Meaning and background
The story behind Jesus
Jesus has a documented linguistic chain through Greek Iesous and Aramaic Yeshua, the latter a contraction of Yehoshua. Behind the Name records both biblical and Portuguese usage for the unaccented spelling. Pronunciation depends on language: English commonly begins with the sound in jam, while Portuguese has its own reading. The name also carries a strong Christian association, which may be central to how a household understands the choice.
- Origin
- English form of Greek Iesous, from Aramaic Yeshua, a contracted form of Yehoshua; also recorded in Portuguese usage. Source
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About Jesus
Recorded as a dog’s name
Jesus appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/dʒizəs/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/dʒizəs/ · primary stress on syllable 1JH IY1 Z AH0 S
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.