Isa

Etymology

The English form of the name "Jesus" is derived from the Latin Iēsus and the Classical Latin INRI (written on the Titulus/placard on the Cross according to John 19:19), which in turn comes from Koine Greek: Ἰησοῦς, romanized: Iēsoûs. The Greek is a Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Yeshua (Imperial Aramaic: ישוע, romanized: Yēšūʿ), which is in turn a shortened form of Hebrew: יהושע, romanized: Yəhōšūaʿ, English Joshua. East Syriac literature renders the pronunciation of the same letters as Classical Syriac: ܝܫܘܥ ishoʿ (išoʿ) /iʃoʕ/. The Peshitta (c. 200) preserves this same spelling.

The Encyclopedia of the Qur'an by Brill Publishers quotes scholarship that notes that the Greek name Iesous, Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), also is known to have represented many different Biblical Hebrew names (which causes issues when seeking to find what Jesus' original Hebrew name would have been from the Greek) "Josephus used the Greek name lesous to denote three people mentioned in the Bible whose Hebrew names were not Yeshua' or Y'hoshua'. They were Saul's son Yishwi (Anglicized as 'Ishvi' in the RSV of 1 Samuel 14:49), the Levite Abishua' (mentioned in I Chronicles 6:4, etc.) and Yishwah the son of Asher (Anglicized as 'Ishva' in the RSV of Genesis 46:17). ... Josephus furnishes important evidence for the wide variety of Hebrew names represented in Greek by Iesous."

Also, the classical theologians Clement of Alexandria and Cyril of Jerusalem both stated that the Greek name Iesous was allegedly Jesus' original name.

There is a major discrepancy between the Hebrew/Aramaic and Muslim Arabic forms of this name, since the Hebrew form of this name has the voiced pharyngeal ʿayin ע or ʿayn ع consonant at the end of the name (as does Christian Arabic يسوع yasūʿ), while the Muslim Arabic form عيسى ʿīsā has the ʿayn at the beginning of the name. It is also similar in the vowels to an Aramaic version of Jesus, viz. Īshoʿ (Aramaic forms of the name, however, still have the voiced pharyngeal `Ayn consonant at the end of the name). [Other Aramaic pronunciations of the same name include yeshuuʕ (ʕ is the symbol for the Voiced Pharyngeal Fricative in the IPA). Vowels in Semitic languages are somewhat fluid between dialects while consonants are structurally more stable. The vowels in an Anglicized quote "Eesho`" by themselves are insignificant for this discussion since "i" and "e" and short "a" can interchange between dialects, and "u" and "o" can also interchange between dialects. The dominant consonantal discrepancy remains, between Aramaic yeshuʕ [consonantal y-sh-w-ʕ] and Arabic ʕīsa [consonantal ʕ-y-s-y].]

Non-Islamic uses

A 14th-century Persian translation of Matthew, one of the earliest surviving Persian manuscripts of the scripture, uses Isa. Ahmad Al-Jallad has argued that a precedent of the Quranic name ʿsy was already used in a Christian Safaitic inscription from the fourth century. Later translations in other languages also follow suit. Some evangelical Arabic translations of the Bible also use Isa, such as David Owen's Life of Christ (Arabic 1987).

Given name

Literature

Isa Hasan al-Yasiri, (1942) Iraqi-Canadian poet

Religious people

Isa ibn Maryam, last Israelite prophet and penultimate prophet in Islam

Isa ibn Aban (died 836), early Muslim scholar of Second Islamic century during the early Abbasid era.

Isa Qassim (born 1937), Bahraini Shia cleric

Politics and military

Isa ibn Musa, (d. 783) was the Arab statesman, nephew of Abbasid caliph al-Saffah (r. 750–754) and Al-Mansur (r. 754–775).

Isa ibn Abdallah al-Mansur (b. 760s) was the son of Abbasid caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775)

Isa Alptekin (1901–1995), Uyghur political leader

Isa Boletini (1864–1916), Albanian nationalist

İsa Çelebi (died 1406), Ottoman prince

Isa Dongoyaro (1977–2024), Nigerian politician

Isa Gambar (born 1957), Azerbaijani politician

Isa Bey Ishaković, 15th-century Ottoman general

Isa beg Isabegović, one of the largest landowners of the 19th century Bosnian aristocracy

İsa Kaykun (born 1988), Turkish footballer

Isa Kelemechi (ca. 13th century), Church of the East scientist and diplomat

Isa Khan (1529–1599), 16th-century Bengali noble and military leader

Isa Mustafa (born 1951), Kosovar politician

Ma Qixi (1857–1914), Chinese Muslim Xidaotang leader, also known as Ersa (Isa)

Isa ibn al-Shaykh al-Shaybani (died 882/3), Arab tribal leader

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (1931–1999), Emir of Bahrain

Sports

Isa Guha (born 1985), British female cricketer

Isa Аskhabovich Chaniev (born 1992), Russian lightweight boxer

Music

Isa Tengblad (born 1998), Swedish singer

Others

İsa Şahmarlı (ca. 1993 – 2014), Azerbaijani LGBT activist

Fictional characters

Isa, the original identity of Saïx from the Kingdom Hearts series

Isa the Iguana, a character in Dora the Explorer

Isa Drennan, a main character in the Scottish sitcom Still Game

Derived name

Umm Isa bint Musa al-Hadi, was the Abbasid princess, daughter of caliph al-Hadi (r. 785–786) and wife of caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833).

Surname

Abu Isa, Isaac ben Jacob al-Isfahani, Jewish prophet

Ali ibn Isa al-Asturlabi, Arab astronomer

Ali ibn Isa al-Kahhal, Arab ophthalmologist

Dolkun Isa, Uyghur activist

Facundo Isa (born 1993), Argentine rugby player

Isabegović, Isajbegović or Isabegzade, Bosnian noble family after Isa-bey Ishaković Hranić

Ismail Isa (born 1989), Bulgarian footballer

Qazi Faez Isa (born 1959), justice at the Supreme Court of Pakistan

Qazi Muhammad Isa (1914–1976)

Salman Isa (born 1977), Bahraini footballer

Variations

Variations of the name include Ğaysə (Tatar: Гайсә) and Ğaysa (Bashkir: Ғайса); in Russian transcript as Гайса, Айса (Aysa) or Айся (Aisya). As a surname in Russia the name morphs into Айсин / Гайсин (Aysin / Gaysin).

Gaisa Enikeev (1864–1931), Tatar/Bashkir ethnographer, politician

Gaisa Khusainov (1928–2021) Bashkir writer, scientist

Aisa Hakimcan (1896–1972), Tatar artist in Finland

Ruslan Aisin (born 1980), Tatar activist, political scientist