Georgia
/ˈd͡ʒɔɹ.d͡ʒə/
The name Georgia is the Latin feminine form of George, ultimately from the Greek Geōrgios, meaning “farmer” or “earthworker,” a compound of gē, “earth,” and ergon, “work.” The Greek root gē also appears in geography, geology, and the name of the
goddess Gaia.
Georgia is the same word as the country of Georgia in the Caucasus, although the country’s actual native name is Sakartvelo, and the English exonym derives instead from Persian Gurjān.
What the name Georgia means
The American state of Georgia was named in 1732 after King George II of Great Britain.
The masculine name George owes its Christian standing to Saint George (c. 280-303), a Roman soldier from Cappadocia martyred under Diocletian, whose legendary slaying of a dragon became one of the most painted scenes in Western art.
He is the patron saint of England, Georgia, Catalonia, Portugal, and Ethiopia.
The feminine Georgia gained royal currency through Queen Georgia, daughter of King Edward VII through the dynasty her name honored, and through the long line of Hanoverian Georges who ruled Britain from 1714 to 1830.
The most influential cultural bearer is the American painter Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), whose large-format botanical and Southwest landscape paintings made her one of the defining figures of twentieth-century American modernism.
The Hoagy Carmichael song Georgia on My Mind (1930), made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 and adopted as the official state song of Georgia in 1979, has given the name a permanent place in American popular music.
Australian writer Henry Handel Richardson and the singer-songwriter Georgia Stanway have extended the name’s reach.
Georgia ranked inside the United States Social Security Administration top 100 from 1880 through 1916, peaking at 53rd in 1881. It then declined for most of the twentieth century, bottoming below the top 700 in the 1970s.
A clear revival began in the 1990s, and the name has been climbing steadily, currently sitting within the top 200 in the United States and considerably higher in Australia and the United Kingdom, where it ranks inside the top 50.
The name combines classical Greek pedigree, royal and saintly associations, and the warm Southern American resonance of state and song.
US popularity over time
Numerology and symbolism
Based on Pythagorean numerology — a traditional system linking name letters to numbers. Presented for cultural interest.
Famous people named Georgia
Georgia - similar names
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