Some people just name their kids really stupid things that can haunt them for lives.
But when someone in Tennessee named their kid “Messiah,” that was too much for a judge. “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.
Good thing that judge wasn’t around in 1958 when Madonna’s parents were deciding on a name.
So the judge, over the parent’s objection, changed the child’s name, like a magical fairy.
I mean, while I certainly don’t want parents naming their kids “Hitler” or “Asshole,” I also don’t like the idea of the government coming in and deciding for the parents what the child’s name should be.
And it’s especially true here, where the reason for the name change was religion. That judge just didn’t want her personal religion made fun of, apparently.
Hey, wait, wasn’t there a Constitutional Amendment prohibiting this sort of thing? Like, the very first one?
ventrellaquest.com 
The name Messiah actually ranked #296 in the US in 2012, up from #414 the previous year. The word “messiah” actually just means anointed one, and while Christ is considered by some to be ” The Messiah”, he is certainly not the only person to ever hold that title. When I was at Providence College, we had a very prominent basketball player named God. The point being, while the name Messiah may still be considered unusual, it is certainly not unique to this case.
I won’t even get into the point that a judge has no place making determinations about a child’s name because of their own personal religious feelings on the matter.
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I find that really creepy. I admit I teased the two kids and the teacher named Jesus, but they all took it with stride. (The teacher did get angry a few times, but after a decade of teaching, no one had any new jokes.) I wouldn’t name a kid Queen, but that shouldn’t mean the name should be illegal when we don’t use the title in our legal system.
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Is there any recourse against the judge for obviously being incapable of hold such a position of responsibility? I mean, when you violate one’s rights THAT blatantly (he’s a lawyer/judge; he’s accountable for knowing the law and acting appropriately with respect to decisions made by someone in his post) can you really continue to sit on the bench?
Wow. Just, “Wow!”
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…incapable of holdING such… (sorry about the typo)
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how is this NOT a violation of church and state?
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also, i had a friend named Cirrus. yes, its a silly name. but i dont think the name alone made people think she was a cloud.
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im also fairly sure that people won’t confuse me for an apostle.
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It is clearly a separation of church and state. It is also clearly in Tennessee where they don’t understand that sort of thing. We’ll see if the ACLU gets involved here.
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So has the judge ever seen any movies starring Judge Reinhold? Did she like them?
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Like many Christians, this judge doesn’t know much about her own religion. Messiah means “the anointed one.” All the kings of Israel were messiahs. THE messiah was the prophesied legitimate king of the Jews. I’m pretty sure the word she’s looking for is “savior,” which– like messiah — would be a stupid name. But this is American damnit, and you have a Constitutional right to give your kid a stupid name if you want to.
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As stated a couple time, Messiah means “the annointed one”… in Hebrew. In English, Messiah means, “The Hebrew word for ‘the annointed one’.” So someone can’t name their child a non-English descriptor? That’s nuts. I’m curious what the judge does to any plaintiffs/defendants who come into her court whose name is “Jesus”, which is one of the top Hispanic/Latino names.
I’m with you 100% on this one, Mike. An incredibly poor choice of name by the parents, obviously. But that is their right(ish); at least until the child reaches the age of 18 and changes their name from Luxury Yacht to something less silly.
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Yes, but it’s pronounced “throat warbler mangrove.”
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When I worked at Juvenile court the Dept. of Social Services took a child into custody whom the mother had named Wilhelm Adolph Hitler. She was convinced she was the illegitimate daughter of Hitler and Eva Braun and Israeli agents wanted to kidnap her son. She lost custody due to mental illness but the child’s name remained unchanged. It’s probably changed now since he would be in his mid-20’s today. Turns out the delusional mom was actually Jewish.
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