Date
Gender Masculine
Usage French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Scripts გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. /ɡa.bʁi.jɛl/(French) /ɡa.ˈβɾjel/(Spanish) /ɡa.bɾi.ˈɛɫ/(European Portuguese) /ɡa.bɾi.ˈɛw/(Brazilian Portuguese) /ˈɡaː.bʁi.eːl/(German) /ˈɡɑː.brɪ.ɛl/(Swedish) /ˈɡɑː.bri.el/(Finnish) /ɡə.βɾi.ˈɛl/(Catalan) /ˈɡeɪ.bɹi.əl/(English) /ɡa.bri.ˈel/(Romanian) /ˈɡab.rjɛl/(Polish) /ˈɡa.brɪ.jɛl/(Czech) /ˈɡa.bri.ɛl/(Slovak) /ˈɡa.bri.eːl/(Latin)
Meaning & History
From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.