Tenn. judge changes child’s name from ‘Messiah’

A judge in eastern Tennessee has changed a 7-month-old boy’s first name to Martin from “Messiah.”

Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered the name change last week, saying Messiah is a title that has been earned by one person “and that one person is Jesus Christ.”

According to WBIR-TV, the parents were in court because they could not agree on the child’s last name. When the judge heard his first name, she ordered it changed, so the baby was “Martin DeShawn McCullough.”

That name includes both parents’ last name.

The boy’s mother, Jaleesa Martin, says she will appeal. She says Messiah is unique.

Messiah was No. 4 among the fastest-rising baby names in 2012, according to the Social Security Administration’s annual list of popular baby names.