Can you name your child Jesus?  RJP warns.  The priest, however, has a different opinion

Can you name your child Jesus? RJP warns. The priest, however, has a different opinion

What baby name to choose? The question seems simple, but it bothers future parents. Should you stay traditional and give your grandparents a name, or go with the times and choose more modern ones. Others, in turn, look for the unusual and very rare.

Choosing a name for a child is a very important moment that can affect the future life of a toddler. Some parents choose nice-sounding names, others search the family tree, but there are also those who give up both ideas and go for a rather shocking solution. As a result, officials hearing an unusual name do not know what to do or accept the chosen name.

Can you name the baby Jesus?

More and more often parents are looking for original names, typical Polish names are no longer in fashion. Now foreign or special names are ‘trendy’. There are also those who choose the name of their favorite character from a movie, book or even a computer game. However, it should be remembered that in Poland it is not allowed to give ridiculing names to offspring, names that do not indicate the sex of the child, diminutive names or names derived from geographical names and words from the Polish language. The Polish Language Council also answered the question of whether it is possible and legal to name a child Jesus in Poland? Although Jesus (actually Jesús) is a popular name in Spanish-speaking countries: Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, it is rather rare in Poland.

Prof. dr hab. Mariusz Rutkowski explained that the “Dictionary of names currently used in Poland” by Kazimierz Rymut records only one case of giving a Polish child the name of Jesus (in the 1970s).

A name so religiously marked, endowed with a real cult by millions of believers, identifying in our cultural circle, except for Jesus Christ, is difficult to consider neutral in terms of communication. One can easily imagine the negative reactions of believers who, having encountered someone using such a name, will feel hurt, confused, and it cannot be ruled out that they will also be offended

– explained Prof. dr hab. Mariusz Rutkowski.

What about the clergy?

Fr. Marek Dziewiecki answered the question of a reader of the magazine “Dobry Tydzień” if it was possible to name the child Jesus. He noticed that both in South American countries and in Spain children are actually given the name Jesus. He decided that there is nothing wrong with such a practice:

Christian parents call their child that out of respect for the Lord Jesus. And the one who bears this name has an additional reason to set high moral standards for himself and to be a good witness of the Savior.

He also pointed out that in Polish culture it is not customary to call a child that. He admitted that although it is not formally prohibited, such a practice simply does not have a cultural basis.

Therefore, when naming our child, it is worth thinking carefully about our idea. So that the Registrar does not have dilemmas whether to accept them, and above all, that our child does not blame us for it.

Source: Gazeta

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