Gebre (, ''Gäbrä'') is a common masculine Ethiopian and Eritrean name, 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 Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three di ...

"), Gebremeskel ("Servant of

the Cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

"), or Gebremariam ("Servant of

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

"). Gebru is a variant, often seen in

Tigrinya Tigrinya may refer to: * Tigrinya language Tigrinya, sometimes romanized as Tigrigna, is an Ethio-Semitic languages, Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic languages, Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It i ...

. As with other such compound names, when written in

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

in a

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a 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 Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

, 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 (1868–1947), Ethiopian writer, wrote the first novel in Amharic *

Ghebreselassie Yoseph Ghebreselassie Yoseph ( Tigrinya: ግሄብረሰላስሴ ዮሴፍ) was Minister of Finance of Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city ...

( late 20th century), Minister of Finance of Eritrea from February 1997 to 2001 * Bogaletch Gebre (195x, exact year unknown–2019), Ethiopian women's-rights activist *

Debretsion Gebremichael Debretsion Gebremichael (, pronunciation: ) is an Ethiopian politician serving as the chairman of Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). He was previously the president of the Tigray Region. His position as titular head of the Tigray Region wa ...

( early 21st century), Ethiopian politician, former president of Tigray Region *

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

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; born 29 December 829 E.C.) was an Egyptian Christian saint, and the founder of the monastery of Zuqualla. The fifth day of every month in ...

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

Gebregziabher Gebremariam Gebregziabher Gebremariam (Amharic: ገብረግዚኣብሄር ገብረማርያም; born September 10, 1984, in Tigray) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. He established himself at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning ...

(born 1984), Ethiopian long-distance runner * *Aleqa Gebre Hanna ( 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 in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, A debtera w ...

of the Ethiopian Church * Gebre Krestos ( 1830s), Emperor of Ethiopia *

Gebre Kristos Desta Gebre Kristos Desta (; 1932–1981), also known as Gebrekristos Desta, was an Ethiopian painter and poet. He is credited with bringing modern art to Ethiopia Both his paintings and poems stirred controversy among his countryfolk. He died young, at ...

(1932–1981), Ethiopian modern artist *

Gebre Meskel Lalibela Lalibela (), regnal name Gebre Meskel (), was a king of the Zagwe dynasty, reigning from 1181 to 1221.Getachew Mekonnen Hasen, ''Wollo, Yager Dibab'' (Addis Ababa: Nigd Matemiya Bet, 1992) He was the son of Jan Seyum and the brother of Kedus ...

, 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 (; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian former Long-distance running, long-distance track running, track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Athletics Championships, World Cha ...

(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 (, sometimes spelled ; born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, diplomat, and the DGWHO, Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017. He is the first African to become W ...

(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 (, – 4 June 2004) was an Ethiopian military officer and politician who was the interim president of Ethiopia for one week in late May 1991. Biography An ethnic Amhara from the eastern province of Hararghe, Tesfaye ...

(1935–2004), Ethiopian general and politician *

Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher (; 19 February 1940 – 20 March 2023) was 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 ...

(1940–2023), Ethiopian scientist *

Tewolde-Medhin Gebre-Medhin Tewolde-Medhin Gebre-Medhin (1860–1930) was a spiritual scholar, educator, ordained pastor, 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 1 ...

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

Theodor Gebre Selassie Theodor Gebre Selassie (Amharic: ገብረ ሥላሴ, Russian: Теодор Гебръе Съеласи; born 24 December 1986) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a right-back or as wing-back. He earned 54 caps and scored ...

(born 1986), Czech footballer *

Timnit Gebru Timnit Gebru (Amharic and ; 1982/1983) is an Eritrean Ethiopian-born computer scientist who works in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithmic bias and data mining. She is a co-founder of Black in AI, an advocacy group that has pu ...

(born 1983), Ethiopian computer scientist * *

Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin (; 17 August 1936 – 25 February 2006) was an Ethiopian poet and novelist. His novels and poems evoke retrospective narratives, fanciful epics, and nationalistic connotations. Gabre-Medhin is considered to be one of the most ...

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

List of people named Gebre or variant

See also