SOT.Messiah baby name controversy_00001006.jpg
Judge: Baby can't be named 'Messiah'
02:08 - Source: WBIR

Story highlights

Baby Messiah's parents could not agree on his last name, so they ended up in court

The judge objected to his first name, saying it is "a title that is held only by Jesus Christ"

The stunned mother has appealed the Tennessee judge's ruling

CNN  — 

Young Messiah, the “happiest baby in the world,” according to his mother, is blissfully unaware that a judge ruled that his birth name promises to offend many in his Tennessee community.

His mother, Jaleesa Martin, and father, Jawaan McCullough, who are not married, couldn’t agree on a last name for their baby, now 7 months old. That’s why they ended up in the courtroom of Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew.

Ballew ruled last week that not only should little Messiah’s last name be changed – from Martin to McCullough – but also that his first name should be changed.

In her ruling, Ballew wrote: “‘Messiah’ is a title that is held only by Jesus Christ” and that naming him this “places an undue burden on him that as a human being, he cannot fulfill.” Her ruling also noted the large Christian population in the Tennessee county where the child was born.

Speaking to CNN affiliate WBIR, Ballew, wearing earrings in the shape of a cross, said this was the first time she had ordered a name change.

Martin, whose family is Baptist, said there was no religious motivation behind her pick; rather she’d heard the name on one of her favorite TV shows and thought it’d be a good name for her son. She also wanted another “M” name to go with her other two sons, Mason and Micah.

CNN could not reach McCullough for comment.

Heartbroken and shocked, Martin told CNN Ballew gave the parents a one-hour recess to pick a new name and then issued the new name when she and the baby’s father couldn’t come up with one. The judge’s pick: Martin DeShawn McCullough.

Martin said that she’ll keep calling her son Messiah and that she has heard from supporters all over the country. She’s also upset about reports she is being attacked online as a bad mother.

The Tennessee American Civil Liberties Union is following the case, saying it supports Martin and calling the judge’s ruling unacceptable.

“The bench is not a pulpit, and using it as one, as this judge did, violates the parents’ rights and our sense that people of all faiths will be treated fairly in the courtroom,” Executive Director Hedy Weinberg said.

According to U.S. Social Security Administration statistics, Messiah was the fourth-fastest growing name for boys in the United States from 2011 to 2012. It ranks at Number 387, between the decidedly traditional names Scott and Jay.

Ballew declined CNN’s request for comment. Martin has appealed the court’s decision; it will go before the Cocke County chancellor next month.