Thursday, April 8, 2010

G is for Gregory: The Watchful Shepherd!

G is for Gregory

"Watch [gregoreuo] and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matt 26:41, ESV)

Gregory, which is my first name, is a common masculine first name. It is derived from the Latin name “Gregorius,” which is from the Greek name “Gregorios.” Gregorios means “watchful” and it comes from the Greek word gregorein which means “to watch.”

The name Gregory is also associated with a Latin stem “greg” which means flock or herd. So the name became associated with a shepherd who diligently watches over or guides a flock of sheep.

Interestingly enough this association made the name Gregory a very popular name for monks and even popes. As a matter of fact there have been 16 popes with the name Gregory, beginning with Pope Gregory I. I was surprised to learn that the name Gregory was the second most popular name for Popes, second to the name John.

The verb “gregoreuo,” or “watch” is used some 23 times in the New Testament. It carries the meaning “to give strict attention to, be cautious, to take heed or care so that no destructive calamity suddenly overtakes oneself.”

My mother wanted a very masculine sounding name for her first born son as she contemplated naming me. She settled on Gregory Dean. She didn’t know Greek or Latin or even the origin of the name she settled on.

I use to hate my name. The kids would make fun of it in a number of ways.  I learned to shorten my name to Gregg by the sixth grade in hopes it wouldn’t given other kids any other ideas.

However, since I studied the bible and Greek and discovered what my name meant, I have been very surprised at the “coincidence” of my name and profession. I am a very cautious watcher and take tremendous care when it comes to bible doctrine and teaching. I am a shepherd who has and is planning on watching very diligently over a flock of sheep in the near future.

By the way the two characters at the top left of the post is the small and capitalized letter "G" in the Koine Greek language. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek and a smidgen of Aramaic. The word Koine means common.

11 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Hi, it's lovely to know what your name means, must try and find out about mine,enjoyed the read very much.

Have a nice day.
Yvonne.

RCUBEs said...

Coincidence or already done by God? :) I don't believe in coincidences anymore since He found me. I also had a problem discovering that what my parents named me was not what was written on my birth certificate. Had no choice but to use the new name when I was in 4th grade. I was so upset that whoever filled out my birth certificate had a huge mistake. Not anymore after learning it meant "God's vow or promise"...And like you, I have the hunger to tell others who don't know Him that we are His because of what Jesus had done.

God is awesome! Blessings to you.

Sharon A. Metcalf said...

Learned yet another thing about u DAD! Never knew what ur name meant either. Very Interesting! Hope ur grandson also knows what his name means! Thats pretty Neat!

Anonymous said...

Pope Gregory ! Kind of has a good ring to it.

I think my mom named me after the actor Ronald Reagan, but I'm not sure about that.
If that is true I would count it as an honor.

Survivormama said...

Gregg, I like your name and now even more so...My name means little wise owl...hmmm not sure if I am wise yet? Thanks for sharing buddy!

John said...

So what you are saying is that you and I already meet one of the qualifications of being the pope.

Ella said...

I love the name, Gregg, great post!
I am happy you like it now, I didn't like my name, til I became older!
It suits you~

Lisa said...

I agree with Ellie - the name suits you!

When we're young, there are SO many things we hate about ourselves that when we are older, we realize what a blessing they are.

My name means "consecrated to God". I learned that years ago in Sunday school!

Tori Cooper said...

Loved it! That was a fun post- name meaning's definitely intrigue me! My name means Victorious Light (Victoria Elena) I usually go by my nic names Tori or Vicki... :-) Gregg- thank you for visiting my blog and for your comment! I hope to hear from you again with the A to Z challenge... :-) Happy Blogging!

Creative Chronicler said...

I've always loved the name Gregory. Thanks for a great post on it's origin!

Brian Ray Todd said...

I've always liked that the name given to the Biblical ancestors had translations that refereed to God and other characteristics. Maybe this world would be better off today if we did that again. Praise the Lord.