GERMAINEfFrenchFrench feminine form of
GERMAIN. Saint Germaine was a 16th-century peasant girl from France.
GERMANUSmAncient RomanRoman cognomen which meant "brother" in Latin. This was the name of several early saints.
GERONIMOmHistoryFrom
Gerónimo, a Spanish form of
JEROME. This is the better-known name of the Apache leader
Goyathlay (1829-1909). It was given to him by the Mexicans, his enemies.
GERSHOMmBiblical, Biblical HebrewProbably means "exile" in Hebrew, though the Bible explains that it derives from
גֵּר שָׁם (ger sham) meaning "a stranger there" (see Exodus 18:3). This is the name of a son of
Moses in the Old Testament.
GERTRUDEfEnglish, DutchMeans "spear of strength", derived from the Germanic elements
ger "spear" and
thrud "strength". Saint Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century nun and mystic writer. It was probably introduced to England by settlers from the Low Countries in the 15th century. Shakespeare used the name in his play 'Hamlet' (1600) for the mother of the title character. A famous bearer was the American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).
GERVASIUSmAncient Germanic (Latinized)Probably a Latinized form of a Germanic name with a first element deriving from
ger "spear". Saint Gervasius was an early martyr from Milan whose remains were discovered in the 4th century.
GETHSEMANEfVariousFrom a biblical place name, the garden where
Jesus was arrested, located on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. It is derived from
Γεθσημανι (Gethsemani), the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "oil vat". It is very rarely used as a given name.
GÉZAmHungarianFrom
Gyeücsa, possibly derived from a diminutive form of the Hungarian noble title
gyevü or
gyeü, itself from Turkic
jabgu. This was the name of a 10th-century leader of the Hungarians, the father of the first king
István.
GHASSANmArabicMeans "youth" in Arabic. This was the name of an Arabian tribe that existed until the 6th century.
GHISLAINmFrenchFrench form of
Gislenus, a Latinized form of the Germanic name
Gislin, derived from the element
gisil meaning "hostage" or "pledge". This was the name of a 7th-century Belgian saint.
GHULAMmArabic, Urdu, PashtoMeans "servant, boy" in Arabic. It is often used as the first part of compound names.
GIDEONmBiblical, English, HebrewMeans "feller, hewer" in Hebrew. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world,
Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.
GILBERTmEnglish, French, Dutch, German, Ancient GermanicMeans "bright pledge", derived from the Germanic elements
gisil "pledge, hostage" and
beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it was common during the Middle Ages. It was borne by a 12th-century British saint, the founder of the religious order known as the Gilbertines.
GILCHRISTmScottishDerived from the Gaelic phrase
giolla Chríost meaning "servant of Christ".
GILDAfItalian, PortugueseOriginally an Italian short form of names containing the Germanic element
gild meaning "sacrifice, value".
GILEADmBiblicalFrom an Old Testament place name meaning "heap of witness" in Hebrew. This was a mountainous region east of the Jordan River. Besides being a place name, it is also borne by people in the Bible.
GILESmEnglishFrom the Late Latin name
Aegidius, which is derived from Greek
αιγιδιον (aigidion) meaning "young goat". Saint Giles was an 8th-century miracle worker who came to southern France from Greece. He is regarded as the patron saint of the crippled. In Old French the name
Aegidius became
Gidie and then
Gilles, at which point it was imported to England.
GILGAMESHmSumerian Mythology, Semitic MythologyPossibly means "the ancestor is a hero", from Sumerian
𒉋𒂵 (bilga) meaning "ancestor" and
𒈩 (mes) meaning "hero, young man". This was the name of a Sumerian hero, later appearing in the Akkadian poem the 'Epic of Gilgamesh'. Gilgamesh, with his friend Enkidu, battled the giant Humbaba and stopped the rampage of the Bull of Heaven, besides other adventures. Gilgamesh was probably based on a real person: a king of Uruk who ruled around the 27th century BC.
GILLESPIEmScottishAnglicized form of Scottish
Gille Easbaig or Irish
Giolla Easpuig both meaning "servant of the bishop".
GILLIANfEnglishMedieval English feminine form of
JULIAN. This spelling has been in use since the 13th century, though it was not declared a distinct name from
Julian until the 17th century.
GILROYmIrish, ScottishFrom an Irish surname, either
Mac Giolla Ruaidh, which means "son of the red-haired servant", or
Mac Giolla Rí, which means "son of the king's servant".
GINEVRAfItalianItalian form of
GUINEVERE. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word
ginepro meaning "juniper".
GINGERfEnglishFrom the English word
ginger for the spice or the reddish-brown colour. It can also be a diminutive of
VIRGINIA, as in the case of actress and dancer Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), by whom the name was popularized.
GINOmItalianItalian short form of names ending in
gino.
GIOCONDAfItalianFrom the Late Latin name
Iucunda which meant "pleasant, delightful, happy". Leonardo da Vinci's painting the 'Mona Lisa' is also known as 'La Gioconda' because its subject is Lisa del Giocondo.
GIOTTOmItalianPossibly from
Ambrogiotto, a diminutive of
AMBROGIO, or
Angiolotto, a diminutive of
ANGIOLO. This name was borne by Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), an Italian painter and architect.
GIOVANNImItalianItalian form of
Iohannes (see
JOHN). The Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were two famous bearers of this name.
GIRISHAmHinduismMeans "lord of the mountain" in Sanskrit. This is a name of the Hindu god
Shiva, given because of his abode in the Himalayan Mountains.
GISBERTmGerman, Ancient GermanicFrom a Germanic name in which the second element is
beraht "bright". The first element is probably a shortened form of
gisil "pledge, hostage" (making it a variant of
GILBERT), though it could be related to Gallo-Celtic
gaiso "spear".
GISELLEfFrench, English (Modern)Derived from the Germanic word
gisil meaning "hostage, pledge". This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. It was borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is
Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet 'Giselle' (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.
GITAfIndian, HindiMeans "song" in Sanskrit. The word appears in the name of the 'Bhagavad Gita', a sacred text of Hinduism (meaning "divine song").
GIUSEPPEmItalianItalian form of
JOSEPH. Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) was a military leader who united Italy in the 19th century.
GLADYSfWelsh, EnglishFrom the old Welsh name
Gwladus, possibly derived from
gwlad "country". It has historically been used as a Welsh form of
CLAUDIA. This name became popular outside of Wales after it was used in Ouida's novel 'Puck' (1870).
GLÆDWINEmAnglo-SaxonOld English name derived from the elements
glæd "bright" and
wine "friend". This name was not actually recorded in the Old English era, though it is attested starting in the 11th century.
GLANVILLEmEnglish (Rare)From an English surname which was taken from a Norman place name which possibly meant "domain of (a person named) Gland" in Old French.
GLÁUCIOmPortuguesePortuguese form of the Roman cognomen
Glaucia, which was derived from Latin
glaucus "bluish grey", ultimately from Greek.
GLAWm & fWelshMeans "rain" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.
GLEBmRussian, UkrainianRussian and Ukrainian form of the Old Norse name
Guðleifr, which was derived from the elements
guð "god" and
leifr "heir".
GLENDAfWelsh, EnglishA name created in the 20th century from the Welsh elements
glân "pure, clean" and
da "good".
GLENNmScottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname which was derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". A famous bearer of the surname was American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016).
GLENYSfWelshElaboration of the Welsh word
glân meaning "pure, clean, holy". This name was created in the late 19th century.
GLOOSCAPmNew World MythologyDerived from an Eastern Algonquian phrase meaning "man from nothing". Glooscap (or Gluskabe) was a hero involved in the creation myths of the Wabanaki people of eastern North America.
GLORIAfEnglish, Spanish, Italian, GermanMeans "glory", from the Portuguese and Spanish titles of the Virgin
Mary Maria da Glória and
María de Gloria. Maria da Glória (1819-1853) was the daughter of the Brazilian emperor Pedro I, eventually becoming queen of Portugal as Maria II.
... [more] GLORIANAfEnglish (Rare)Elaborated form of Latin
gloria meaning "glory". In Edmund Spenser's poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590) this was the name of the title character, a representation of Queen Elizabeth I.
GLYNDWRmWelshFrom a Welsh surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "valley water". This name is often given in honour of Owain Glyndwr, a 14th-century Welsh patriot who led a revolt against England.
GLYNISfWelshEither a variant of
GLENYS or an elaboration of the Welsh word
glyn meaning "valley".
GNAEUSmAncient RomanRoman praenomen, or given name, which is of unknown Etruscan meaning, though it may be related to Latin
naevus "birthmark". A famous bearer was Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey the Great, a Roman general of the 1st century BC.
GOBÁNmIrishEither means "little smith" from Irish
gobha "smith" combined with a diminutive suffix, or else derived from the name of the Irish god
GOIBNIU (which is also a derivative of
gobha).
GOBNAITfIrishFeminine form of
GOBÁN. This was the name of a 6th-century Irish abbess, the patron saint of Ballyvourney.
GOCHAmGeorgianMeaning unknown, possibly from a Georgian dialectal word meaning "old man".
GODEHARDmAncient GermanicGermanic name derived from the elements
god "god" and
hard "hardy, brave". This was the name of an 11th-century saint who was a bishop of Hildesheim.
GODFREYmEnglishFrom the Germanic name
Godafrid, which meant "peace of god" from the Germanic elements
god "god" and
frid "peace". The Normans brought this name to England, where it became common during the Middle Ages. A notable bearer was Godfrey of Bouillon, an 11th-century leader of the First Crusade and the first ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
GODIVAfAnglo-Saxon (Latinized)Latinized form of the Old English name
Godgifu meaning "gift of god", from the elements
god and
giefu "gift". Lady Godiva was an 11th-century English noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry to protest the high taxes imposed by her husband upon the townspeople.
GODRICmAnglo-SaxonMeans "power of god", derived from Old English
god combined with
ric "power, rule". This name died out a few centuries after the Norman conquest.
GODWINEmAnglo-SaxonMeans "friend of god", derived from Old English
god combined with
wine "friend". This was the name of the powerful 11th-century Earl of Wessex, the father of King Harold II of England.
GOHARfArmenianMeans "jewel" in Armenian, ultimately of Persian origin.
GOIBNIUmIrish MythologyDerived from Irish
gobha meaning "smith". This was the name of the Irish smith god, a provider of weapons for the Tuatha De Danann. He was also skilled at brewing beer.
GOIZEDERfBasqueDerived from Basque
goiz "morning" and
eder "beautiful".
GÖKHANmTurkishFrom Turkish
gök meaning "sky" and
han, which is from the title
khan meaning "leader".
GOLDIE (1)fEnglishFrom a nickname for a person with blond hair, from the English word
gold.