All about Arthurian names, Part II (Male names, G–L)

How Sir Galahad, Sir Bors and Sir Percival Were Fed with the Sanct Grael; but Sir Percival’s Sister Died by the Way (1864), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Gaheris is the brother of Gawain, Gareth, Mordred, and Agravain, and the son of King Lot. His mother is either Morgause or Belisent. Because his name is so similar to Gahariet, the earliest form of Gareth, some scholars believe they may have originally been one and the same. If this name isn’t related to Gareth, it may derive from the Welsh name Gweir, which can mean circle, loop, collar, bend, or hay.

Galahad comes from the original French name Galaad, which probably derives from the Old French name for the Gilead region in Israel and thus means “heap of witness.” Sir Galahad is the son of Elaine and Lancelot, and the purest Knight of the Round Table.

Galehaut is probably Breton or Welsh, and may be related to the Middle French word hault (elevated, high). He’s the son of a giantess, a good friend of Lancelot, and sometimes called the High Prince. This name and character are completely separate from Galahad, despite the similar spellings.

Gareth was created by Thomas Malory in the 15th century, and based on the French name Gaheriet or Guerrehet. The Middle French form is Gaheriet. Its ultimate origin may be the Welsh name Gwrhyd (valour) or Gwairydd (hay lord). Gareth is a brother of Gawain.

Gawain may derive from the Old Welsh name Gwalchmai, which is composed of roots gwalch (hawk) and Mai (May) or mai (field, plain). The French form is Gauvain; an alternate English form is Gawaine; the Picard form is Gueuvain; and the Latin form is Gualguainus.

1903 Howard Pyle drawing of Sir Gawain

Geraint may be a Welsh form of the Latin name Gerontius, which derives from the Greek word geron (old man). He’s Enid’s husband and a Knight of the Round Table.

Gliglois is Gawain’s squire.

Gorlois is Igraine’s husband.

Griflet is a Knight of the Round Table.

Guigenor is the son of Clarissant and Guiromelant.

Guiomar may derive from the Ancient Germanic name Wigmar, which is composed of roots wig (battle, war) and mari (famous). He’s a cousin of Lady Guinevere.

Guiromelant is Clarissant’s husband and Guigenor’s father.

1898 George Wooliscroft Rhead and Louis Rhead illustration of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “Geraint and Enid”

Hector comes from the Greek word hektor (holding fast), and ultimately echo (to hold, to possess). Though the best-known classical bearer of this name is the Trojan warrior in The Iliad, this is also the name of King Arthur’s foster father.

Hiderus is a Latinised form of Edern, which derives from Old Welsh root edyrn (heavy, immense; wonderful, prodigious, marvellous). Previously, it was wrongly believed to come from the Latin word aeternus (eternal). This form of the name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s chronicle Historia Regum Brittaniae. Edern is a Knight of the Round Table.

Hoel is the Breton form of the Welsh name Hywel, which comes from Old Welsh Higuel. Loosely, it translates as “prominent, eminent,” but it literally means “well-seen.” He’s a Breton king who allies with King Arthur.

Iwein is the German form of Owain, which probably ultimately derives from the Greek name Eugenios (well-born). This form of the name appears in Hartmann von Aue’s epic poem Iwein, written about 1200. He’s a Knight of the Round Table.

Jaufre is the Languedocian form of Jaufré, which in turn is the Gascon and Provençal form of the English and French name Geoffrey. The first part of the name may derive from Old German gawi (territory), walah (foreigner), or *gautaz (Geat, a North Germanic tribe), and the second part comes from Old German fridu (peace). Jaufre is the eponymous hero of the only known surviving Occitan Arthurian romance, and he’s equivalent to Sir Griflet.

Piety: The Knights of the Round Table about to Depart in Quest of the Holy Grail (1849), by William Pyle

Kalogreant is the German form of Calogrenant, a Knight of the Round Table. This name also appears in Hartmann von Aue’s poem.

Kay comes from the Welsh name Cai or Cei, and possibly ultimately the Latin name Gaius, which may derive from the Latin verb gaudere (to rejoice) or be of unknown Etruscan origin. Sir Kay is one of the first Knights of the Round Table, and was originally written as a brave hero. Later on, esp. in the poems of Chrétien de Troyes (who uses the spelling Kex), he transmogrifies into an unrefined boor.

Kea is a Cornish name which probably derives from the same roots, though he’s completely different from Kay. He convinces Queen Guinevere to become a nun after the death of King Arthur.

Lancelot and Guinevere (1890s), by Herbert James Draper

Lamorak may derive from the French l’amour (the love) or be a corruption of the Middle Welsh name Llywarch, which in turn may come from the hypothetical Old Celtic name *Lugumarcos and thus ultimately the Old Welsh roots llyw (leader) and march (horse). The first part of the name may also come from Lugos, the Celtic god of craftsmanship and commerce, which possibly has the Indo–European root *lewk- (light, brightness), *lewg- (dark), or *lewgh- (oath). Lamorak is a Knight of the Round Table, and sometimes named as a brother of Percival.

Lancelot may be an Old French nickname for the Ancient Germanic name Lanzo, which in turn was originally a nickname for Old Saxon and Old Frankish names starting with Land (same meaning in English). During the Middle Ages, it became associated with the Old French word lance (spear, lance). Sir Lancelot is the bravest Knight of the Round Table, though he later causes the ruin of Arthur’s kingdom when he starts an affair with Queen Guinevere.

Queen Guinevere bidding farewell to Sir Lancelot (19th century), by Emil Teschendorff

Leodegrance is Queen Guinevere’s father,

Lionel is a French diminutive of Léon (lion). He’s a brother of Sir Bors.

Lohengrin derives from the German name for the French Lorraine region, and thus means “kingdom of Lothar.” Lothar in turn comes from the Ancient Germanic name Hlothar (famous army) and roots hlut (lord, famous) and heri (army). The German form is Loherangrin. He’s a son of Sir Parzival, the eponymous hero of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s 13th century romance.

Lot, or Loth, is Sir Gawain’s father and King of Lothian. This name is completely separate from the Hebrew name Lot, which rhymes with “boat” and means “veil, covering.”

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The Hs of Ukrainian names

Male names:

Havriyil is a rare form of Gabriel, which comes from the Hebrew Gavriel (God is my strong man). Though the letter G doesn’t occur very often in Ukrainian, Gavrylo is their traditional form of that name.

Havrylo is a folk form of Gabriel.

Hedymin is the Ukrainian form of Lithuanian name Gediminas, or Gedminas. It derives from Old Lithuanian gedauti (to ask) or modern Lithuanian gedėti (to grieve, mourn, miss, pine, yearn, long for), and minėti (“to celebrate” or “to remember, commemorate”).

Hennadiy is the Ukrainian form of the Russian name Gennadiy, which comes from Greek name Gennadios. Its root is the Greek word gennadas (generous, noble).

Heorhiy is the Ukrainian form of George, which comes from Greek name Georgios and means “farmer” (or, more literally, earthworker).

Herasym is a rare Ukrainian form of the Russian name Gerasim, which comes from Greek name Gerasimos and the word geras (gift, honour).

Hermohen is an archaic form of the Greek name Hermogenes (born of Hermes).

Hipparkh is the Ukrainian form of Greek name Hipparchos, which derives from roots hippos (horse) and archos (master) or arche (source, origin).

Hlib is the Ukrainian form of the Russian name Gleb, which derives from Old Norse name Guðleifr (heir of God).

Hlykeriy is the Ukrainian form of Greek name Glykerios (sweet).

Hnat is the Ukrainian form of Latin name Ignatius, which comes from Roman family name Egnatius, of unknown Etruscan origin. The spelling was later changed because of the Latin word ignis (fire).

Hryhoriy is the Ukrainian form of Gregory, which comes from Greek name Gregorios and means “alert, watchful.” Other forms of this name are Hryhor and Hryhir. The diminutive is Hrysha.

Hrytsko was the main folk form of Hryhoriy until the early 20th century. It’s now used as a nickname.

Female names:

Halena is an archaic form of Halyna (see below).

Halyna is the Ukrainian form of the Russian and Bulgarian name Galina. This is the feminine form of the Greek name Galenos, or Galen, which means “calm.” The diminutives include Halya and Halyusya.

Hapka is a folk form of Agatha, which comes from Greek name Agathe and means “good.”

Hertruda is an archaic form of Gertrude (spear of strength).

Hlykeriya is the Ukrainian form of Greek name Glykeria (sweet).

Horpyna is a folk form of Latin name Agrippina. This is a feminine form of Agrippa, which may derive from Greek roots agrios (wild) and hippos (horse), or be of Etruscan origin.

The Hs of Medieval Tuscan and Italian names

Sorry, I could only find two names for today, and was unable to locate any male names in either category. It’s a very uncommon letter in modern Italian names too.

Female names:

Honesta (I) comes from a Latin word meaning “reputable, honourable, respected, distinguished.”

Humiliana (I) comes from the Latin word humilis (humble).

A double warlike name

Polish writer Jadwiga Łuszczewska (pseudonym Deotyma), 1834–1908, painted by Mateusz Zarzecki ca. 1848–52

Hadewig is an Ancient Germanic name derived from roots hadu (combat, battle) and wig (war). Like many other names of Germanic origin, its meaning relates to war and battle. This is such a striking contrast to how many Slavic names have meanings related to love, peace, glory, dearness, and flowers.

Probably the form most familiar to people is the modern German form Hedwig, which hasn’t charted in Germany for decades. It was in the Top 20 from 1890–97, and again in 1901 and from 1903–08. Needless to say, it’s considered very old-fashioned for a reason!

Other forms of this name include:

1. Hedvig is Scandinavian and Hungarian. The Scandinavian nickname is Hedda, and the Hungarian nickname is Hédi. In 2019, this name was #78 in Sweden and #65 in Norway.

2. Hedviga is Slovak, Slovenian, Latvian, and Croatian.

3. Hedvika is Czech and Slovenian.

4. Hadewych is a rare Dutch name. It was much more common in the Middle Ages. The nickname is Hedy (also used in German).

5. Hedwiga is Czech, Romanian, and Medieval Polish.

6. Hedwige is French.

7. Heiðveig is Faroese. In Icelandic, this is a separate name derived from roots heiðr (honour) and veig (power, strength).

8. Hekewika is a rare Hawaiian form.

9. Heiðvík is Faroese.

10. Hedla is a Silesian–German nickname sometimes used as a full given name.

Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (1759–1818), Queen of Sweden and Norway, and a prolific diarist

11. Edvige is Italian and Corsican. The nickname is Edda.

12. Edwige is French.

13. Edubige is Basque.

14. Eduvixes is Asturian and Old Galician.

15. Edviga is a rare Moldovan, Romanian, and Portuguese form.

16. Edwikke is East Prussian–German.

17. Edvija is Old Occitan.

18. Eduvigis is Medieval Spanish and Catalan.

19. Edwiga is Medieval Polish.

20. Avoise is Medieval French.

French stage and film actor Edwige Feuillère, 1907–98

21. Jadvyga is Lithuanian.

22. Jadwiga is Polish. I have two characters by this name, one a minor character who goes by Wisia, and the other a main character (in an entirely different set of books) who’s referred to by her full name in the narrative and called Wisia and Jadzia. Other nicknames include Jagusia, Jagienka, Jagna, Jagoda (which also means “berry”), Jaga, and Iga. Both of my Jadwigas were born in the 1920s.

23. Yadviga is Belarusian.

24. Heta is Finnish.

How an Ancient Germanic name became a French classic

French scholar, intellectual, writer, and nun Héloïse d’Argenteuil
(ca. 1090–16 May 1164)

Helewidis is an Ancient Germanic name derived from roots heil (healthy, hale) and wid (wide). In Proto–Germanic, the name was Hailawidis, “holy wood.” Due to cultural osmosis, it eventually was adopted into Old French as Héloïse. Probably the most famous bearer was the above-pictured Héloïse d’Argenteuil, one of the most educated and intelligent women of the Middle Ages. She was famous in her own right long before Pierre Abélard came along!

Other forms of this lovely name include:

1. Éloïse is modern French. This is my character Adicia’s middle name. Though her dad cares less about any of his nine kids, he nevertheless made sure they all got at least one French name, because he’s so proud of having 100% French blood. Without the diacritical marks, as they both say several times, the name would look like it’s pronounced El-WAZ.

As simply Eloise, the name is English. Many people are familiar with the 1950s Eloise series about a girl who lives in Manhattan’s glamourous Plaza Hotel. “Dear Eloise” is also a 1966 Hollies’ song, after which I named my tenth journal.

Dr. Eloísa Díaz Insunza (1866–1950), first woman to attend the University of Chile’s medical school, and South America’s first female doctor

2. Eloísa is Spanish, Catalan, and Galician. The variant Eloisa is Italian. Eloïsa is also Catalan.

3. Heloísa is Portuguese. The variant Heloïsa is a rare Catalan form. Heloisa is German, Slovak, and Czech.

4. Elouise is English. I’m not a fan of this spelling!

5. Helouise is also English. I have a character by this name, who goes by Hellie, but if I’d created her at a much older age, I probably would’ve used the more traditional spelling.

6. Heloiza is Polish and Slovenian.

7. Eloiza is Russian, Azeri, and Brazilian–Portuguese. The variant Eloīza is Latvian.

8. Elouisa is English.

9. Eloisia is Italian.