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HelpGillian on a boy?
Urm, I have a question (obviously ;) ).
And it's not so much "do you like Gillian on a boy?", but rather "have you ever met/heard of a guy named Gillian?"
Because here's the thing: one of my quite reliable name books claims that, in the English-speaking world, Gillian is/was/has been used a masculine name. As such, it is allegedly an Anglicized form of a Gaelic masculine name Gillean (and pronounced with a "hard G", as in "garden").
Personally, I've always only heard of Gillian as a girls' name (which I love and would consider using, by the way), but then again, that doesn't mean much since I don't live in an English-speaking country. So I thought I'd ask you: Have you ever heard of male Gillians? Is it like Ashley, Lindsay, Kelly, Shannon - or more like "a boy named Sue"?
Oh, and while we are at it: how do you, personally, pronounce that name in general? "Soft G" or "hard G"? To me, it was always clear that this name is pronounced with a "soft G" (simply because that's how I learnt it); reading through the comment section for Gillian, though, apparently some people do pronounce it with a "hard G". Would that depend on the region you are from?
Anyway, thanks in advance!
And it's not so much "do you like Gillian on a boy?", but rather "have you ever met/heard of a guy named Gillian?"
Because here's the thing: one of my quite reliable name books claims that, in the English-speaking world, Gillian is/was/has been used a masculine name. As such, it is allegedly an Anglicized form of a Gaelic masculine name Gillean (and pronounced with a "hard G", as in "garden").
Personally, I've always only heard of Gillian as a girls' name (which I love and would consider using, by the way), but then again, that doesn't mean much since I don't live in an English-speaking country. So I thought I'd ask you: Have you ever heard of male Gillians? Is it like Ashley, Lindsay, Kelly, Shannon - or more like "a boy named Sue"?
Oh, and while we are at it: how do you, personally, pronounce that name in general? "Soft G" or "hard G"? To me, it was always clear that this name is pronounced with a "soft G" (simply because that's how I learnt it); reading through the comment section for Gillian, though, apparently some people do pronounce it with a "hard G". Would that depend on the region you are from?
Anyway, thanks in advance!
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Thanks everyone!
:)
:)
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I've seen one or two 19th-century examples, but they were Scottish, so I assume they were alternatively-spelt hard-G Gilleans. Every single modern Gillian I've encountered has been female and pronounced with a soft G, and I definitely think of it as solely female.
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Thanks! So it kind of is a "forgotten, historic" name? That would explain a lot.
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I can see that Gillean would have a hard G, and that if one wanted it to have three syllables in English one would probably play safe and use the -ian version, thus also avoiding confusion with surnames like Gilham.
I can't recall ever seeing or hearing about a male Gillian. I've known some Julian people, and of course etymologically Julian was unisex in the Middle Ages and ga e rise to Gillian and Jillian. I'd expect a girl Gillian and a boy Julian. But hard-G Gillian would be a natural spelling pronunciation.
When I was in my fifth year of primary school, a new girl named Gillian joined the class and our teacher, who I think used to speak two European languages at home, English certainly and perhaps one of the Scandinavian ones, asked her how it was pronounced. The child innocently explained that it was actually Gillian with a J sound, but that her mother sometimes used the hard G sound when they were out, to impress people!
I also like soft-G Gillian enough to use!
I can't recall ever seeing or hearing about a male Gillian. I've known some Julian people, and of course etymologically Julian was unisex in the Middle Ages and ga e rise to Gillian and Jillian. I'd expect a girl Gillian and a boy Julian. But hard-G Gillian would be a natural spelling pronunciation.
When I was in my fifth year of primary school, a new girl named Gillian joined the class and our teacher, who I think used to speak two European languages at home, English certainly and perhaps one of the Scandinavian ones, asked her how it was pronounced. The child innocently explained that it was actually Gillian with a J sound, but that her mother sometimes used the hard G sound when they were out, to impress people!
I also like soft-G Gillian enough to use!
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Ah, so the hard-G pronunciation is the "posh" version! ;)
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I feel like I did once know one, but so far back in the dark mists of my childhood that I can't really definitely say much about it.
I could see how Gillian could have once been a male name, since Jillian is a form of Julian, which used to be unisex/feminine, just like Christian.
I prefer Gillian with a hard G, but soft G seems to be the way most pronounce it (and, as it's related to Jillian, I suppose that makes sense). It's interesting though that Gillian is most often presumed to be soft-g but names like Gilligan and Gillis are hard-g.
I could see how Gillian could have once been a male name, since Jillian is a form of Julian, which used to be unisex/feminine, just like Christian.
I prefer Gillian with a hard G, but soft G seems to be the way most pronounce it (and, as it's related to Jillian, I suppose that makes sense). It's interesting though that Gillian is most often presumed to be soft-g but names like Gilligan and Gillis are hard-g.
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Pronounced with a hard G, it definitely sounds like a familiar boys name. I've never met a Gillian in real life though, male or female. Maybe I've heard of it as a surname? I can't remember.
I have met some people named Jillian, all female. I've always known that as a "J" sound. Gillian looks like it has a hard G to me, but if I saw it on a girl I'd assume it was a soft G. Mostly because soft G makes it sound feminine and hard G makes it sound masculine in my opinion. I don't know if that's true, but that's my perception.
I'm in the US, if that makes any difference.
I have met some people named Jillian, all female. I've always known that as a "J" sound. Gillian looks like it has a hard G to me, but if I saw it on a girl I'd assume it was a soft G. Mostly because soft G makes it sound feminine and hard G makes it sound masculine in my opinion. I don't know if that's true, but that's my perception.
I'm in the US, if that makes any difference.
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I pronounce it "Jill-lee-in" (say it fast). It would actually sound okay on a boy, with Gil for a nickname. If it was pronounced with a hard G, that would make me think of Gilligan's Island...but that could just be me. :)
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I live in an English-speaking country and I've never heard of a male named Gillian. I currently work with a female Jillian, that spelling, an alternate spelling that is fairly popular. I've never heard that it can be a male name.
I pronounce it with a soft G. I've never heard it pronounced with a hard G. Not sure if it would depend upon the region. I've lived in many different regions of the US and never heard it pronounced with a hard G.
I pronounce it with a soft G. I've never heard it pronounced with a hard G. Not sure if it would depend upon the region. I've lived in many different regions of the US and never heard it pronounced with a hard G.
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I have only heard it on girls and with a soft G sound. I think with a hard G it could be masculine sounding.
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No, I've never seen Gillian as a man's first name. I haven't heard it pronounced with a hard G either.
However, my own name book also lists Gillean (hard G) as a masculine Gaelic name meaning "servant of St John" and lists Gillian (masculine, hard G) as a variant of it. It says Gillean is rare and almost exclusive to Scotland.
So either it's the same book, or the same original source?
Anyway, where I live it is certainly not a unisex name. Gillian is Jillian and feminine, and using a hard G is a naive error. The hard G isn't wrong - the word gill has one, after all. But that's not the convention I know for Gillian.
I think a man named Gillian prn. Ghillian would not be like a boy named Sue. He'd be like a boy named Meredith prn meREDith.
However, my own name book also lists Gillean (hard G) as a masculine Gaelic name meaning "servant of St John" and lists Gillian (masculine, hard G) as a variant of it. It says Gillean is rare and almost exclusive to Scotland.
So either it's the same book, or the same original source?
Anyway, where I live it is certainly not a unisex name. Gillian is Jillian and feminine, and using a hard G is a naive error. The hard G isn't wrong - the word gill has one, after all. But that's not the convention I know for Gillian.
I think a man named Gillian prn. Ghillian would not be like a boy named Sue. He'd be like a boy named Meredith prn meREDith.
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So either it's the same book, or the same original source?
The book where I got this information is called "Duden. Lexikon der Vornamen", a German name book. They do mention that Gillean/male-Gillian means "servant of St John", but omit that it's rare and more of a Scottish name (and, at this point, probably a rather historic one at that) than one that is easily recognized in the entire English-speaking world (as opposed to girl-Gillian, which has its own entry).
All they say is that, in a German-speaking context, Gillian is a borrowing from the English name pool ;)
That's also what had me confused. Gillian and Jillian on a girl are two names that are not exactly common here (although Jill, and sometimes Jil, seems to be getting sort of "trendy", at least it's been cropping up quite frequently in BAs in the past few years), but they aren't unheard of either. Male-Gillian on the other hand...
The book where I got this information is called "Duden. Lexikon der Vornamen", a German name book. They do mention that Gillean/male-Gillian means "servant of St John", but omit that it's rare and more of a Scottish name (and, at this point, probably a rather historic one at that) than one that is easily recognized in the entire English-speaking world (as opposed to girl-Gillian, which has its own entry).
All they say is that, in a German-speaking context, Gillian is a borrowing from the English name pool ;)
That's also what had me confused. Gillian and Jillian on a girl are two names that are not exactly common here (although Jill, and sometimes Jil, seems to be getting sort of "trendy", at least it's been cropping up quite frequently in BAs in the past few years), but they aren't unheard of either. Male-Gillian on the other hand...
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Huh, interesting! May I ask what region you are from? Just asking because the soft G pronunciation seems to be the far more common one :)
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If you pronounce it with a hard G, and can definitely see it being a boy's name. That sounds masculine, and I actually like that idea! I've never heard it pronounced with a hard G though, only a soft G, and that's how I pronounce it too. My guess is the hard G pronunciation happened because of people who didn't know how it was actually pronounced. But it is quite possible it has a separate etymology.
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