George (given name)
George Pronunciation English: JORJ Gender Male Name day April 23 Meaning "Farmer" or "Earthworker" Region of origin Ancient Greece Nickname(s) Geo, Geordie Related names Georges , Georginio , Georgios , Georgius , Gheorghe , Giorgio , Göran , Geevarghese/Varghese , Gjergj György , Jerzy , Jorge , Joris , Jörg , Jörgen , Jørgen , Jørn , Jüri , Jurgis , Jurģis , Jürgen , Jurij , Juris, Örjan , Ørjan , Sjors , Yegor , Yrjö , Jyrki , Jyri, Yuri/Yury , Uri /Ori , Đorđe , Đurađ , Jiří
George Washington, the first president of the United States
George () is a masculine given name derived from the Greek Georgios (Γεώργιος ; Ancient Greek : [ɡeɔː́rɡi.os] , Modern Greek : [ʝeˈorʝi.os] ).[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] The name gained popularity due to its association with the Christian martyr , Saint George (died 23 April 303), a member of the Praetorian Guard who was sentenced to death for his refusal to renounce Christianity , and prior to that, it might have been a theophoric name , with origins in Zeus Georgos , an early title of the Greek god Zeus .[ 4] [ 5] Today, it is one of the most commonly used names in the Western world, though its religious significance has waned among modern populations. Its diminutives are Geordie and Georgie , with the former being limited primarily to residents of England and Scotland . The most popular feminine forms in the Anglosphere are Georgia , Georgiana , and Georgina .
History
Etymology and origins
Its original Greek form, Georgios , is based on the Greek word georgos (γεωργός), 'farmer'. The word georgos itself is ultimately a combination of two Greek words: ge (γῆ), 'earth, soil ' and ergon (ἔργον), 'work'. Aelius Herodianus (fl. 2nd century AD), a Roman-era Greek grammarian and writer, determined Georgios to be a theophoric name , or a name created to honor a deity, a nod to Zeus Georgos , or "Zeus the Farmer" in English. In the early stages of Greek mythology , before Zeus took on a major role in the Greek pantheon as ruler of all the gods and goddesses, he was sacrificed to as an agricultural god , a patron of crops and harvests .[ 6] The name took on religious significance to followers of Early Christianity in 303 with the supposed martyrdom of Georgios , a Roman soldier of Greek heritage. While the story's historical accuracy is subject to debate, his character took on real importance to the Christian Church , with Georgios and its variants being used as baptismal names and by religious officials and Christian monarchs, though it did not become common among the laity until after the Middle Ages .
In other languages
Avar language : Георгий (Georgij), Джордж (Džordž)
Abkhazian language : Гьаргь (G’arg’), Џьорџь (J’orj’)
Albanian : Gjergj, Gjorgj, Xhorxh, Jorgji
Amharic : Giorgis (ጊዮርጊስ)
Arabic: Jirjīs (جرجيس ), Jirjis (جرجس ), Jawrj (جورج )
Aragonese : Chorche
Aramaic : Gewargis (ܓܝܘܪܓܝܣ), Gevargis, Gaggi (diminutive), Gaggo (diminutive), Givo (diminutive)
Armenian : Gevorg (Գևորգ), Kevork (Western )
Aromanian : Yioryi , Ioryi, Yoryi
Asturian : Xurde
Azerbaijani : Cərcis, Corcius, Corc
Basque : Gorka, Jurgi, Urtzi
Belarusian : Hieorhiy (Георгій), Yury (Юры), Yurka (Юрка) (diminutive)
Breton : Jor, Jord
Bulgarian : Georgi (Георги)
Catalan : Jordi
Chinese : Qiáozhì (乔治 in Simplified Chinese or 喬治 in Traditional Chinese ) (Modern), Kuòlǐjísī (阔里吉思 in Simplified Chinese or 闊里吉思 in Traditional Chinese) (Medieval)
Coptic : Georgios (Ⲅⲉⲟⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ), Girgis (Ⲅⲓⲣⲅⲓⲥ)
Czech : Jiří
Chechen language : Георгий (Gеorgiy)
Danish : Jørgen , Jørn
Dutch : Joris , Juriaan/Juriaen (archaic spelling), Joren , Sjors
English : Geordie (diminutive), George, Georgie (diminutive)
Estonian : Georg, Jüri , Jürgen
Faroese : Jørundur
French : Georges
Finnish : Jori, Jyri, Jyrki, Yrjänä, Yrjö
Frisian : Jurjen
Galician : Xurxo
Georgian : Gio (გიო) (diminutive), Giorgi (გიორგი), Gia (გია) (diminutive), Goga (გოგა) (diminutive), Gogi (გოგი) (diminutive)
German : Georg , Jockel (diminutive), Jörg , Jörgen, Jürgen , Schorsch
Greek : Geórgios (Γεώργιος) (Modern ), Geṓrgios (Γεώργιος) (Koine ), Tzortz (Τζορτζ) (English)
Hindi : Jorj (जॉर्ज)
Hungarian : György
Icelandic : Georg
Indonesian : Georgius, George
Irish : Seóirse (also Seoirse)
Italian : Giorgio , Giorgino (diminutive), Gino (diminutive)
Japanese : Jōji (じょうじ、ジョージ)
Korean : Jo-ji (조지)
Kanuri language : Jorji
Kurdish Language : Gurc
Latin : Georgius
Latgalian language : Jurs
Latvian : Georgijs, Georgs, Jurģis , Juris
Lithuanian : Georgijus, Jurgis
Limburgish language : Jorge.
Macedonian : Gjorgji (Ѓорѓи), Gjorgje (Ѓорѓе), Gjorgjija Ѓорѓија (Gjorgjija), Gjoko (Ѓоко)
Malayalam : Geevarghese (ഗീവര്ഗീസ് ) (when referring to Saint George ), Varghese (വര്ഗീസ്); Jorjj (ജോർജ്ജ്) (based on the English pronunciation)
Maltese : Ġorġ
Manx : Shorys
Māori : Hori
Monegasque : Giorgi
Norman : Jore
Norwegian : Georg, Jørn , Ørjan , Jørgen
Occitan language : Jòrdi
Persian : Jurjis (جرجیس)
Polish : Jerzy , Jur, Jurek, (diminutive), Juras (diminutive)
Portuguese : Jorge
Romanian : George, Gheorghe , Georgiu
Russian : Георгий (Gheorghy) with diminutives Гога (Goga), Жора (Zhora) and Гоша (Gosha), Юрий (Yury) with diminutive Юра (Yura) and Егор (Yegor ).
Samoan : Siaosi
Scots : Dod, Doddie
Scottish Gaelic : Deòrsa, Seòras
Serbo-Croatian : Đorđe (Ђорђе), Đorđo (Ђорђо), Đukan (Ђукан), Đurađ (Ђурађ), Đurđe (Ђурђе), Đoko (Ђоко), Đoka (Ђока), Đuro (Ђуро), Đura (Ђура), Georgije (Георгије), Juraj (Јурај), Jure (Јуре), Jurica (Јурица)
Slovak : Juraj
Slovene : Jure, Jurij
Spanish : Jorge
Swedish : Georg, Göran , Jörgen , Jörn, Örjan
Tamil : Jārj (ஜார்ஜ்)
Thai : Čhort (จอร์จ; based on the English pronunciation), Yod (ยอด; a historical distorted interpretation of the name)
Tibetan : Rdorje (རྡོ་རྗེ།)
Tongan : Siaosi
Turkish : Cercis, Circis, Curcis, Yorgi, Gürcü,
Ukrainian : Heorhiy (Георгій), Yehor (Єгор), Yuriy (Юрій)
Upper Sorbian : Jurij
Uzbek language : Jorj
Venetian : Xorxi, Zorzi
Vietnamese : Giorgiô
Waray language : Jorge
Welsh : Siôr
Bulgarian: Gergana (Гергана)
Albanian: Jorgjia, Jorgjica, Gjeorgjina, Gjorgjina, Xheorxhina, Xhorxhina
Czech: Jiřina
Dutch: Georgina , Jorien [ 7]
English: Georgeanna , Georgann, Georgia , Georgiana , Georgina , Georgie (diminutive), Gina (diminutive, also Geena), Georgette, Georenn
French: George, Georgette , Georgine, Gigi
Greek: Georgia (Γεωργία)
Hungarian: Györgyi, Györgyike (diminutive)
Italian: Giorgia , Giorgina (diminutive), Gina (diminutive)
Latin: Georgia
Maltese: Ġorġa
Polish: Georgina
Portuguese: Jorgina
Romanian: Georgeta , Georgiana
Spanish: Georgina , Jorgelina
Turkish: Yorgiya
People with the given name
Late antiquity to early medieval
High to late medieval
Georgius Tzul (fl. 1016)
Kingdom of Georgia
George of Chqondidi (d. 1118)
Kievan Rus'
Second Bulgarian Empire
Đurađ I Balšić (fl. 1362–78), Lord of Zeta
Đurađ II Balšić (1385–1403), Lord of Zeta
Đurađ Bogutović (fl. 1370–99), Serbian nobleman
Đurađ Branković (1377–1456), Serbian Despot
Đurađ Đurašević (fl. 1413–35), Serbian nobleman
Đurađ Crnojević (fl. 1489–1514), Lord of Zeta
George of Antioch (d. 1252)
George Akropolites (d. 1282)
George (Ongud king) (d. 1298/9)
Georgius Chrysococcas (fl. 1340s)
Medieval Albania
Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg (1405–1468), Albanian prince and national hero
Gjergj Arianiti (1383–1462), Albanian lord who led several campaigns against the Ottoman Empire
Gjergj Thopia (died 1392), medieval Albanian nobleman and the lord of Durrës between 1388 and 1392
Gjergj Pelini (died 1463), medieval Albanian Catholic priest and diplomat for Skanderbeg and Venice
George Sphrantzes (d. 1478)
George of Trebizond (d. 1486)
Renaissance to modern
See: All pages with titles beginning with George
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence (1449–1478)
Giorgio Cornaro (1452–1527)
György Dózsa (1470–1514)
George, Duke of Saxony (1471–1539)
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (1504–1536), Tudor poet and diplomat, brother of Queen Anne Boleyn
Yury Ivanovich (1480–1536)
George, Duke of Coimbra (1481–1550), Portuguese Infante, natural son of King John II of Portugal
György Szondy (1500–1552)
Giorgio Basta (1540–1607)
George Weymouth (1585–1612), English explorer
George of Lencastre, 2nd Duke of Aveiro (1548–1578)
Giorgio Giorgicci (1614–1660)
George D. Chryssides (born 1945), British academic
Kingdom of Great Britain
United Kingdom
George Washington (1732–1799), 1st president of the United States (1789–97), and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, better known as Lord Byron (1788–1824), English author
George Nicholas Eckert (1802–1865), U.S. congressman
George Tyler Bigelow (1810–1878), chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
George Rex Graham (1813–1894), American magazine editor and publisher
George Gewinner (1814–1894), German-born American bandmaster
George Meade (1815-1872), American Civil War general
Kingdom of Greece
George W. Melville (1841-1912), U.S. Navy rear admiral
George Deardorff McCreary (1846-1915), U.S. congressman
George Eastman (1854–1932), American entrepreneur and founder of the Eastman Kodak Company
George Howard Earle Jr. (1856-1928), American lawyer and businessman
George Alderink (1889-1977), American businessman and politician
George Alice (born Georgia Mannion; 2003), Australian singer-songwriter
George Appo (1856–1930), thief from New York City
George Eliot , a pen name for English writer Mary Ann Evans (1819–1880)
George B. McFarland (1866–1942), Thai physician
George Horace Lorimer (1867–1937), American editor of The Saturday Evening Post
George A. Hulett (1867–1955), American chemist
George Locke , (1870–1937), Canadian librarian
George A. Luxford (1876–1956), associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court
George Ceara (1880/1881–1939), Aromanian poet and prose writer
George R. de Silva (1898–1968), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician
George Dudley (1894–1960), Canadian ice hockey administrator and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee
George Keyt (1901–1993), Sri Lankan painter
George Metesky (1903–1994), American bomber and terrorist
George Cecil Horry (1907–1981), British-born New Zealand tailor, confidence trickster and convicted murderer
George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914–1961), American yachtsman and scientific explorer
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States
George Krull (1925–1957), one half of a brother's criminal duo from Pennsylvania
George Rajapaksa (1926–1976), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician
George Wilfred Rajapaksha (1917-1999), Sri Lankan military officer and educationist
George Christopher Rambukpotha (1884-1943), Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician, representative for Bibile in the 1st and 2nd State Council of Ceylon
George Stanich (born 1928), American high jumper
George Carlin (1937–2008), American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, and author
George H. Morris (born 1938), American equestrian
George Mallen (born 1939), English computer arts businessman
George Harrison (1943–2001), lead guitarist of the Beatles
George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States; son of George H. W. Bush
George Clooney (born 1961), American actor, film producer, director, and activist
George Dario Franchitti (born 1973), Scottish racing driver
George Zidek (born 1973), Czech basketball player
George Floyd (1973–2020), American man murdered by police during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota
George Clanton , American electronic musician
George Mayienga , Kenyan basketball coach
George Robertson (born 1946), British politician
George Russell (born 1958), American thief and serial killer
George Hill (disambiguation) , multiple people
George Michael (1963–2016), English pop singer, songwriter and philanthropist
George Seitz (1894–1976), American murder victim
George Simion (born 1986), Romanian activist and politician
George Piștereanu (born 1990), Romanian actor
George Felix Michel Melki (born 1994), Swedish-Lebanese footballer
George Russell (born 1998), English racing driver
George Alfred Townsend (1841-1914), American journalist and novelist
Prince George of Wales (born 2013), second-in-line to the British throne
George Alfred Henry Wille (1871–1951), Sri Lankan Burgher proctor, notary public, journalist, and politician
George Winston (1949–2023), American pianist
George Formby (1904-1961), British entertainer
George Martin (1926-2016), English record producer known for being the Beatles’ producer
George Manuhu , judge of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea
George Ragan (born 1981/82), better known by his stage name "Johnny 3 Tears", American musician
George Sharswood (1810-1883), American politician and judge
George Timotheou (born 1997), Australian footballer
George William Arnold , American telecoms protocol engineer
George Emil Palade (1912-2008), Romanian-American cell biologist
George "Babe" Ruth (1895-1948), American baseball player
George Cristos Galanopoulos (born 1963), British managing director
George strait country singer (born 1952), American country singer
Fictional characters
Big George, a character in the 1991 American comedy-drama Fried Green Tomatoes
Curious George , fictional monkey who is the title character in the Curious George franchise
George Bailey , the main character in the 1946 American Christmas supernatural drama movie It's a Wonderful Life
George Beard , fictional character from Captain Underpants
George Cooper Sr. and George "Georgie" Cooper Jr, both characters in Young Sheldon . Georgie also appears in The Big Bang Theory and the show Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage .
George Costanza , a character in the television series Seinfeld
George Hanson, a main character in The Object of My Affection
George Jetson , a character in the animated television series The Jetsons
George McFly , a character in the Back To The Future movie series
George Owens, a character from Mr. Belvedere
George Papadopoulos and George "Papa" Papadopoulos, Sr, characters in the American sitcom television series Webster
George P. Mandrake (formerly known as Barnyard Dawg), a character from the Looney Tunes franchise
George Roper, one of the two main characters in the British sitcom George and Mildred
George Stoody, one of the two main characters in the American sitcom television series George and Leo
George Taylor , the main character in the American film Planet of the Apes
George Pig , a 2-year-old pig and Peppa's younger brother in the British show Peppa Pig
George Beard, a character in Captain Underpants
George Kirrin , a character from The Famous Five
George Liquor , a character created by John Kricfalusi
George Lundgren, a character in the Arthur book and television series
George Papadopolis and George "Papa" Papadopolis, characters in the American sitcom television series Webster
George the Steamroller , a character from Thomas & Friends
the title character of the animated television program George of the Jungle
the title character of the American animated television series George Shrinks
the title character of the TV series George Lopez
See also
References
^ Greek Names in English Archived January 4, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , Lexicon of Greek Personal Names , Oxford University
^ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name George" . Behind the Name . Retrieved August 1, 2019 .
^ γεωργ-ός , γεωργ-έω in Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon .
^ Jan N. Bremmer, Andrew Erskine, The Gods of Ancient Greece: Identities and Transformations , p. 104, Edinburgh University Press, 2010
^ Michael York,Pagan Theology: Paganism As A World Religion , p. 132, NYU Press, 2005
^ J.F. Boissonade, Herodiani partitiones (= Ἐπιμερισμοί, e codd. Paris. 2543 + 2570). London, 1819 (repr. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1963), 172.
Τὰ διὰ τοῦ ιος προπαροξύτονα ὀνόματα, κύριά τε καὶ ἐπίθετα, καὶ ἀπὸ τόπου λαμβανόμενα, διὰ τοῦ ἰῶτα γράφονται· κύρια μέν· οἷον· Γεώργιος· Δημήτριος· Ἀμμώνιος· ἐπίθετα δέ· οἷον· ἅγιος· κύριος· ὅσιος· λόγιος· ἄξιος · καὶ τὰ λοιπά· ἀπὸ τόπου δὲ λαμβανόμενα· οἷον· Ῥόδιος· Κύπριος· Βυζάντιος · καὶ τὰ ὅμοια.
^ "NVB - verklaring voornaam Jorien" .