indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Gender Feminine
Usage Literature
Other Forms FormsGiborc, Giborg, Giborga, Giborge, Giburc, Giburg, Giburge, Guiborc, Guiborg, Guibour, Guibourc, Guiburc, Guiburg, Guitburc, Guitburgi, Gyborc, Gyborg, Gyburce, Gyburg, Gyburge, Kiburc, Kyburc
Meaning & History
In medieval German literature, this is the name of a Saracen princess from the epic poem Willehalm (13th century) written by the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach (died around 1220). Her name was originally Arabel, but she changed it to Gyburc after converting to Christianity.The author based his poem on French 'chansons de geste' and therefore it is heavily influenced by them. This applies to some of the characters' names as well, and Gyburc is one of them: it comes from the medieval French name Guibourg (or one of its many variants), which is ultimately of Germanic origin.Native Germanic names (i.e. without a gallicized intermediary) that are very similar to Gyburc did exist in Wolfram's time, but were already rare by then. Their first element would vary, but they always shared the same second element: Old High German burg meaning "fortress".An example of one such name is Gibborga, of which the recorded variants include Geburch and Giburgis. Its first element consists of Old High German geba meaning "gift", which is closely related to Old High German geban meaning "to give". Also compare the Gothic cognates 饜尣饜尮饜尡饜尠 (giba) meaning "gift" and 饜尣饜尮饜尡饜尠饜尳 (giban) meaning "to give".