Acts 11:26

Christians] The giving of this name marked the recognition of the fact that 'the Way' was something more than a new Jewish sect. The inclusion of numerous Gentiles within the Church, and that without their becoming Jews, and the preaching of Jesus as one whose authority was superior to that of Moses, gave complete justification to those who saw in Christianity a new religion. The form of the word is Latin, so that it may have originated in the Latin-speaking court of the Roman governor. At any rate, the name was not invented by the Jews, who did not admit that Jesus was 'the Christ' (Messiah). In 64 a.d. Tacitus mentions that the name was in use among the common people at Rome. In the 2nd cent, a corrupted form, 'Chrestians,' lit. 'the good people,' was sometimes used.