Throughout the centuries, many Catholic parents have named their sons Jesus. The Old Testament names of Joshua and Jesse are simply variations of the name Jesus, meaning Savior. When parents give their sons this name, they do so out of devotion to Our Lord. But there is only One Who actually IS the Savior, and so for Him the name is not merely assigned gratuitously by mortal parents. For Him the name is a Holy Name bestowed by God the Father on His Only-begotten Son as a title, as a mission. It is Jesus Christ's very identity. He is the Savior because the Person Who is Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity become man. Thus, His is a Holy Name in that it designates Someone holy by nature: His Divine Nature. 

The Name of Jesus, when spoken with faith and hope and love for Christ as the savior of mankind, is also a prayer--the briefest of prayers, but a most powerful one. It is an invocation. "Everyone who calleth upon the Lord will be saved." As Saint Paul says of those who speak sincerely with faith: "No one can say 'The Lord Jesus' but by the Holy Ghost." Those who, at the approach of death, invoke the Holy Name of Jesus three times with devotion can receive a plenary indulgence for the temporal punishment due to the sins of their lives.