Gaiseric m Vandalic (Latinized)From
Gaisericus, the Latin form of the Vandalic name *
Gaisarīx, derived from the Germanic elements *
gaizaz "spear" and *
rīks "ruler, king". This was the name of a 5th-century king of the Vandals, a Germanic tribe. He led his people through Hispania and established a kingdom in North Africa.
Gamaliel m Biblical, Biblical GreekMeans
"my reward is God" in Hebrew, from the roots
גָּמַל (gamal) meaning "to reward" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to a son of Pedahzur. It was also borne by a 1st-century Jewish priest and scholar, mentioned in Acts in the New Testament as a teacher of Saint
Paul.
Gardenia f English (Rare)From the name of the tropical flower, which was named for the Scottish naturalist Alexander Garden (1730-1791).
Garfield m EnglishFrom a surname meaning
"triangle field" in Old English. A famous bearer was American president James A. Garfield (1831-1881). It is now associated with the cat in Jim Davis's cartoon strip
Garfield.
Garibald m GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
garo meaning "ready, prepared" and
bald meaning "bold, brave". This name was borne by two rulers of Bavaria in the 6th and 7th centuries, as well as a king of the Lombards in the 7th century.
Gedaliah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh is great" in Hebrew, from
גָּדַל (gaḏal) meaning "to grow, to become great" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament, including the governor of Judah appointed by Nebuchadnezzar.
Genesius m Late RomanFrom Greek
γένεσις (genesis) meaning
"birth, origin". This was the name of various early Christian saints, notably Genesius of Rome, the patron saint of actors.
Geoffrey m English, FrenchFrom a Norman French form of a Frankish name. The second element is Old German
fridu "peace", while the first element could be *
gautaz "Geat" (a North Germanic tribe),
gawi "territory" or
walah "foreigner". It is possible that two or more names merged into a single form. In the later Middle Ages
Geoffrey was further confused with the distinct name
Godfrey.
... [more] Gerlinde f German, DutchDerived from the Old German element
ger meaning "spear" combined with
lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender".
Germaine f FrenchFrench feminine form of
Germain. Saint Germaine was a 16th-century peasant girl from France.
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, French, GermanMeans
"spear of strength", derived from the Old German elements
ger "spear" and
drud "strength". Saint Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century nun and mystic writer from Thuringia. 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
Hamlet. Another famous bearer was the American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).
Ghislain m FrenchFrench form of
Gislenus, a Latinized form of the Germanic name
Gislin, derived from the element
gisal meaning
"hostage" or
"pledge". This was the name of a 7th-century saint and hermit who built a chapel near Mons, Belgium.
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.
Giordano m ItalianItalian form of
Jordan. A notable bearer was the cosmologist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), who was burned at the stake by the Inquisition.
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 writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were famous bearers of the name.
Giselher m GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
gisal "hostage" and
heri "army." This was the name of a 5th-century king of Burgundy.
Giuseppe m ItalianItalian form of
Joseph. Two noteworthy bearers were Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), a military leader who united Italy, and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), a composer of operas.
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.
Gloriana f English (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.
Glorinda f EsperantoMeans
"worthy of glory" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin
gloria.
Gobannos m Gaulish MythologyFrom old Celtic *
goban meaning
"smith". This was the name of a scantily attested Gaulish smith god.
Godabert m GermanicOld German name derived from the elements
got "god" and
beraht "bright". This was the name of a 7th-century king of the Lombards.
Godehard m GermanicOld German name derived from the elements
got "god" and
hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of an 11th-century saint who was a bishop of Hildesheim.
Godzilla m Popular CultureFrom Japanese
ゴジラ (Gojira), a blend of
ゴリラ (gorira) meaning "gorilla" and
鯨 (kujira) meaning "whale". This is the name of a massive reptilian monster from a series of Japanese movies, starting 1954.
Gofannon m Welsh MythologyFrom Welsh
gof meaning
"smith". This was the name of a smith in Welsh legends. He is possibly a later development of an earlier Celtic god (seen also in Gaulish
Gobannos and Irish
Goibniu).
Goizeder f & m BasqueDerived from Basque
goiz "morning" and
eder "beautiful".
Gonggong m Chinese MythologyMeaning unknown, though usually spelled using the Chinese characters
共 (gòng) meaning "together" and
工 (gōng) meaning "work". This is the name of a Chinese water god, depicted as a serpent with a human head. He damaged the heavenly pillar Mount Buzhou, making the sky tilt to the northwest and the earth tilt to the southeast. A dwarf planet in the outer solar system was named for him in 2019.
Gotarzes m Parthian (Hellenized)Greek form of Parthian
𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 (Gotarz), from an Old Iranian name *
Gautarza meaning
"ox crusher". This name was borne by two kings of Parthia.
Gotthilf m German (Rare)Derived from German
Gott "God" and
hilf "help". This name was created in the 17th century.
Gotthold m German (Rare)Derived from German
Gott "God" and
hold "gracious, graceful, loyal". This name was created in the 17th century.
Grigoriy m RussianRussian form of
Gregory. This name was borne by the Russian mystic Grigoriy Rasputin (1869-1916), more commonly known by only his surname.
Griselda f English, Spanish, LiteraturePossibly derived from the Old German elements
gris "grey" and
hilt "battle". It is not attested as a Germanic name. This was the name of a patient wife in medieval folklore, adapted into tales by Boccaccio (in
The Decameron) and Chaucer (in
The Canterbury Tales).
Gruffudd m WelshFrom the Old Welsh name
Grifud, the second element deriving from Old Welsh
iudd "lord, prince" but the first element being of uncertain meaning (possibly
cryf "strong"). This was a common name among medieval Welsh royalty. Gruffudd (or Gruffydd) ap Llywelyn was an 11th-century Welsh ruler who fought against England.
Guanting m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
冠 (guān) meaning "cap, crown, headgear" combined with
廷 (tíng) meaning "court". This name can also be formed from other character combinations.
Gudbrand m NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Guðbrandr meaning
"god's sword", derived from the elements
guð "god" and
brandr "fire, torch, sword".
Guiscard m Medieval FrenchNorman French form of the Norman name
Wischard, from Old Norse
vizkr "wise" and the Old French pejorative suffix
-ard (from Old Frankish
hard "hard, firm, brave, hardy"). This was the byname of Robert Guiscard, an 11th-century Norman conqueror of Sicily.
Gulbadan f Urdu (Rare)Means
"having a body like a rose" in Persian. This was the name of a daughter of the Mughal emperor Babur.
Gülbahar f TurkishTurkish form of
Golbahar. This was the name of a 16th-century concubine of
Süleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She was also named Mahidevran.
Gwyneira f WelshMeans
"white snow" from the Welsh element
gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with
eira meaning "snow". This is a recently created Welsh name.
Gyeong-Ja f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
慶 (gyeong) meaning "congratulate, celebrate" or
敬 (gyeong) meaning "respect, honour" combined with
子 (ja) meaning "child". This name can be formed of other hanja character combinations as well. Korean feminine names ending with the character
子 (a fashionable name suffix in Japan, read as
-ko in Japanese) became less popular after Japanese rule of Korea ended in 1945.