Category Archives: Catalan Names

Gabriel, Gabriella

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Origin: Hebrew גַבְרִיאֵל  Γαβριηλ
Meaning: “strong man of God.”
Eng (GABE-ree-el); (gah-bree-EL-ah); Fre (gah-bree-EL); Germ (GAHP-ree-el); Pol (GAHP-ryel)

The name is derived from the Biblical Hebrew, גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri-el) meaning, “strong man of God.”

In Judeo-Christian religions, it is the name of a powerful archangel, who is often viewed as a messenger of God. He appears several times in the Old and New Testaments.

Among Christians, one of his most important messages was relayed to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. Islamic tradition also believes the same, and in Islam, it was the angel Gabriel who revealed the Qu’ran, (through God), to Mohammed.

In Mormon theology, Gabriel is believed to be the embodiment of Noah in the afterlife.

Gabriel is a fairly common name among Christians, Jews and Muslims, making him an extremely cross-cultural portable name.

Currently, in the United States, his popularity has been rising. He is the 24th most popular male name, (2011). In other countries, his rankings in all his various forms are as follows:

  • # 2 (Gabriel(e), Liechtenstein, 2010)
  • # 3 (Brazil, 2011)
  • # 4 (Romania, 2009)
  • # 6 (Gabriele, Italy, 2009)
  • # 7 (France, 2010)
  • # 9 (Quebec, Canada, 2011)
  • # 19 (Croatia, 2009)
  • # 26 (Belgium, 2008)
  • # 28 (Canada, BC, 2010)
  • # 28 (Mexico, 2010)
  • # 29 (Austria, 2010)
  • # 35 (Spain, 2010)
  • # 40 (Poland, 2009)
  • # 47 (Sweden, 2011)
  • # 48 (Norway, 2011)
  • # 52 (Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 78 (England/Wales, 2010)
  • # 95 (Australia, NSW, 2011)
  • # 124 (Scotland, 2010)
  • # 189 (Djibril, France, 2010)
  • # 313 (Jibril, France, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Jibrail/Jibrīl جبرائيل ጂብሪል (Arabic/Ethiopian)
  • Gabriel გაბრიელი ገብርኤል
    (Armenian/Catalan/Coptic/Czech/Danish/English/Ethiopian/Finnish/French/Georgian/German/Norwegian/Polish/Portuguese/Romanian/Romansch/Spanish/Swedish)
  • Gavrik (Armenian)
  • Cəbrayıl/Cibril (Azeri)
  • Gawryil Гаўрыіл (Belarusian)
  • Džibril/Džebrail (Bosnian)
  • Gavrail Гавраил (Bulgarian)
  • Zheberejil Жәбірейіл (Central Asian)
  • Gabrijel (Croatian/Maltese/Serbian)
  • Gabriël (Dutch)
  • Gaabriel (Estonian)
  • Gabrel (Ethiopian)
  • Kaapo/Kaapro (Finnish)
  • Gabriél Γαβριήλ (Greek)
  • Gavril Γαβριηλ (Greek)
  • Gavriel גַּבְרִיאֵל (Hebrew)
  • Gábriel (Hungarian)
  • Gábor (Hungarian)
  • Gabríel (Icelandic)
  • Jibril (Indonesian)
  • Gaibriéil (Irish-Gaelic)
  • Gabo/Gabbo (Italian)
  • Gabriele (Italian: more common form)
  • Gabriellino (Italian)
  • Gabriello (Italian)
  • Gabrio (Italian)
  • Cibrayîl (Kurdish)
  • Gabrielus (Latin)
  • Gabriels (Latvian)
  • Gabrielius (Lithuanian)
  • Jibrail (Malaysian)
  • Gavriilu Гаврїилъ (Old Church Slavonic)
  • Khabbriele (Puglian)
  • Gabin (Provençal)
  • Gavril Гавриил (Romanian/Russian)
  • Crabiele/Gabilele/Gabriello (Sardinian)
  • Cabbrieli (Sicilian)
  • Gabri’el ܠܒܪܝܐܝܠ (Syrian)
  • Gebrael (Syrian)
  • Cebrâîl (Turkish)
  • Gavrel גַאבְֿרֶעל (Yiddish)

English short form is Gabe.

Its feminine form of Gabriella/Gabriela is also rising in popularity. Currently, Gabriella is the 34th most popular female name in the United States, (2011). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 3 (Gabriela, Bulgaria, 2009)
  • # 5 (Gabrielė, Lithuania, 2011)
  • # 5 (Gabrielle, Philippines, 2011)
  • # 7 (Gabriela, Columbia, 2011)
  • # 8 (Gabriela, Romania, 2009)
  • # 9 (Gabriela, Puerto Rico, 2011)
  • # 10 (Gabriela, Brazil, 2010)
  • # 13 (Gabriela, Poland, Warsaw, 2010)
  • # 19 (Gabriela, Poland, 2009)
  • # 28 (Gabrijela, Croatia, 2009)
  • # 30 (Gabriela, Mexico, 2010)
  • # 30 (Gabrielly, Brazil, 2010)
  • # 36 (Gabriela, Croatia, 2009)
  • # 38 (Gabriela, Chile, 2010)
  • # 64 (Australia, NSW, 2011)
  • # 64 (Gabriela, Spain, 2010)
  • # 67 (Gabrielle, France, 2010)
  • # 72 (Canada, BC, 2010)
  • # 94 (Gabrielle, Canada, BC, 2010)
  • # 119 (Gabrielle, United States, 2011)
  • # 466 (France, 2010)

Other feminine forms include:

  • Gebre’elwa ገብርኤሏ (Amharic/Ethiopian)
  • Gabriela (Bulgarian/Croatian/Czech/German/Polish/Portuguese/Romanian/Scandinavian/Slovak/Spanish)
  • Brielle (Cajun: abbreviated form of Gabrielle)
  • Gabrijela (Croatian/Serbian)
  • Gabriëlle (Dutch)
  • Briella/Briela (English)
  • Gabrielle (French/English)
  • Gabria (Italian)
  • Gabrielina (Italian)
  • Gabriella (Italian/English/Hungarian/Scandinavian: more common form in Italy)
  • Gabrielė (Lithuanian)
  • Gavriila Гавриила (Russian)

Czech diminutives are: Gába, Gabika, Gábina, Gabrina and Gabby.

A Polish diminutive is Gabrysia (gah-BRIH-shah).

English short forms are: Gabby and Ella.

Designated name-days are: February 10/27 (Poland), February 19 (Sweden), March 24 (Czech/Finland/Poland/Slovakia/Sweden), September 29 (France/Germany), December 12 (Hungary)

Raphael

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Hebrew רָפָאֵל Ραφαηλ
Meaning: “God is healer.”
Fre (ra-fa-EL); Eng (RAF-ee-el; RAY-fee-əl)

The name is found in Judeo-Christian and Islamic legend as the name of a major archangel. In the Bible, he is mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is considered canonical in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican tradition. Due to Raphael’s deliverance of Sarah from the demon Asmodeus (who killed every husband she married before consumation), Raphael has been invoked as a matchmaker by Catholics.

Raphael also appears in the non-canonical Book of Enoch in which he is responsible for binding the fallen angel Azazel

In Islamic tradition, he is known as Israfel/Israfil and it is believed that he will blow the trumpet on Judgement Day.

It is interesting to note that the modern Hebrew word for a medical doctor is  דוֹקטוֹר (rophe), compare to the first element of Raphael.

Raphael is currently a trend across Europe, in France, Raphaël is the 11th most popular male name, (2010). His rankings in his various forms are as follows:

  • # 3 (Liechtenstein, 2010)
  • # 11 (Rafael, Brazil, 2010)
  • # 17 (Austria, 2010)
  • # 40 (Rafał, Warsaw, Poland, 2010)
  • # 48 (Rafał, Poland, 2009)
  • # 50 (German-speaking, Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 54 (Raphaël, Belgium, 2008)
  • # 55 (Rafael, Spain, 2010)
  • # 56 (Rafael, Croatia, 2009)
  • # 63 (Rafael, France, 2010)
  • # 189 (Rafaël, Netherlands, 2011)
  • # 274 (Rafael, United States, 2011)
  • # 668 (United States, 2011)

Its feminine form of Rafaela is currently the 8th most popular female name in Brazil, (2010), while the French form of Raphaëlle ranked in as the 273rd most popular female name in France, (2010).

Other forms of the masculine include:

  • Rafael (Albanian/Armenian/Catalan/Croatian/Czech/Finnish/Hungarian/Portuguese/Romanian/Romansch/Scandinavian/Slovene/Spanish)
  • Raphel ሩፋኤል (Amharic/Ethiopian)
  • Rupha(e)l ራፋኤል (Amharic/Ethiopian)
  • Israfil اسرافيل, Исрафил (Arabic/Central Asian: used among Muslims)
  • Rapael რაფაელ (Armenian/Georgian)
  • Rafail Рафаил Ραφαήλ (Bulgarian/Greek/Macedonian/RomanianRussian/Serbian)
  • Rafel (Catalan)
  • Raphael (Coptic/English/German)
  • Rafaël (Dutch)
  • Raafael (Estonian)
  • Raphaël (French)
  • Raiféal (Gaelic)
  • Raffaele (Italian)
  • Raffaello (Italian)
  • Raffaelino (Italian)
  • Îsrafîl (Kurdish)
  • Rafla (Lebanese/Syrian: used among Christians)
  • Rafaelis (Lithuanian)
  • Rapolas (Lithuanian)
  • Rafel (Maltese)
  • Rafał (Polish)
  • Arrafieli (Sardinian)
  • Rafiele (Sardinian)
  • İsrafil (Turkish)
  • Rafayil Рафаї́л (Ukrainian)
Common diminiutives are: Raf (Dutch); Rafe (English); Ralph (English); Rafinha (Brazilian-Portuguese); Rafa (Spanish).
Feminine forms include:
  • Rafaela (Croatian/Macedonian/Portuguese/Romansch/Slovene/Spanish)
  • Raphaëlle (French)
  • Raphaela (German)
  • Raphaele (German)
  • Raffaella (Italian)
  • Raffaellina (Italian)
The name was also notably borne by Raphael, or Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520), an Italian master painter.

Theo

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “god.”

The name is possibly derived from the Greek, theos, meaning, “god.” It is more likely a contracted form of several different names beginning with the element of theo-.

Currently, Theo has become trendy across Europe. As of 2010, Théo was the 14th most popular male name in France. His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 15 (Belgium, 2008)
  • # 19 (Sweden, 2011)
  • # 39 (Norway, 2011)
  • # 44 (Brazil, 2010)
  • # 44 (Teo, Croatia, 2009)
  • # 50 (England/Wales, 2010)
  • # 50 (Teo, Slovenia, 20100
  • # 99 (Teo, Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 126 (Scotland, 2010)
  • # 155 (Teo, France, 2010)
  • # 865 (United States, 2011)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Teo (Catalan/Croatian/Italian/Slovene/Spanish)
  • Theo (Dutch/English/German/Greek/Portuguese/Scandinavian)
  • Théo (French)
  • Téo (Portuguese)
A feminine form is Thea.

Timaeus

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek Τιμαιος
Meaning: “honour.”
Eng (tie-MEE-əs); Fre (teey-MEY-oh)

Timaeus is a latinized form of the Greek, Timaios (Τιμαιος), meaning, “honour.”

The name was very popular in ancient Greece, being the name of one of Plato’s dialogues, a Pythogorean philosopher who was the inspiration of the platonic dialogue and a Roman sophist.

The name briefly occurs in the New Testament, in Mark 10:46 as the name of the father of Bartimaeus.

As of 2010, its French form of Timéo was the 16th most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Timej Тимей (Bulgarian/Russian/Ukrainian)
  • Timeu (Catalan/Portuguese/Sicilian)
  • Timaj (Croatian/Serbian)
  • Timée (French)
  • Timéo (French)
  • Timaios Τιμαιος (Greek)
  • Timaiosz (Hungarian)
  • Timeo (Italian/Spanish)
  • Timeus (Late Latin)
  • Timaeus (Latin)
  • Timajos (Polish)

Maxence

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “greatest.”
Fre (mahk-SAWns)

The name is a French form of the Latin name, Maxentius, which is derived from maximus, meaning, “greatest.” This was a nickname of a 4th-century Roman emperor and a rival of Constantine’s.

Originally, in French, Maxence was both feminine and masculine being borne by a male saint of Agde and a female saint of Picardy.

St. Maxence of Agde was a contemporary of St. Hilary of Poitiers, while St. Maxence of Picardy was said to have been an early Scottish princess who fled to Gaul to avoid persecution, she was eventually caught and martyred.

As of 2010, Maxence was the 25th most popular male name in France.

Today, the name is very rarely given to females.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Maxentzio (Basque)
  • Maxenci (Catalan)
  • Maksencije (Croatian)
  • Maixent (French)
  • Maxens (French)
  • Maxent (French)
  • Maksentius (Frisian)
  • Maxencio (Galician)
  • Massenzio (Italian)
  • Maxentius (Latin)
  • Maksanty (Polish)
  • Maksencjusz (Polish)
  • Magêncio (Portuguese)
  • Maxêncio (Portuguese)
  • Majencio (Spanish)
Feminine forms include:
  • Maxence (French)
  • Massenzia (Italian)
  • Maxentia (Latin)
  • Maksencja (Polish)

Berenice, Bernice

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek Βερενικη
Meaning: “bringer of victory.”
Eng (ber-ə-NIE-see; ber-NEES); Fre (beh-hreh-NEES); It (bey-rey-NEE-cheh)

The name is an ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek, Pherenikë (Φερενίκη), which is composed of the Greek elements, phero (φέρω), “to bear” and nike (νίκη), “victory.” The earliest attestation of the name is a 3rd-century priestess of Demeter.

The name has often been associated with Veronica, but there is still debate as to whether these two names are actually related.

Berenice was a common one among the Ptolomy dynasty of Egypt, being borne by at least 9 Ptolomaic women. It also seems to have been common among the late Judaean Kingdom royalty, being born by 3 Jewish princesses, one of whom appears briefly in the New Testament as the name King Herod’s sister.

It was later borne by an early Christian Greek martyr, making the name remain common after the debut of Christianity.

In the English-speaking world, she has appeared interchangeably as Berenice and Bernice. In the United States, Bernice seems to have been the more common form, the highest she ever ranked was in 1921, coming in as the 39th most popular female name.

As of 2011, neither Berenice or Bernice appear in the U.S. top 1000, but Bérénice was the 279th most popular female name in France, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

  • Bjeranika Бераніка (Belarusian)
  • Berenice (Catalan/Dutch/English/Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Berenika Береника (Czech/Polish/Russian/Slovak)
  • Bernice (English)
  • Bérénice (French)
  • Berenike (German)
  • Bereníkē Βερενίκη (Greek: modern)
  • Bereniké (Hungarian)

Gabin

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “from Gabium.”
(gah-BAHn)

The name is derived from the Latin male name, Gabinus, meaning, “from Gabium” a city which existed in the Lazio region of Italy.

The name was borne by several early saints, including St. Gabino of Sardinia.

As of 2010, Gabin was the 27th most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Gabí (Catalan)
  • Gabino (Italian/Spanish)
  • Gabinus (Latin)
  • Gabinu (Sardinian)
  • Gavino (Spanish)

An obscure French feminine form is Gabine.

Alexis, Alexa, Alexia, Alessia

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “defender; helper.”
(uh-LEK-sis)

The name is derived from the Greek male name, Αλεξις (Alexis), which is derived from the Greek element, αλεξω (alexo), meaning, “defender; helper.”

The name was borne by a 3rd-century Greek comic and poet, and by several male saints and five Byzantine emperors.

In its Russian incarnation of Aleksei, it was fairly common among Russian royalty. It was borne by two Russian tsars and by the last Russian crown-prince, Aleksei Romanov.

Currently, in the United States, Alexis ranks in as the 242nd most popular male name, despite this, the name is far more common for females, (even though Alexis is not a legitimate feminine name and should not be considered as such), in fact, it is currently the 26th most popular female name, (2011). In the United States, its usage as a female given name can be traced all the way to the 1940s, when it first entered the U.S. top 1000. Its usage among females is most likely attributed to Canadian actress, Alexis Smith (1921-1993) who was born as Gladys. Its popularity on females, however, might mostly be influenced by the 1980 drama series, Dynasty, in which one of the female leads, played by Joan Collins, was named Alexis.

In other countries, Alexis as a male name is ranked as follows:

  • # 28 (France, 2010)
  • # 38 (Alejo, Argentina, 2009)
  • # 83 (Belgium, 2008)
  • # 90 (Aleix, Spain, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Ales (Basque)
  • Aleksei/Alexei Алексей (Bulgarian/Russian)
  • Aleix (Catalan)
  • Alesiu (Corsican)
  • Aleksej/Alexej (Czech/Slovak)
  • Alexis (Danish/English/German/French/Norwegian/Spanish/Swedish)
  • Aleksi (Finnish)
  • Aleksis (Finnish)
  • Aleixo (Galician/Portuguese)
  • Alexei (German)
  • Alexios Αλεξιος (Greek)
  • Elek (Hungarian)
  • Alessi (Italian: obscure)
  • Alessio (Italian)
  • Alexius (Latin/German)
  • Aleksas (Lithuanian)
  • Aleksy (Polish)
  • Alexie (Romanian)
  • Alexi (Romansch)
  • Aliesch (Romansch)
  • Alessiu (Sicilian)
  • Lezziu (Sicilian)
  • Alejo (Spanish)
  • Aleksej (Slovene)
  • Aleš (Slovene)
  • Oleksiy Олексій (Ukrainian)

Alyosha and Lyosha are common Russian diminutive forms.

Its feminine forms of Alexa and Alexia are also rising in popularity, Alexia is currently the 275th most popular feminine name in the United States, (2011), while Alexa comes in as the 55th most popular female name. I shall go into more details in another post. In the meantime, here are other feminine forms

  • Alexa (English/Hungarian)
  • Alexia (English/German/Greek/French)
  • Alessa (Italian)
  • Alessia (Italian)
  • Alessina (Italian)
  • Aleksja (Polish)
  • Aléxia (Portuguese)
  • Alexina/Alexine (Scottish)

Common short forms are Alex, Lex and Lexie.

Designated name-days are: February 17 (France), March 17 (Greece), July 17 (Germany) and December 12 (Sweden).

Sources

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/alexis
  2. http://www.askoxford.com/firstnames/alexis?view=uk
  3. http://www.askoxford.com/firstnames/alexa?view=uk
  4. http://www.askoxford.com/firstnames/alexia?view=uk
  5. Bengt af Klintberg: Namnen i almanackan, 2001
  6. Yáñez Solana, Manuel (1995). El gran libro de los Nombres. M. E. Editores, Madrid
  7. Montes Vicente, José María (2001). El libro de los Santos. Alianza, Madrid
  8. Kustaa Vilkuna: Etunimet, 3. painos 2001, s. 30,

Gaétan

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: German/Polish/Italian/French
Meaning: “from Caieta.”
It (guy-TAH-no); Fre (GAH-eh-TAWn); Pol/Germ (KYE-eh-TAHN)

The name is derived from the Latin place name, Caietanus, meaning,  “from Caieta”. Caieta is now known as Gaeta.

In ancient Greece, this was a town where prisoners were taken to be executed. The town probably got its name from the wet nurse of Zeus in Greek myth.

It was borne by a 16th-century Italian saint, which spurred the popularity of the name throughout Europe. It has been in usage in German speaking countries as well as in Poland in the form of Kajetan and Cajetan, the name Kaj was later spun off from this name, now being more popular than its formal form in Sweden and Denmark.

As of 2010, its French form of Gaétan was the 122nd most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Caitanu (Asturian)
  • Kaitan (Basque)
  • Gaietà (Catalan)
  • Gaitanu (Corsican)
  • Kajetán (Czech/Hungarian/Slovak)
  • Cajetaan (Dutch)
  • Gaétan (French)
  • Gaëtan (French)
  • Gaetano (Galician/Italian)
  • Kayetan (German)
  • Kajetan (German/Polish/Scandinavian)
  • Gaïtános Γαϊτάνος (Greek)
  • Caietanus (Latin)
  • Kajetonas (Lithuanian)
  • Aitano (Neopolitan)
  • Gaitano (Neopolitan)
  • Caetano (Portuguese)
  • Caetan (Romanian)
  • Cajetan (Romansch)
  • Kaetan Каетан (Russian)
  • Gajetànu (Sardinian)
  • Cayetano (Spanish)

Feminine forms are:

  • Gaetana (Italian)
  • Gaétane (French)
  • Gaëtane (French)
  • Kajetana (German/Polish)
  • Kaia (German)
  • Kaja (German/Polish)
  • Caietana (Latin)

Its designated name day is August 7.

Aurelian

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “golden one.”
Eng (aw-RIL-lee-yen) Fre (Pronunciation)

The name is derived from the Latin cognomen, Aurelianus, which means, “golden one.”

The name was borne by a 3rd-century Roman Emperor.

As of 2010, its French form of Aurélien was the 150th most popular male name in France. Other forms of the name include:

  • Aureliani (Albanian)
  • Aurelián (Aragonese/Czech)
  • Awrelijan Аўрэліян (Belarusian)
  • Avrelian Аврелиан (Bulgarian/Russian/Ukrainian)
  • Aurelià (Catalan)
  • Aurelijan Аурелијан (Croatian/Macedonian/Serbian)
  • Aurelian (English/German/Lombard/Polish/Romanian)
  • Aurélien (French)
  • Aureliano (Galician/Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Avreliane ავრელიანე (Georgian)
  • Aurelianus (Latin)
  • Aureliāns (Latvian)
  • Aurelianas (Lithuanian)
  • Aurilianu (Sicilian)
A feminine form is Aureliana (Italian/Latin/Portuguese/Spanish)