Gabriel

Gabriel is the English form of the Biblical Hebrew Gavri'el. The name is built from gever, a strong man or hero, a small -i meaning 'my', and El, God. That is why you will see it rendered in slightly different ways: 'God is my strong man', 'hero of God' or 'God is my hero'. The sources agree on the roots and differ only on how literally to translate them.

Its spread is owed to the archangel Gabriel, the messenger who appears in the Book of Daniel and in Luke's Gospel. In England the name was in occasional use as early as the 12th century, and across Christian Europe it settled into local versions: Gabriele in Italian, Gábor in Hungarian, Gavrilo in Serbian, Gavriel in modern Hebrew, and Jibril in Arabic.

English speakers say GAY-bree-ul, three syllables with the stress on the first, which sets it apart from the French ga-bree-EL. Gabe is the usual English short form, while Gabi and Gaby are more common on the Continent.

Being three syllables long, Gabriel pairs neatly with a short middle name such as James, Rhys or Luke. For brothers, other names of Hebrew origin like Samuel, Noah or Elijah sit comfortably beside it, and for a sister, Hannah, Grace or Eleanor share its classic feel. A name this international also looks lovely spelled out on a birth poster.