A typical Jew in Jesus' time had only one name, sometimes supplemented with the father's name or the individual's hometown.[27] Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth"[f] (Matthew 26:71), "Joseph's son" (Luke 4:22), and "Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth" (John 1:45). However, in Mark 6:3, rather than being called the son of Joseph, he is referred to as "the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon".

The name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iesous).[28] The Greek form is a rendition of the Aramaic ישוע‎ (Yeshua), which is derived from the Hebrew יהושע‎ (Yehoshua).[29][30] The name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus.[31] The first-century works of historian Flavius Josephus (who wrote in Koine Greek, the same language as that of the New Testament)[32] refer to at least twenty different people with the name Jesus (i.e. Ἰησοῦς).[33] The etymology of Jesus' name in the context of the New Testament is generally given as "Yahweh is salvation".[34]

Since early Christianity, Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as "Jesus Christ".[35] The word Christ is derived from the Greek Χριστός (Christos),[28][36] which is a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Masiah), meaning the "anointed" and usually transliterated into English as "Messiah".[37][38] Christians designate Jesus as Christ because they believe he is the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). In postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of "Jesus Christ"—but originally it was a title.[39][40] The term "Christian" (meaning "one who owes allegiance to the person Christ" or simply "follower of Christ") has been in use since the first century.[41][42]

Chronology
Main article: Chronology of Jesus
See also: Anno Domini
A map. See description

Judea, Galilee and neighboring areas at the time of Jesus
Most scholars agree that Jesus was a Galilean Jew, born around the beginning of the first century, who died between 30 and 36 AD in Judea.[43][44] The general scholarly consensus is that Jesus was a contemporary of John the Baptist and was crucified by Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who held office from 26 to 36 AD.[21] Most scholars hold that Jesus lived in Galilee and Judea and did not preach or study elsewhere.[45]

The gospels offer several clues concerning the year of Jesus' birth. Matthew 2:1 associates the birth of Jesus with the reign of Herod the Great, who died around 4 BC, and Luke 1:5 mentions that Herod was on the throne shortly before the birth of Jesus,[46][47] although this gospel also associates the birth with the Census of Quirinius which took place ten years later.[48][49] Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was "about thirty years old" at the start of his ministry, which according to Acts 10:37–38 was preceded by John's ministry, itself recorded in Luke 3:1–2 to have begun in the 15th year of Tiberius' reign (28 or 29 AD).[47][50] By collating the gospel accounts with historical data and using various other methods, most scholars arrive at a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC for Jesus,[50][51] but some propose estimates that lie in a wider range.[g]

The years of Jesus' ministry have been estimated using several different approaches.[52][53] One of these applies the reference in Luke 3:1–2, Acts 10:37–38 and the dates of Tiberius' reign, which are well known, to give a date of around 28–29 AD for the start of Jesus' ministry.[54] Another approach uses the statement about the temple in John 2:13–20, which asserts that the temple in Jerusalem was in its 46th year of construction at the start of Jesus' ministry, together with Josephus' statement that the temple's reconstruction was started by Herod in the 18th year of his reign, to estimate a date around 27–29 AD.[52][55] A further method uses the date of the death of John the Baptist and the marriage of Herod Antipas to