Iesous

Iesous is the Greek form of the given name Jesus. In the New Testament and other early Christian writings, the name appears as Iesous in Greek manuscripts, the form from which the English name Jesus is derived. The name itself comes from the Hebrew/Aramaic Yeshua (Yehoshua), meaning “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” Iesous was a common Jewish given name in the late Second Temple period and was borne by several figures in antiquity.

In Christian usage, Iesous designates Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Christianity. Early Christians often pair the name with Christos (Christ) to form Iesous Christos, translated Jesus Christ. In the Septuagint, Iesous is used to translate Yehoshua in some contexts, showing the name’s Hebraic roots in Greek translation. The Latin form Iesus gave rise to the English name Jesus.

Outside Christian literature, references to Jesus as a historical figure appear in a few ancient sources, such as Tacitus and Josephus, though passages are debated and interpreted in various ways. Modern scholarship generally regards the historical Jesus as a first-century Jewish preacher in Galilee, while recognizing that later Christian theology developed a broader and more divine portrait of Jesus. The name Iesous thus anchors both linguistic history and religious tradition in Western thought.