Messiah

In the Hebrew Bible, the title was applied to figures such as King David, King Saul, and even the Persian king Cyrus the Great (Isaiah 45:1), who was called God’s anointed for restoring the exiles.

By the Second Temple period, mashiach had narrowed to eschatological meaning: a future deliverer from the line of David who would restore Israel.

Christianity adopted the term as the central title of Jesus of Nazareth, making Messiah a cornerstone of Christian theology.

In literature and music, the name is inseparable from George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah, first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742, with its famous Hallelujah chorus.

The title also appears in works such as Marjorie Holmes’s 2 from Galilee and countless gospel hymns, cementing Messiah as a word of reverence across centuries.

As a given name, Messiah is almost entirely a modern American phenomenon. It first appeared on the U.S. Social Security Administration top 1000 list for boys in 2005 and climbed quickly, entering the top 500 by 2012.

Its rise paralleled the broader trend of religiously resonant names such as Genesis, Nevaeh, and Zion.

The name is most popular among African American families in the southern United States, though it has drawn controversy in several court cases over whether it may be legally bestowed.

Notable bearers include Messiah Harris, son of rapper T.one., and Messiah Young, an American college football quarterback.