Gerasimos m Greek, Late GreekDerived from Greek
γέρας (geras) meaning
"honour, gift". Saint Gerasimus was a 5th-century hermit who lived near the Jordan River.
Gerben m DutchDerived from the Germanic elements
ger meaning "spear" and
bern meaning "bear".
Gereon m German, Late RomanPossibly derived from Greek
γέρων (geron) meaning
"old man, elder". This was the name of a saint martyred in Cologne in the 4th century.
Gerlinde f German, DutchDerived from the Germanic element
ger meaning "spear" combined with
lind meaning "soft, tender, flexible".
Germaine f FrenchFrench feminine form of
Germain. Saint Germaine was a 16th-century peasant girl from France.
Germanicus m Ancient RomanRoman name derived from
Germania, traditionally the area north of the Roman Empire inhabited by early Germanic tribes. This was the agnomen of the Roman general Decimus Claudius Drusus, given posthumously because of his victories in Germania in the 1st century BC. It was also given to his young son, Germanicus Julius Caesar, later a successful general in his own right, who is known to history as simply Germanicus.
Germanus m Ancient RomanRoman cognomen meaning
"brother" in Latin. This was the name of several early saints.
Geronimo m HistoryFrom
Gerónimo, a Spanish form of
Hieronymos (see
Jerome). This is the better-known name of the Apache leader
Goyathlay (1829-1909). It was given to him by the Mexicans, his enemies.
Gertrude f English, Dutch, FrenchMeans
"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. Another famous bearer was the American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).
Gervasius m Ancient 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.
Gethsemane f VariousFrom a biblical place name, the garden where
Jesus was arrested, located on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. It is derived from
Γεθσημανί (Gethsemani), the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "oil vat". It is very rarely used as a given name.
Géza m HungarianFrom
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.
Ghassan m ArabicMeans
"youth" in Arabic. This was the name of an Arabian tribe that existed until the 6th century.
Ghislain m FrenchFrench 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.
Ghulam m Arabic, Urdu, PashtoMeans
"servant, boy" in Arabic. It is often used as the first part of compound names.
Gideon m Biblical, Hebrew, English, DutchMeans
"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.
Gift m & f English (African)From the English word
gift, of Old Norse origin. This name is most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.
Gilbert m English, 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 English saint, the founder of the religious order known as the Gilbertines.
Gilda f Italian, PortugueseOriginally an Italian short form of names containing the Germanic element
gild meaning
"sacrifice, value".
Gilead m BiblicalFrom an Old Testament place name meaning
"heap of witness" in Hebrew. This is a mountainous region east of the Jordan River. Besides being a place name, it is also borne by people in the Bible.
Giles m EnglishFrom the Late Latin name
Aegidius, which is derived from Greek
αἰγίδιον (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.
Gilgamesh m Sumerian 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.
Gillian f EnglishMedieval 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.
Gilroy m English (Rare)From 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".
Ginevra f ItalianItalian 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".
Ginger f EnglishFrom 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.
Gino m ItalianItalian short form of names ending in
gino.
Gintautas m LithuanianFrom Lithuanian
ginti meaning "to defend" and
tauta meaning "people, nation".
Gioachino m ItalianItalian form of
Joachim. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).
Gioconda f ItalianFrom 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.
Giotto m Italian (Rare)Possibly 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.
Giovanni m ItalianItalian form of
Iohannes (see
John). This name has been very common in Italy since the late Middle Ages, as with other equivalents of
John in Europe. The Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were two famous bearers of the name.
Girisha m HinduismMeans
"lord of the mountain" in Sanskrit. This is a name of the Hindu god
Shiva, given because of his abode in the Himalayan Mountains.
Gisbert m German, 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".
Gisele f PortuguesePortuguese (especially Brazil) form of
Giselle. A famous bearer is Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen (1980-).
Giselle f French, 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.
Gita 1 f Indian, HindiMeans
"song" in Sanskrit. The word appears in the name of the
Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text of Hinduism (meaning "divine song").
Giuseppe m ItalianItalian form of
Joseph. Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) was a military leader who united Italy in the 19th century.
Givi m GeorgianMeaning unknown, possibly from Persian
گیو (Giv), the name of a hero from the 10th-century epic the
Shahnameh.
Gladys f Welsh, English, French, SpanishFrom the Old Welsh name
Gwladus, probably derived from
gwlad meaning
"country". Alternatively, it may have been adopted as a Welsh form of
Claudia. Saint Gwladus or Gwladys was the mother of Saint
Cadoc. She was one of the daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog. This name became popular outside of Wales after it was used in Ouida's novel
Puck (1870).
Glædwine m Anglo-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.
Glanville m English (Rare)From an English surname that was taken from a Norman place name, which possibly meant
"domain of (a person named) Gland" in Old French.
Gláucio m PortuguesePortuguese form of the Roman cognomen
Glaucia, which was derived from Latin
glaucus "bluish grey", ultimately from Greek.
Gleb m RussianRussian form of the Old Norse name
Guðleifr, which was derived from the elements
guð "god" and
leifr "heir". This was the name of an 11th-century saint, a member of the ruling family of Kievan Rus. Along with his brother
Boris he was killed in the power struggles that followed the death of his father
Vladimir the Great, and he is regarded as a martyr.
Glenda f EnglishProbably a feminine form of
Glenn using the suffix
da (from names such as
Linda and
Wanda). This name was not regularly used until the 20th century.
Glenn m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". It was borne by the American actor Glenn Ford (1916-2006), whose birth name was Gwyllyn. A famous bearer of the surname was American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016). The name peaked in popularity in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the earth.
... [more] Glenys f WelshProbably an elaboration of the Welsh word
glân "pure, clean, holy" or
glyn "valley". This name was created in the late 19th century.
Glinda f LiteratureCreated by author L. Frank Baum for his character Glinda the Good Witch, a kind sorceress in his
Oz series of books beginning in 1900. It is not known what inspired the name.
Glooscap m New 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.