A mother is appealing a judge’s decision after she ordered her son’s name be changed from “Messiah.”
The child’s name first came into question when Jaleesa Martin and the father of Messiah couldn’t agree on a surname.
The name change was part of Judge Ballew’s case but the parents didn’t think the first name would be affected with the ruling. The judge ordered the child’s name to be changed to “Martin DeShawn McCullough” which includes both family surnames but leaves out “Messiah.”
“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,” said Judge Ballew. She claimed that it made sense to change the baby’s name because the population of the county are mostly Christian.
“It could put him at odds with a lot of people and at this point he has had no choice in what his name is,” the judge said and stated that the name must be changed on the birth certificate.
“I was shocked” said the child’s mother Jaleesa.
“I never intended on naming my son Messiah because it means God and I didn’t think a judge could make me change my baby’s name because of her religious beliefs.”
She continued; “Everybody believes what they want so I think I should be able to name my child what I want to name him, not someone else.”
Martin is appealing the judge’s decision and will go before the Cocke County Chancellor on September 17th.
