At 8 days old, all Jewish boys are circumcised. As a sign of their covenant with God (Genesis 17:11-13), so it was with Jesus. The significant difference with Jesus and his cousin John the Baptist was their naming. Luke makes an explicit connection between naming and circumcision in the cases of both John the Baptist (Luke 1:59) and Jesus (Luke 2:21). Both had their names chosen by God, before they were even conceived. The names they were given were unexpected by those who didn't know of the anglic visitations.

The name “Jesus” represents the Greek (and Latin) forms of the Hebrew name Yeshua, a very common name among Jews in antiquity. Until the exile, the longer form Yehoshua was used, which appears in the English Bible as Joshua. The naming of Jesus is told, not in the story in Luke, but in the account in Matthew of the announcement to Joseph of Jesus’ birth, “For he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The Hebrew, Yeshua, means “The Lord (Yah) saves.” Its significance was evident to Jewish Christians, and indeed to those who heard Jesus himself preach salvation. It will be in fulfilment of the psalmist’s promise that “the Lord will redeem you from all your many sins” (Psalm 130:8); our relationship with God will be restored. Indeed, at the time of Jesus, it was expected that the Davidic messiah would establish a “holy people”; Matthew makes the links of Jesus to the line of David very clear. But while the Jews expected another Joshua, a hero to save them from Roman occupation, God's son came to save them from sin.

In the gospel narratives of his life, the name Jesus, of course, occurs frequently. In Acts the name is used also of the risen Lord, especially in connection with Stephen and with Paul’s conversion. Often, however, it occurs in combinations like “the Lord Jesus”, “Christ Jesus”, or “Jesus Christ”. In the New Testament letters, the simple name “Jesus” is rather rare, and for Paul it usually refers to the historical Jesus. The healing of the cripple near the Temple, recorded in Acts, is a classic demonstration of salvation “in the name of Jesus the Nazarene” (Acts 3:6).

The feast we know as The Naming of Jesus began as the Feast of the Circumcision, celebrated one week, i.e., on the 8th day, after Christmas Day. It appears to have originated in the 6th century and spread gradually throughout the church. The day that celebrated the circumcision has been retained, but the emphasis is now on the naming of Jesus.