Meaning & History
The meaning of this name as a whole is not entirely certain. The second element is most likely derived from the Greek adjective γυιός (guios) or (gyios) meaning "lame". Also compare the etymologically related Greek noun γυῖον (guion) or (gyion) meaning "limb". The first element is uncertain. It could have been derived from the Greek strengthening prefix ἐρι (eri) meaning "very" as well as "much, a lot", which is etymologically related to the Cretan Greek prefix ἀρι (ari) meaning "very" as well as "most" (see Ariadne). If that is indeed the case, then the name could mean "very lame", which would thus make it somewhat similar in spirit and context to the Latin name Claudius. Other possibilities for the first element are the Greek verbs ἐρίζω (erizo) "to strive, to wrangle, to quarrel" and ἐράω (erao) "to love", but those don't seem to make much sense when combined with the second element. Unless they are meant to describe a person's views or relationship with their disability (in this case, lameness), but even that seems a bit of a stretch.