George (given name)

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For the surname, see George (surname).
George
Gerrit Jan Schouten - Na poli.jpg
A farmer.
Pronunciation /ˈdʒɔrdʒ/
Gender Male
Origin
Word/Name Greek: Γεώργιος (Georgios)
Meaning Farmer / Earth-worker
Other names
Related names Georgette (f),
Georgia (f),
Georgina (f),
Georgiana (f)
Look up George in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

George is a widespread given name. The name derives from the Greek word γεωργός (geōrgos), "earth-worker", "farmer",[1] which became a name in Greek: Γεώργιος (Geōrgios), and Latin: Georgius. The word "γεωργός" is a compound word, formed by the words γῆ (gē), "earth", "soil"[2] and ἔργον (ergon), "work".[3] In Modern Greek, the form Γιώργος (Yórgos, [ˈʝo̞.rɣo̞s̻]) is commonly used colloquially.

Contents

Origins[edit]

Although the word geōrgos was not used as a name in ancient Greece, it was used as one of Zeus's epithets in Athens: Ζεύς Γεωργός (Zeus Geōrgos), the god of crops and harvest.[4][5]

In the Western world, the name is known from the eleventh century as a result of the Crusades. The name was extended due to the popularity of St. George and the Golden Legend, widespread in the European courts of the thirteenth century.

In Germany, the name has been popular since the Middle Ages, declining later use. In Britain, despite being St. George the patron of England since the fourteenth century, the name did not become popular until the eighteenth century following the accession of George I of England. In the U.S.A., statistics from mid-nineteenth century placed him among the five most popular baby names. The trend continued until the 1950s, when the name began to lose popularity. The same trend occurred in France as one of the top ten in the early twentieth century, has come to be at position 20.

Other uses of the name[edit]

  • In many languages George is used as a surname
  • In World War II, the codename for the Japanese fighter Kawanishi N1K-J was George
  • In medicine, there is a rare condition called DiGeorge syndrome
  • In the Middle Ages, Catalan and Occitan knights used the war cry "Sant Jordi! Firam! Firam!". Similarly, the English knights used to go into battle with the cry "by George", which were entrusted to St. George and sought his support as patron saint of the knights.
  • In Mexico, 'Vamos a ponerle Jorge al niño' is a colloquial and somewhat vulgar invitation to sex. In English, this would sound like '[If we have a baby, ] we'll call him George.'
  • George (GEneral ORGanisational Environment) was an O.S developed in 1960 by the company International Computers Ltd.
  • Zeus was worshiped in many forms, of which one was a farmer or georgos

People[edit]

Monarchs[edit]

See also: King George (disambiguation)
Bulgaria
Georgia
Great Britain
Greece
Hanover

Princes[edit]

See also: Prince George (disambiguation)
Albania
Germany
Great Britain
Greece
Portugal
Serbia

Religious leaders[edit]

Others[edit]

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

  • Lee Quiñones (born George Quiñones), American graffiti artist

R

S

T

V

W

Z

Fictional people[edit]

Animals[edit]

  • George (tortoise) (c. 1920 – 2004), long-serving pet on the British television series Blue Peter.
  • Lonesome George, the last known remnant of the tortoise subspecies Geochelone nigra abingdonil
  • George (Jack Russell Terrier) (c. 1993 – 2007), New Zealand dog awarded the PDSA Gold Medal in 2009.
  • Giant George (Great Dane) (born 2005), the tallest dog ever recorded

Other language variants[edit]

The name of George has variants in scores of other languages:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ γεωργός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  2. ^ γῆ, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  3. ^ ἔργον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  4. ^ Jan N. Bremmer, Andrew Erskine, The Gods of Ancient Greece: Identities and Transformations, p.104, Edinburgh University Press, 2010
  5. ^ Michael York, Pagan Theology: Paganism As A World Religion, p.132, NYU Press, 2005
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