7 entries from the /names/ index. Names with their own individual page link out.
Meaning: Latin/Gaulish of contested etymology; possibly Germanic roots meaning "tribe-woman."
Figure: Saint Genevieve; patroness of Paris (c. 422-500).
Saint Genevieve is the patroness of Paris, the fifth-century woman whose prayers tradition credits with sparing the city from Attila the Hun. The Catholic calendar commemorates her on January 3.
Meaning: Greek "farmer" or "earth-worker" (georgos).
Figure: Saint George; Roman soldier and martyr (c. 280-303).
Saint George is the early-fourth-century Roman soldier and martyr, the figure of the legendary dragon-slaying that became one of the most-painted Christian subjects in medieval and early modern art. He is the patron of England, Georgia, Russia, and many other countries and regions. The Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox calendars commemorate him on April 23.
Meaning: Germanic "spear of strength."
Figure: Saint Gertrude the Great; thirteenth-century mystic of Helfta (1256-1302).
Saint Gertrude the Great is the thirteenth-century Cistercian (or possibly Benedictine; sources vary) mystic of Helfta in Saxony, whose visions and writings shaped Catholic devotional tradition particularly around the Sacred Heart. The Catholic calendar commemorates her on November 16.
Meaning: Hebrew "feller" or "hewer."
Figure: Judge of Israel; defeated the Midianites with three hundred men (Judges 6-8).
Gideon is one of the major judges of Israel, the figure of the fleece test (Judges 6:36-40) and of the victory over Midian with the three hundred (Judges 7). The name is in use particularly in English-speaking Protestant and Evangelical families.
Meaning: English "grace" (from Latin gratia, the Christian theological term for God's unmerited favor).
Figure: The principal Christian theological concept; not a saint's name as such, but used in countless Christian families.
Grace is among the most widely used Christian women's names in the English-speaking world, named directly for the Christian theological concept of God's unmerited favor. The name has been in continuous use across the Protestant traditions since the Puritan period and is widely used in Catholic and other Christian families.
Meaning: Greek "watchful" (from gregoreo).
Figure: Multiple major saints: Gregory the Theologian (Gregory of Nazianzus); Gregory of Nyssa; Gregory Palamas; Gregory the Great (Gregory I, Pope).
Multiple Gregorys are honored across the Christian traditions. In Orthodox tradition, the three principal Gregorys are: Gregory of Nazianzus ("the Theologian," fourth-century Cappadocian Father); Gregory of Nyssa (his brother, also Cappadocian Father); and Gregory Palamas (fourteenth-century Hesychast theologian). In Catholic tradition, the principal Gregory is Gregory the Great (Pope, 590-604), who shaped Catholic liturgy and missionary tradition. Sixteen popes have taken the name. The Catholic calendar honors Gregory the Great on September 3.
Meaning: Spanish, the name of the Marian apparition site at Tepeyac in Mexico, 1531.
Figure: Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Guadalupe is the Marian name referring to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared to Saint Juan Diego at Tepeyac in Mexico in December 1531. The Catholic feast on December 12 is one of the most-celebrated Marian feasts in Latin America and (in the United States) particularly in Hispanic Catholic communities. The name has been in continuous Mexican and Mexican-American Catholic use.