Fun Fact: Jesus didn’t just have one disciple named Judas, he had two.  Seriously!  There was that infamous Judas Iscariot, the scoundrel that betrayed him, and a lesser-known Judas. 

I spent an afternoon at the University of Oregon library researching the second Judas, because I wanted to know more about him and his full name.  It turns out his full name was, “The Other Judas.” 

Can you imagine being the other Judas?  All day long, “Hey, I’m not THAT Judas!”

Last year, about 25 babies in the US were named Judas.  Yikes!  Talk about a cross to bear!  First day of school, the teacher is calling roll, “Judas!  Judas!  Is Judas here?”  Stunned look on all the classmates’ faces. 

I assume all the parents who named these 25 poor souls are currently doing hard time for sundry crimes of depravity – grave robbery, elderly abuse, wearing man-buns.

In Greek, the name Judas means, “Let him be praised.”  This is the second biggest mistake the Greeks have made after inventing those horrid little grape-leaf appetizers. 

There is an old Johnny Cash song called, “A Boy Named Sue,” about a guy who named his son Sue because he wouldn’t be around to raise him.  (Obviously, a “Father of the Year” contender.)  His reasoning was that doing that would make his son tough and develop the necessary skills to survive.  I’m pretty sure the only thing it would do is sentence the kid to a lifetime of therapy.  Same with “Judas.”

I asked ChatGPT what I should title this column (seriously, I did).  It suggested:

“Judas: The ultimate parent-teacher conference conversation starter.”

Judas?!  Can you imagine?

“Mom, Dad, this is my new boyfriend, Judas!”

McDonald’s manager handing out nametags to new employees – “Hey, Judas, nothing personal, but we printed yours out as, “The J Man.”  Cool?

An announcement over the elementary school PA system, “The winner of this year’s Christmas Celebration costume contest is….”

On the other hand, if my parents had named me Judas, I would have to admire their bold, independent, and unflinching world view. 

Then I would change my name to Jake.