From the name of the river that flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is Yarden, and it is derived from yarad meaning "descend" or "flow down". In the New Testament John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Germanic name Jordanes, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.