George (given name)

George

St. George depicted slaying a dragon
Pronunciation	English: /ˈdʒɔːrdʒ/ JORJ
Gender	Male
Name day	April 23
Origin
Meaning	"Farmer" or "Earthworker"
Region of origin	Ancient Greece
Other names
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 (English: /ˈdʒɔːrdʒ/) 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.

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.

See: All pages with titles beginning with George

• 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 upcoming 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

Name list

This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.