George

George m

English: from Old French, from Latin Georgius, from Greek Georgios (from geōrgos farmer, a compound of gē earth + ergein to work). This was the name of several early saints, including the shadowy figure who is now the patron of England (as well as of Germany and Portugal). Gibbon identified him with a Cappadocian leader of this name, but this cannot be right. If the saint existed at all, he was perhaps martyred in Palestine in the persecutions instigated by the Emperor Diocletian at the beginning of the 4th century. The popular legend in which the hero slays a dragon is a medieval Italian invention. He was for a long time a more important saint in the Orthodox Church than in the West, and the name was not much used in England during the Middle Ages, even after St George came to be regarded as the patron of England in the 14th century. The real impulse for its popularity was the accession of the first king of England of this name, who came from Germany in 1714 and brought many German retainers with him. It has been one of the most popular English male names ever since.

Cognates: Irish Gaelic: Seoirse. Scottish Gaelic: Seòras, Deòrsa. Welsh: Siôr, Sior(y)s. French: Georges. Provençal: Jori. Italian: Giorgio. Spanish, Portuguese: Jorge. Catalan: Jordi. Basque: Gorka. German: Georg; Jörg (dialectal); Jürgen (Low German in origin). Dutch, Frisian: Joris, Joren, Jurg. Danish: Jørgen, Jørn. Swedish: Göran, Jöran, Jörgen, Örjan. Finnish: Yrjö. Russian: Georgi, Yuri, Yegor. Polish: Jerzy. Czech: Jiří. Hungarian: György. Romanian: Gheorghe, Iorghu. See also YORICK (SEE Yorick).

Pet forms: English: Georgie, Geordie. Russian: Goga, Gora, Gorya. Polish: Jurek.

Feminine forms: English: GEORGIA (SEE Georgia), GEORGINA (SEE Georgina), GEORGETTE (SEE Georgette). Scottish Gaelic: Seòrdag.