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Help[Facts] Question for Lumia: Where & when did the Spanish use of Jesus start?
I'm asking this on the board because I thought everyone would be interested.
I am trying to track down information on how Jesus (or Jesús) came to be regularly used as a name for boys in Spanish speaking countries. I have run across comments that Jesus was NOT used as a given name in medieval Spain, but this usage only developed after 1492.
Some of the comments I've read claim that the use of Jesús actually began in Mexico among Native American converts, and then spread back to Spain from Latin America.
Another theory seems to be that people in Spain began to use Jesus on the analogy of Muslims naming their sons Mohammed, after the remaining Muslims in Spain were forced to convert to Christianity.
The fact that within Spain today Jesús is most common in Andalusia is used to support that theory.
Unfortunately there are no references given to any of the comments above. So: do real historians and language experts in Spain agree with the above? Just when did it become acceptable in Spanish culture to name sons Jesús? Did this custom begin in Andalusia? Is there any evidence that it began in Mexico or elsewhere in Spain's American colonies and then was exported back to Spain? Or is there any evidence that the custom began with the Moriscos, the former Muslim converts to Christianity?
Thanks to Lumia or any other Spanish expert who can help with these questions.
I am trying to track down information on how Jesus (or Jesús) came to be regularly used as a name for boys in Spanish speaking countries. I have run across comments that Jesus was NOT used as a given name in medieval Spain, but this usage only developed after 1492.
Some of the comments I've read claim that the use of Jesús actually began in Mexico among Native American converts, and then spread back to Spain from Latin America.
Another theory seems to be that people in Spain began to use Jesus on the analogy of Muslims naming their sons Mohammed, after the remaining Muslims in Spain were forced to convert to Christianity.
The fact that within Spain today Jesús is most common in Andalusia is used to support that theory.
Unfortunately there are no references given to any of the comments above. So: do real historians and language experts in Spain agree with the above? Just when did it become acceptable in Spanish culture to name sons Jesús? Did this custom begin in Andalusia? Is there any evidence that it began in Mexico or elsewhere in Spain's American colonies and then was exported back to Spain? Or is there any evidence that the custom began with the Moriscos, the former Muslim converts to Christianity?
Thanks to Lumia or any other Spanish expert who can help with these questions.
This message was edited 4/28/2009, 8:15 AM
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