Gabriella
Definition
The source of this biblical name, found as Gavreil in the original Hebrew, is probably gheber meaning "man" plus the standard angel name-ending -el meaning "god". There is, however, an alternative interpretation, based on Hebrew gabar "strong person". This means that the name is open to a number of interpretations. The name is usually said to be "man of God", but it has also been interpreted as "God has given me strength", "mighty God" or "God is strong". In the Bible the archangel Gabriel has the role of messenger, conveying God's messages to mortals. He appears to Daniel in the Old Testament (Daniel 8) and to Zacharias in the New (Luke 1), but most famously Gabriel is the messenger who tells the Virgin Mary that she has been chosen to be the mother of Christ.
His appearance in innumerable paintings of the Annunciation has made him a familiar figure. It is this role as messenger which has led the Catholic Church to appointed him as the patron saint of telecommunications. Gabriel is one of only two angels named in the Bible, the other being Michael, although Raphael is named in the Apocrypha.The feminine forms of Gabriel are most commonly Gabrielle (originally a French form), the Italian Gabriella, or Gabriela, the Spanish form. Gabriele is a form used by German speakers These are shortened to Gabe, Gaby, Gabby and Gabey, forms used for both sexes, while forms such as Abby (more usually a shortening of Abigail) are used for girls.
Brielle is used as an independent name for girls in the USA, and while it is not yet common, it has been increasing steadily in use since the late nineties. Gay is used as a masculine short form in Ireland. Gabor is the Hungarian masculine form. However the French masculine name Gabin and its various feminine derivatives, a name which is increasingly popular in France and which looks like a pet form of Gabriel, is actually a form of the Italian name Gavino, the name of an early saint.
In Islam the angel appears as Djibril, Jibril or Jabri(e)l, depending on how it is transliterated, but it is not much used as a given name.At one time Gabriel was a rare name in English-speaking countries, and something of a marker of Catholicism, which is why it was most likely to be found in Ireland. However it is currently enjoying worldwide popularity. While it is only just getting into the top hundred boy's names in England and Wales, it is in the top thirty in the USA and in the top five choices in countries as diverse as Brazil and Lithuania. The feminine forms have been moderately well used by English speakers for longer and are also showing world-wide popularity, although it is not as great as that for the masculine forms. Apart from the archangel, prominent bearers of the masculine name are the Colombian Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Márquez; Gay Byrne the Irish actor and the French composer Gabriel Fauré; while the many bearers of the feminine forms include the Argentinean tennis player Gabriela Sabatini and the British singer Gabrielle.
Sex
Girls
Naming Your Baby
Copyright © 2007 Julia Cresswell
