Georg

Meaning: Its source is Georgios, a Greek name meaning "Farmer."

Languages: This boy's name is used in German.

Source Forms: Georgios

Narrative: St. George was named Patron Saint of England in the 14th century. The story of his 4th-century martyrdom in Palestine was brought back to Britain by Crusaders, and embellished with the legend of his fighting the devil in the form of a dragon.

However, the name was not enthusiastically adopted by English speakers until the ascendancy of King George I in the early 18th century.

George I's grandson, George III (known to Americans as the tyrant condemned in the Declaration of Independence), was loved and celebrated in the United Kingdom for his interest in agriculture. As if to emphasize the irony of a king whose name means ''farmer,'' he became known as ''The Farmer King.''

Use of the name in America owes a great deal to one of George III's opponents, George Washington.

Arts and Music

Georg Solti (born 1912, died 1997)
Hungarian-born English musician and conductor.
- Won 22 Grammys for his recordings (see list of Conductors)
Georg Phillipp Telemann (born 1681, died 1767)
German composer.
- Composer of sacred music, operas and instrumental works (see list of Baroque Composers)

Science and Philosophy

Georg von Békésy (born 1899, died 1972)
Hungarian-American physiologist who explained the functioning of the inner ear.
- 1961 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology/Medicine (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine)
J. Georg Bednorz
Swiss physicist who helped discover new superconducting materials.
- 1987 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, with K. Alex Müller (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics)
Georg W. Hegel (born 1770, died 1831)
German philosopher.
- Founded the absolute Idealist philosophy known as Hegelianism (see list of Philosophers)
Georg Wittig (born 1897, died 1987)
German chemist who discovered ylides (substances that aid in the synthesis of organic compounds).
- 1979 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, with Herbert Brown (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry)

Stage and Screen

Georg Solti (born 1912, died 1997)
Hungarian-born English musician and conductor.
- 1993 Kennedy Center Honors recipient (see list of Kennedy Center Honors Recipients)