A Christmas worship song built directly on Isaiah 9. The verses set the scene, the chorus names Jesus, and the bridge is where the room usually opens up. This page is a study of the song, not a lyrics sheet.
His Name Shall Be is a Christmas song that does not stay in the manger. It opens with the language of Isaiah and moves quickly to the names of Jesus. That movement is the point. The song is not trying to tell the full Christmas story in sequence. It is trying to get a congregation to say who Jesus is, together, in a single breath.
That is why it works well as a response song or a mid-set declaration during Advent. It does not require a long introduction. The chorus is simple enough that a room can join on the second pass without a lyric slide.
The title comes from Isaiah 9:6, the prophecy that names the child born to us: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Charity Gayle uses that list as the chorus. She does not paraphrase it or soften it. She puts the names in the mouths of the congregation.
The verses fill in the context. A child will be born. A son will be given. Light shines in the dark. Those lines are lifted from the same passage and set to a melody that stays low, leaving room for the chorus to lift. The bridge shifts from prophecy to personal need. It lists the people Jesus came for: the broken, the hurting, the lonely, the suffering, the anxious, the addicted, the prisoner, the sinner. That list is not decoration. It is the reason the names in the chorus matter.
"His name shall be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." From the chorus of His Name Shall Be by Charity Gayle
His Name Shall Be is the title track of Charity Gayle's 2026 Christmas album, released on October 23 through Blue Duck Records and The Fuel Music. The album was a four-year project for Gayle, who has said the goal was to resource the church with songs that a congregation could actually sing during the Christmas season.
The song itself was written around Isaiah 9:6. Gayle has described the album as a way to remind listeners of the reason for the season, and the title track does that by putting the prophetic names of Jesus at the center of the chorus. It is a worship song first and a Christmas song second. That is why it has already started appearing in Advent setlists alongside more traditional carols.
The bridge of His Name Shall Be is the part that most teams will need to rehearse. It repeats a pattern: "He came for the broken, He came for the hurting," then moves through a list of human conditions that most congregations recognize. The repetition is deliberate. It gives the room time to stop thinking about the melody and start thinking about the words.
The arrangement builds through the bridge rather than dropping out. That is different from many worship songs that use silence as the emotional turn. Here the band keeps moving, and the voices carry the weight. If the bridge is rushed, the song loses its landing. If it is held, the final chorus feels earned.
For worship leaders. Do not cut the bridge short to save time. The bridge is where the song does its work. If you need to trim the arrangement, trim the intro or the outro, not the list of people Jesus came for.
His Name Shall Be is credited to Charity Gayle. The album was produced by Kyle Lee and Ryan Rich, who also worked on the lead single "In The Presence Of The King." The specific writing credits for the title track are not fully listed in the sources available, but the song is built directly on Isaiah 9 and is presented as a Charity Gayle original for the project. If you need licensing details, contact Blue Duck Records or The Fuel Music.
This is a song that rewards a straightforward rehearsal. Here is a plan that works for a choir or a small worship team:
The recording sits at 72 BPM. That is a slow ballad tempo, which gives the song room to breathe without dragging. The key is singable for a congregation, and many teams will find it comfortable without a transpose. The structure follows a familiar worship pattern: verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. The bridge is the longest section, and it is the part that should be mapped out before rehearsal.
The chord progression stays consistent through the verses and chorus. The variation arrives at the bridge, where the harmony opens up. A pianist or guitarist should learn the progression as a loop, not as a series of separate changes. The song does not want you to move quickly. It wants you to settle.
The official video is available on YouTube. Watch it once for the bridge build, then listen without the video to hear how the band stays in motion while the voices carry the list of people Jesus came for.
Open the official videoWatch the bridge build in the second half of the song. The band keeps moving while the voices carry the list of people Jesus came for. This is one of the clearest examples of a Christmas worship song that builds instead of dropping out.
Opens with Isaiah language. A child will be born. A son will be given. Light in the dark. Low vocal range, minimal band.
Continues the prophecy. Those who mourn, those who grieve. A Savior has come. The band stays restrained.
The names of Jesus from Isaiah 9:6. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Full band enters.
Moves to the manger. The Lord on high becomes the Lord in a manger. Messiah has come.
Second chorus. The room is usually singing by this point. The band fills more space.
The longest section. Repeated lines about who Jesus came for: broken, hurting, lonely, suffering, anxious, addicted, prisoner, sinner. This is the emotional center of the song.
The names return one last time. The song ends on "His name is Jesus." Clean finish, no fade.
Learn to listen for where the bridge begins and how long it runs. This is the part most teams rush.
The chorus is built for harmony. Practice the alto or tenor line on the names of Jesus.
Learn how to teach a Christmas song to a congregation that may only hear it once or twice.