Givi

According to "Iranian Elements in the Georgian Language" written by Thea Chkeidze, Givi is one of the many Georgian names that originated from the 10th-century epic poem "Shahnameh" written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi:

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- https://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Culture/iranian_elements_georgian.htm (in English)

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She states that Givi comes from the Persian name Gev, which she writes as Gêv. [noted -ed]

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I went to see if there was indeed such a character in the "Shahnameh", and yes, there is:

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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giv_(Shahnameh) (in English)

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He was the son of Goudarz and the son-in-law of the hero Rostam via his marriage to the latter's daughter Banu Goshasp.

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Note that the name Giv was not specially created for the "Shahnameh": it already existed before Ferdowsi wrote his epic poem:

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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goudarz#Historical_Goudarz (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotarzes_II_of_Parthia#Origins (in English; writes the name as Gev)

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You might also want to see the entry for Gave/Gev at http://www.avesta.org/znames.htm#parsi (in English).

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Also, my apologies for my previous comment from April 2019: I had misinterpreted the sources and it turns out that Giuna is actually the diminutive of Givi (i.e. the opposite of what I said applies!).

This is a Georgian diminutive or form of the name George/Giorgi.
- https://imya.com/name/39205

To highexpectasians from October 25, 2017: Georgian sources are not in agreement with this. Georgian diminutives and short forms of Giorgi and/or Grigol include:

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- გია (Gia)
- გიგა (Giga)
- გიგი (Gigi)
- გიგია (Gigia)
- გიგილო (Gigilo)
- გიგლა (Gigla)
- გიგო (Gigo)
- გიგოლა (Gigola)
- გიგოლი (Gigoli)
- გიგუცა (Gigutsa)
- გიო (Gio)

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Sources for the names above:

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- Gia (contains most of the names): https://web.archive.org/web/20140726013620/http://name.interes.ge/dreams.php?action=view&id=237&from=action=search|by=%E1%83%92 (in Georgian)
- the entries for Giorgi and Grigol at: http://www.geogen.ge/ge/msearch/4306/ (in Georgian)
- the entries for some of these names if you search for them at: http://kids.ge/baby-names (in Georgian)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20130122113737/http://www.open.ge/art/Georgian_names.htm (in English; lists some of the names, but without an explanation)

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None of them mention Givi. Instead, the available sources for Givi state that the meaning of the name is unknown:

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- http://kids.ge/baby-name?id=701 (in Georgian; states that the name is of Georgian origin)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20140726003528/http://name.interes.ge/dreams.php?action=view&id=238&from=action=search|by=%E1%83%92 (in Georgian; states that the name is of Persian origin)

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For the second source, please note that the author accidentally put the entry for the name Gio in there, i.e. it should have been listed separately.

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Also, the second source says that while the meaning is unclear, Givi is a short/pet form of the given name გიუნა (Giuna). That name is rare today (especially when compared to Givi) and so one is more likely to encounter it in the patronymic surname of გიუნაშვილი (Giunashvili) instead, which literally means "child of Giuna". See also:

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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_name#Surnames (in English)