Gabriel — Name Day, Meaning & Origin

Male Polish given name · rank 21 among male names (2024)

An archangel's name of Hebrew origin, "God is my strength".

Pronunciation

/ˈɡab.rjɛl/ · GAH-bryel

Meaning

Gabriel is a name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my strength" or "man of God". It joins a word for strength and a strong man with the name of God.

Origin & history

The name belongs to one of the archangels of biblical tradition — a messenger of God who in the New Testament announces to Mary the birth of Jesus, and in Islamic tradition is held to be the angel who delivered the Quran. Thanks to this religious standing the name spread across the Christian world, and in Poland it enjoys great and growing popularity today.

Etymology

It comes from the Hebrew Gavriʾel, composed of gever — "strong man, hero" and el — "God". It belongs to the theophoric names, those containing an element referring to God.

Declension (Polish cases)

Nominative	Gabriel
Genitive	Gabriela
Dative	Gabrielowi
Accusative	Gabriela
Instrumental	Gabrielem
Locative	Gabrielu
Vocative	Gabrielu

Name day (imieniny)

In Poland, Gabriel celebrates its name day on 27 February, 24 March, 29 September.

Diminutives

Gabryś, Gabrysiek, Gabrielek, Gabi.

Forms in other languages

Equivalents in other languages include Gabriele (Italian), Gabriël (Dutch), Gábor and Gábriel (Hungarian), Gavriil (Russian, Greek) and Jibril (Arabic).

Notable people named Gabriel

Gabriel García Márquez — Colombian writer and Nobel laureate, author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

Gabriel Narutowicz — The first president of the Republic of Poland, sworn in in 1922.

Gabriel Fauré — French composer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, author of the famous "Requiem".

Popularity

In recent years Gabriel has been among the well-liked and frequently given male names in Poland.