas is banned.

      If we are following the same line as by banning lucifer, we should also ban Mara (a common girls name), but Mara is also the buddhist version of satan (kind of).

    2. Can’t be bothered looking up the details bur the relevant legislation has a number of restrictions including at least some titles and I think a general catch all like offensive. In the main not a problem except for idiot parents who want to lumber their kid with a stupid name. Sort of like lumbering them with religion which is worse but permitted.

  32. Ever more troublesome than the judge’s opinion is the fact that many people with embrace it.

  33. Makes me think of the Freakonomics movie of the stupidity of these African,etc names equal stupid parents with stupid child names. Which then leads to wait for it……….. stupid children

    2. If only you could’ve managed to use the word “stupid” a few more times.

      And speaking of “stupid”, can’t do better than your own post for a perfect illustration.

  34. I am amazed at the blatantly unconstitutional ruling by the judge. Surely, she knew her decision would be overturned. If she is an elected judge she needs to be de-elected.

  35. Late to the party, but the judge was not even remotely correct. The Bible, in the Hebrew portion that Christians call the Old Testament, calls a LOT of people Messiah, or “annointed one.” Let me Google that for you, yer honor:

    For example, the term is employed variously with respect to kings (Saul): 1 Samuel 24:7, 11; 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2 Samuel 1:14, 16 (cf. 1 Samuel 2:10, 35; 12:3, 5; 16:6; Psalm 28:8), (David): 2 Samuel 19:22; 22:51; 23:1; Psalm 2:2; 20:7; 84:10; 89:39, 52; 132:10, 17 (cf. 18:51), (Solomon): 2 Chronicles 6:42, (Zedekiah): Lamentations 4:20; of patriarchs: Psalm 105:15; 1 Chronicles 16:22; foreign rulers – Cyrus, the Persian king: Isaiah 45:1; Israel: Habakkuk 3:3 (cf. Psalm 28:8); priests: Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 16:15; and prophets: Psalm 105:15; 1 Chronicles 16:22.

    1. Exactly; the Judge has a Christian, not a Jewish, (mis)understanding of the term; btw, I’m the cleaner arriving even later than you, Greg, to tidy up the post-party débris.

  36. I think the judge would first have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that “Jesus Christ” actually existed. Secondly, there is no law or passage in the Bible saying that he is the only one who earned that title. Messiah means anointed. All kings with through some form of anointing in ancient times. Thirdly, the Bible quotes Jesus as saying that his followers will do greater works than he did. Bottom-line, the Judge imposed a religious viewpoint, not a legal one. Maybe the Judge should start reading some works by Thomas Jefferson.

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