Gebre ( gez, ገብረ, ''Gäbrä'') is a common masculine

Ethiopian and Eritrean name Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts o ...

, meaning "servant" in Ge'ez. It is used as both a stand-alone given name and, frequently, as a prefix (or stem) in religiously themed compound names; e.g. Gebreselassie ("Servant of

the Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...

"), Gebremeskel ("Servant of

the Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars. Cross or The Cross may also refer to: Religion * Christian cross, the basic symbol of Christianity * Cross necklace, a necklace worn by adherents of the Christian r ...

"), or Gebremariam ("Servant of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

"). Gebru is a variant, often seen in

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literature ...

. As with other such compound names, when written in

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

in a

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...

, it is often abbreviated as "G/" (e.g. G/Selassie for Gebreselassie). It may likewise also be transliterated with a hyphen or a space connecting it to the root, potentially obscuring the nature of the name.

List of people named Gebre or variant

Afevork Ghevre Jesus Afäwarq Gäbrä Iyäsus ( am, አፈወርቅ ገብረ ኢየሱስ, āfewerik’i gebire īyesusi; spelled in it, Afevork Ghevre Jesus or Āfeworq Gebre Īyesūs; spelled in English Afewark Gebre Iyasus; 10 July 1868 – 25 September 1947) w ...

(1868–1947), Ethiopian writer, wrote the first novel in Amharic * Ghebreselassie Yoseph ( late 20th century), Minister of Finance of Eritrea from February 1997 to 2001 * Bogaletch Gebre (born July 27, 195x, exact year unknown), Ethiopian women's-rights activist *

Eleni Gabre-Madhin Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin (born 12 July 1964) is an Ethiopian-born Swiss economist, and former chief executive officer of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). She has had many years of experience working on agricultural markets – particularly ...

or Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin, Ethiopian economist, chief executive officer of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) *

Gabra Manfas Qeddus Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus ( Ge'ez:አቡነ ገብረ መንፈስ ቅዱስ; also familiarly called Abo) was an Egyptian Christian saint, and the founder of the monastery of Zuqualla. The fifth day of every month in the Ethiopian calendar is de ...

, Ethiopian Christian saint, founder of the monastery of Zuqualla *

Gebregziabher Gebremariam Gebregziabher Gebremariam (born September 10, 1984 in Tigray) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. He established himself at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning the junior title in 2002 and two silver medals in the senior ...

(born 1984), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Aleqa

Gebre Hanna Aleqa Gebre Hanna ( gez, አለቃ ገብረ ሀና; November 1821 – 1902) was an Ethiopian poet, scholar and religious preacher in 19th-century renowned in Amharic oral tradition for (to quote Donald Levine) his "quick and biting wit." He was ...

( late 19th century),

debtera A debtera (or dabtara; Ge'ez/Tigrinya/ Amharic: ደብተራ (''Däbtära)''; plural, Ge'ez\Tigrinya: ''debterat'', Amharic: ''debtrawoch'' ) is an itinerant religious figure among the Beta Israel and in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewa ...

of the Ethiopian Church *

Gebre Krestos Gebre Krestos ( gez, ገብረ ክሪስቶስ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 24 March 1832 to his death on 8 June 1832. He was the son of Gebre Mesay, allegedly a descendant of a younger son of Emperor Fasilides. Reign He was a figurehead, set ...

( 1830s), Emperor of Ethiopia * Gebre Kristos Desta (1932–1981), Ethiopian modern artist *

Gebre Mesqel Lalibela Lalibela ( gez, ላሊበላ), regnal name Gebre Meskel (Ge'ez: ገብረ መስቀል ; 1162 – 1221), was King of Zagwe dynasty, reigning from 1181 to 1221.Getachew Mekonnen Hasen, ''Wollo, Yager Dibab'' (Addis Ababa: Nigd Matemiya Bet, 1992) ...

, king of Ethiopia *

Girma Bekele Gebre Girma Bekele Gebre (; born 29 December 1992) is an Ethiopian marathon runner who finished third at the 2019 New York City Marathon as a non-elite runner. Gebre also won the 2018 Brooklyn Half Marathon, and came third in the 1,500 metres event ...

(born 1992), Ethiopian runner *

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

(born 1973), Ethiopian athlete *

Sebhat Gebre-Egziabher Sebhat-Leab Gebre-Egziabher (; 5 May 1936 – 20 February 2012) was an Ethiopian writer from Tigray Region. He is famous for pioneering the naturalist writing style in Amharic. His writing style was not constrained by the traditional Ethiopian wr ...

(1936–2012), Ethiopian writer *

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ( ti, ቴዎድሮስ አድሓኖም ገብረኢየሱስ, sometimes spelt ti, ቴድሮስ ኣድሓኖም ገብረየሱስ, label=none; born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, and ...

(born 1965), Ethiopian politician, academic, and public-health authority, Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017 *

Tesfaye Gebre Kidan Tesfaye Gebre Kidan Geletu ( am, ተስፋዬ ገብረ ኪዳን ገለቱ, Täsfaye Gäbrä Kidan Gälätu, – 4 June 2004) was an Ethiopian general who was the acting president of Ethiopia for one week in late May 1991. Biography Military ...

(1935–2004), Ethiopian general and politician *

Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher (; born 19 February 1940) is an Ethiopian scientist who won the Right Livelihood Award in 2000 "for his exemplary work to safeguard biodiversity and the traditional rights of farmers and communities to their geneti ...

(born 1940), Ethiopian scientist *

Tewolde-Medhin Gebre-Medhin Tewolde-Medhin Gebre-Medhin (1860–1930) was a pastor, educator and translator, originally from the town of Tseazega Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. He was ordained as a deacon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in 1872. (By local custom, he ...

(1860–1930), Eritrean pastor, educator and translator *

Theodor Gebre Selassie Theodor Gebre Selassie (born 24 December 1986) is a Czech professional footballer who plays for Czech club Slovan Liberec, either as a right-back or as wing-back. He earned 54 caps and scored three goals with the Czech national team. Havin ...

(born 1986), Czech footballer *

Timnit Gebru Timnit Gebru ( am, ትምኒት ገብሩ; born 1983/1984) is an American computer scientist who works on algorithmic bias and data mining. She is an advocate for diversity in technology and co-founder of Black in AI, a community of Black resear ...

(born 1983), Ethiopian computer scientist *

Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin ( am, ጸጋዬ ገብረ መድኅን; 17 August 1936 – 25 February 2006) was an Ethiopian poet and novelist. His novels and poets evoke retrospective narratives, fanciful epics, and nationalistic cannonations. Tsegay is co ...

or Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin (1936–2006), Ethiopian poet, playwright and essayist

List of people named Gebre or variant

See also