Name of the Week

  
An ancient name that seems to reach through millennia
and continents, but always remaining uncommon.
Its quiet, steady strength is now winning hearts in the 21st century.

 

Origin:

The Hebrew name of an angel who, like Michael, is recognised in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Gabriel is mentioned in the Old Testament as the angel who visited Daniel; in the New Testament as the archangel of the Annunciation, and also appears in Islam as the messenger who dictated the words of the Qur'an to the prophet Mohammed.  The name is made up of two parts: גָּ֫בֶר (geber) "man" and אל (el) "God." Properly, geber is said to mean "a valiant man" or a "warrior," but can also be generally used to refer to a man or a person*. It ultimately stems from the base form גָּבַר (gabar) "strong, mighty," leading many to suggest the meaning of "Strong man of God."

Usage:

Usage of the name in Britain can be dated to the 12th century, though instances of the name in documents are uncommon. What we do know is that the name was used at least enough to have established itself as the patronymic surname, Gabriel. Some scholars also believe that the surnames Gabbott, Gabett and Gabbutt derive from Gabriel*. They suggest that the medieval pet-form of Gabriel was most likely Gabb, and therefore Gabb-ot (with the well used French suffix -ot or -et) was its diminutive. The issue is complicated, however, by the use of the Old French gab "mockery, idle talk" in several other surnames.  The name was used intermittently up to the 18th century. Smith-Bannister, in his frequency tables from 1538-1700, ranked Gabriel within the Top 50 in eight out of the sixteen decades of this period, though never particularly high ranking: #40 1550-59; #50 1610-19; #46 1620-29; #46 1630-39; #42 1650-59; #34 1660-69; #38 1670-79; #44 1680-89. The feminine forms Gabriella and Gabriella have been in use in Europe from at least the 16th century, and Gabriel itself has also been used occasionally as a feminine name in Britain from the 19th century.  UK Census records show the consistency of the name for boys, and slightly increased use for girls over the 19th century: 1841 census: 1,156 male; 3 female 1851 census: 1,173 male; 9 female 1861 census: 1,200 male; 8 female 1871 census: 1,310 male; 10 female  1881 census: 1,306 male; 17 female   1891 census: 1,397 male; 14 female   1901 census: 1,420 male; 37 female    Gabriel never broke the Top 100 in Britain in the 20th century, however the name has steadily grown in popularity since the turn the 21st century. Back in 1996, Gabriel ranked at #176 (189 births); it rose to #138 in 1997, and was #117 in 2000. The name finally broke the Top 100 in 2002 at #99, dropped down to #103 the following year, but was back up to #98 in 2004. It has been steadily rising since to #78 (874 births) in 2010. Over the same period, Gabriel has been given to no more than six girls in any given year.  In 2011, Gabriel ranked #75 in England (837 births), #96 in Wales (37 births), #116 (50 births) in Scotland, and #158 (16 births) in Northern Ireland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Gabriel or Mor Gabriel (634–668), 7th bishop of Mor Gabriel Monastery and Tur Abdin in Turkey.  * Gabriel of Kakheti (d.881), Prince of Kakheti from 861–881.  * Gabriel Archer (c.1575–1609), British explorer of the Massachusetts coast. * Gabriel Téllez "Tirso de Molina" (1579–1648), Spanish Baroque dramatist and poet. * Gabriel Báthory (1589–1613), Prince of Transylvania. * Saint Gabriel Lalemant (1610–1649), Jesuit missionary and one of the eight Canadian Martyrs. * Gabriel Mouton (1618–1694), French scientist and founder of the metric system. * Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), Prussian physicist who invented the mercury thermometer and Fahrenheit scale. * Prince Gabriel of Spain (1752–1788), fourth son of King Charles VII and V and Maria Amalia of Saxony.  * Gabriel Prosser (1776–1800), leader of an American slave rebellion in 1800. * Gabriel Voisin (1880–1973), French aviation pioneer. * Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924), notable French composer. Contemporary: * Gabriel Byrne (b.1950), Irish actor. * Prince Gabriel of Belgium (b. 2003), eldest son of Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, the heir apparent to the throne of Belgium. Other: * HMS Gabriel, five ships of the Royal Navy have borne this name. * Gabriel Island, located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Variants:

Gábor (Hungarian), Gabriele (Italian), Gabriels (Latvian), Gabrijel (Croatian), Gavrail (Bulgarian), Gavrel (Yiddish), Gavriil (Russian), Havryil, Havrylo (Ukranian), Jabril, Jibril (Arabic), Kaapo (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

GAYB-ree-əl  [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Bale, Biel, Gabe, Gil

Sibling Names:

Madeleine     Rosalie     Isabella     Tabitha     Lydia     Sophia  Dominic     Julian     Oliver     Edward     Adrian     Jonah

Name Lists:

Popular Biblical Names   Gorgeously Georgian   Dickensian Names   Names from Tennyson   Names from Harry Potter

 

If you like Gabriel you may also like:   Nathaniel, Benedict, Samuel, Reuben, Matthias, Sebastian, Raphael, Jasper, Tobias, Lucas

 

Thanks to Aurora for requesting Gabriel as this week's NotW.