The meaning of the name “Gabriel” is: “Hero of God; God is my strength”.
Additional information: Gabriel is a masculine given name that is used also as a feminine one, and is derived from the Hebrew name meaning ‘God is my strength’. Gabriel was the name of one of the seven archangels, and he appears in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim texts, meaning the name ‘Gabriel’ has spread all over the world in one form or another. In the Old and New Testament, the angel Gabriel makes several appearances; he is the angel who informs Mary that she will give birth to Jesus. According to Hebrew tradition, Gabriel is one of the seven archangels. In English, regularly used diminutives of Gabriel are Gabby and Gabe, with Biel being popular in Catalan. The most common feminine variant of Gabriel is Gabrielle and all of its associated diminutives (Gabby, Gabi, and Brielle, to name a few). Because of the name’s association with three major religions, there are a lot of foreign language variants of the name, including Jabril (Arabic), Gavriel (Greek), and Gabriele (Italian). Common misspellings of Gabriel are ‘Gabrial’, ‘Gaberiel’, and ‘Gabriell’.
Although the name has existed in written texts for thousands of years, it never saw any substantial popularity as a boys name until the late twentieth century, with a popularity spike during the nineties and early twenty-first century, climbing from being the hundredth most popular name in the USA for boys in 1990 to 44th in 2000. In 2014, the name Gabriel was the 24th most popular name for boys in the USA, and the name has consistently been in the top hundred names for boys in England and Wales since 2004. The name saw a brief interlude of use as a girls name in the USA during the nineties, but it never reached higher than 750th in name popularity rankings.
Gabriel is a popular name for monarchs and aristocrats, including Infante Gabriel of Spain, Prince Gabriel Constantinovich of Russia, and Prince Gabriel of Belgium. Other famous people named Gabriel are Gabriel García Márquez (novelist), Gabriel Byrne (actor), Gabriel Faure (composer), Gabriel Macht (actor), and Gabriel Thomson (actor). Famous fictional characters named Gabriel are Gabriel Stokes from The Walking Dead, Gabriel from the television series Supernatural, and Gabriel Gray from the television show Heroes.
The first thing you should know if you are considering Gabriel for your baby's name is that in most countries all over the world the name Gabriel is a unisex name, used as a boy name and a girl name.
The name Gabriel is of Hebrew origin, and is used in more than one countries and different languages of the world, especially English speaking countries, Norwegian speaking countries among others.
If you consider naming your baby Gabriel we recommend you take note of the special meaning and history of the name as your baby’s name will play a big role in its life and your baby will hear it spoken every day. Searching for a name is a very important and fun process as it’s the very first gift you will give to your baby. Many people believe that the name can affect success in life, through their children's working career and other circumstances, so they choose more “respectable” names or name meanings as they believe that the name meaning reflects the personality of the child.
Gabriel Name Meaning
The meaning of Gabriel is “Hero of God; God is my strength”. Keep in mind that many names may have different meanings in other countries and languages, so be careful that the name that you choose doesn’t mean something bad or unpleasant. Search comprehensively and find the name meaning of Gabriel and its name origin or of any other name in our database. Also note the spelling and the pronunciation of the name Gabriel and check the initials of the name with your last name to discover how it looks and sounds. The history and meaning of the name Gabriel is fascinating, learn more about it. (If you know more meanings of the name and you would like to contribute click here to submit another name meaning).
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Name Gabriel Categories
The name Gabriel is in the following categories: American Names, Australian Names, Biblical Names, British Names, Christian Names, English Names, Unisex Names. (If you would like to suggest one or more categories for the name, click here). We have plenty of different baby name categories to search for special meanings plus popular and unique names, search our database before choosing but also note that baby name categories designed to help you and not to be an influential factor when choosing a name. Instead, we recommend that you pay a greater attention to the origin and meaning of the name Gabriel. Read our baby name articles for useful tips regarding baby names and naming your baby. If you are thinking of giving your baby the beautiful name Gabriel, spread the love and share this with your friends.
Popularity of the Name Gabriel
Below you will find the popularity of the baby name Gabriel displayed annually, from 1880 to the present day in our name popularity chart. Hover over or click on the dots that represent a year to see how many babies were given the name for that year, for both genders, if available.
Gabriel Boy Name Popularity Chart
Gabriel Girl Name Popularity Chart
Note:The data above is from the Social Security Administrator of United States, (more info here) from Social Security card applications for births in US for every name, from 1880 up to the present year. The gender associated with the name might be incorrect, as the data presents the record applications without being edited for errors. The name's popularity and ranking is announced annually, so the data for this year will not be available until next year. The more babies that are given a name, the higher popularity ranking the name receives. For names with the same popularity, the tie is solved by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. This means that if two or more names have the same popularity their rankings may differ significantly, as they are set in alphabetical order. If a name has less than five occurrences, the SSA excludes it from the provided data to protect privacy.
If you’re not sure yet, see our wide selection of both boy names and girl names all over the world to find the ideal name for your new born baby. We offer a comprehensive and meaningful list of popular names and cool names along with the name's origin, meaning, pronunciation, popularity and additional information.
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Do your research and choose a name wisely, kindly and selflessly.
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