Friday, May 25, 2018

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Gus

Gus seems to be a rather polarizing nickname: either you find it adorable, or you find it hopelessly dorky. In the US, it's usually short for the various forms of August, occasionally Gustavo or Constantine, but simply Gus on its own is on the rise as well.
And gosh-darn-it, I think Gussie is adorable for a girl, so let's go ahead and see if we can find a few girl Gus-names, too.

Boys:
  • Agus (AG-oos, Indonesian)--prob. "handsome"
  • Angus (ANG-gus, Irish, Scottish, English)--poss. from Old Irish "one strength" or "one choice". Also spelled Aengus or Aonghus
  • Argus (AR-gus, [Latinized] Greek)--"shining"
  • Fergus (FUR-gus, English, Irish)--from Old Irish "man-strength"
  • Gaius (GYE-us, Latin)--origin uncertain, poss. from Latin "rejoice". Another form was Gaianus (GYE-an-us).
  • Galenus (gah-LEEN-us, [Latinized] Greek)--"calm"
  • Gentius (GEN-tee-us, [Hellenized] Illyrian)--poss. "beget". [the flower gentian is derived from Gentius]
  • Goswin (GAHZ-win, [archaic] English; GOHZ-veen, German)--from Germanic, "Goth-friend"
  • Gusten (GOOS-ten, Swedish)--from Old Norse, "god-stone"
  • Gustin (goos-AHn, French)--form of Augustine
  • Lugus (LOO-gus, Celtic mythology [Latinized])--origin uncertain, poss. "light", "black", or "swear an oath"
  • Margus (MAHR-goos, Estonian)--form of Marcus

Girls:
  • Angustias (ahn-GOOST-yahs, Spanish)--"anguish" [a Marian name]
  • Gusta (GOOS-tah, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian; GUS-tah, English)--short form of Gustava or Augusta.
    Other forms include Gustė (GOOS-tay, Lithuanian), Gustel (GOOS-tel, German), and Gusten (GOOS-ten, Swedish [much more common on boys, however]). 
  • Gustava (goos-TAH-vah, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish)--feminine of Gustav (Old Norse, "Goth-staff").
    Another [rather rare] form is Gustavia (goos-TAHV-yah, English, Swedish). 

No comments:

Post a Comment