Guy (given name) explained

Guy
Gender:	Masculine
Meaning:	Either wood or wide
Language:	Norman French version of an old German name

.Guy (in French ɡi/) is a masculine given name derived from an abbreviated version of a Germanic name that began either with witu, meaning wood, or wit, meaning wide. In French, the letter w became gu and the name became Gy or Guido. In Latin, the name was written as Wido. It was a popular name in Normandy and was used in England as well after the Norman Conquest.^[1] The name was popularized by romantic ballads about the dragon-slaying, giant-fighting folk hero Guy of Warwick. Guy Fawkes and the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot later made the name synonymous with treachery in England. Effigies of Guy Fawkes are burned every year on Guy Fawkes Night in the United Kingdom. By the early 19th century, the tradition led to Guy being a term in England for a poorly dressed man. In the United States, guy became slang for an everyman. Its use for characters by Sir Walter Scott in the 1815 novel Guy Mannering and by Charlotte Yonge in her 1853 novel The Heir of Redclyffe popularized the name in the United States. In recent years, Guy Fawkes masks have symbolized resistance to tyranny.^[2] Unrelated to this, Guy is also an Anglicization of the Hebrew name Hebrew: גיא|translit=[[Gai (disambiguation)|Gai]], which means "ravine".^[3]

Usage

Guy was among the top 1,000 names for boys in the United States between 1880 and 2006 and was among the top 100 names for American boys between 1880 and 1901. It was among the 1,000 most popular names for boys in France between 1900 and 1990 and was a top 100 name for French boys between 1906 and 1970. It has been among the top 1,000 names for boys in the United Kingdom since 1996.^[4]

People

Religious figures

Saint Vitus, also known as Saint Guy, early Christian martyr
Guy (bishop of Amiens) (died 1075), eleventh-century churchman
Guy of Anderlecht (950–1012), Belgian Christian saint
Guy of Avesnes (1253–1317), Bishop of Utrecht

Nobility

Guy I (disambiguation)
Guy II (disambiguation)
Guy III (disambiguation)
Guy, Count of Flanders (c. 1226–1305), Guy of Dampierre
Guy, Count of Nevers (died 1176), count of Nevers and Auxerre
Guy of Hauteville (died 1108), Duke of Amalfi
Guy of Ibelin (disambiguation)
Guy of Ivrea (940–965), Margrave of Ivrea
Guy of Lusignan (died 1194), King of Jerusalem and later King of Cyprus
Guy of Lusignan, Count of Angoulême (c. 1260/1265–1308), ending of the senior male line of the House of Lusignan
Guy de Montfort, Count of Bigorre (died 1220), son of Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola (1244–1288), son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England
Guy de Montfort, Lord of Sidon (died 1228), younger son of Simon III de Montfort and Amicia, sister of Robert FitzPernel, Earl of Leicester
Guy of Nantes (died before 819), warden of the Breton March
Guy, Margrave of Tuscany (died 929), also Count and Duke of Lucca
Guy, Duke of Sorrento (c. 1012–?), the duke of Sorrento from 1035
Guy IV of Spoleto (died 897), Duke of Spoleto and Camerino and Prince of Benevento; son of Guy II of Spoleto
Guy of Thouars (died 1213), third husband of Constance, Duchess of Brittany, and regent of Brittany

Sports

Guy Abrahams (born 1953), Panamanian runner
Guy Accoceberry (born 1967), former French rugby union footballer
Guy Akpagba (born 1990), Beninese footballer
Guy Allen (born 1958), ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy
Guy Amouretti (1925–2011), male French international table tennis player
Guy Azouri (born 1963), Israeli football manager
Guy Barnea (born 1987), Israeli Olympic swimmer
Guy Barrabino (1934–2017), French fencer
Guy Basquet (1921–2006), French rugby union player
Guy Benjamin (born 1955), former American football quarterback
Guy Callaghan (born 1970), New Zealand butterfly swimmer
Guy Carbonneau (born 1960), retired French-Canadian hockey player and former NHL head coach
Guy Charron (born 1949), retired French Canadian hockey player and former NHL head coach
Guy Chouinard (born 1956), retired French Canadian hockey player
Guy Forget (born 1965), retired French tennis player
Guy Goodes (born 1971), Israeli basketball player and coach
Guy Hebert (born 1967), retired American hockey goalie
Guy Lafleur (1951–2022), French Canadian Hall of Fame hockey player
Guy Lapébie (1916–2010), French cyclist
Guy Lapointe (born 1948), retired French Canadian Hall of Fame hockey player
Guy Murray, American track/cross country coach and former marathon runner
Guy Nosbaum (1930–1996), French Olympic medalist rower
Guy Palatin (born 2000), Israeli basketball player
Guy Pnini (born 1983), Israeli basketball player
Guy Roux (born 1938), French football player and manager of AJ Auxerre (1961–2008)
Guy Starik (born 1965), Israeli Olympic sport shooter
Guy Toindouba (born 1988), Cameroonian football midfielder
Guy Turnbow (1908–1975), American football player
Guy Whittall (born 1972), retired Zimbabwean cricket player
Guy Whittingham (born 1964), British footballer

Other

Guy Adami (born 1963), American television TV personality
Guy Adams (born 1976), English author, comedian, and actor
Guy Aitchison (born 1968), tattoo artist and a painter born in Michigan
Guy Alexis Lobineau (1666–1727), Breton historian and Benedictine monk
Guy Allison (born 1959), American composer, pianist, and producer
Guy Anderson (1906–1998), American painter
Guy André (born 1959), member of the Canadian House of Commons
Guy André Boy (born 1952), French and American scientist and engineer
Guy Andrews, American television writer
Guy Arkins (1888–1980), Australian politician
Guy Arnold (1932–2020), British author
Guy Aroch, Israeli-American fashion and celebrity photographer
Guy Arvely Dolsin (born 1957), Malagasy politician
Guy Babylon (1956–2009), keyboardist/composer
Guy Bacon (1936–2018), politician in Quebec, Canada
Guy Bailey (born 1950), president of Texas Tech University
Guy Bainbridge (1867–1943), British Army officer during the First World War
Guy Bavli (born 1971), Israeli mentalist, illusionist, and lecturer
Guy Beahm (born 1982), pro gamer, mainly known by his gamer tag Dr DisRespect
Guy Beatty (1870–1954), officer in the British Indian Army
Guy Bedarida (born 1963), Italian-born French jewelry designer
Guy Bedos (1934–2020), actor and stand-up comedian
Guy Beiner (born 1968), historian of the late-modern period
Guy Bellamy (1935–2015), English author known for humorous novels
Guy Ben-Ari (born 1984), Israeli painter
Guy Ben-Ner (born 1969), Israeli video artist
Guy Bennett (born 1960), poet/translator and author
Guy Benson (born 1985), American political commentator and pundit
Guy Berryman (born 1978), Scottish musician of Coldplay
Guy Bertrand (broadcaster) (born 1954), French Canadian linguist and radio/TV personality
Guy Bolton (1884–1979), Anglo-American playwright
Guy Bomford (1899–1996), British soldier and geodesist
Guy Boyd (1923–1988), Australian sculptor
Guy Boyd (born 1943), American actor
Guy Branum (born 1975), American comedian
Guy Burgess (1911–1963), Soviet double agent, one of the Cambridge Five spy ring
Guy Burnet (born 1983), English actor who played Craig Dean on the soap opera Hollyoaks
Guy Busick, American film and television screenwriter
Guy Chambers (born 1963), British songwriter of Robbie Williams fame
Guy Clark (1941–2016), American singer-songwriter
Guy Consolmagno (born 1952), American Jesuit brother and astronomer
Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893), French writer and journalist
Guy de Rothschild (1909–2007), French banker
Guy Debord (1931–1994), French author and filmmaker, Situationist
Guy Distad, American television director
Guy Drake (1904–1984), American singer and comedian
Guy Waldo Dunnington (1906–1974), American biographer, professor, and translator
Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), English Catholic famed for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot
Guy Fieri (born 1968), American chef, restaurateur, and television personality
Guy Fletcher (born 1960), English musician of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler's solo band
Guy Garvey (born 1974), English musician. Singer and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Elbow
Guy Gavriel Kay (born 1954), Canadian fantasy writer
Guy Gibson (1918–1944), British Second World War pilot awarded the Victoria Cross
Guy Guzzone (born 1960), Majority Leader of the Maryland Senate
Guy Gillette (1879–1973), former U.S. Senator from Iowa
Guy Goma (born 1969), who gained fame when he was accidentally interviewed on BBC
Guy Hamilton (1922–2016), British film director
Guy Harvey (born 1955), Jamaican marine wildlife artist and conservationist
Guy J (born 1986), DJ
Guy Kawasaki (born 1954), American former Apple employee and venture capitalist
Guy Kent (born 1989), American actor and producer
Guy Kewney (1946–2010), British journalist
Guy Kibbee (1882–1956), American actor
Guy Laliberté (born 1959), Canadian businessman, founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil
Guy Le Borgne (1920–2007), French paratroop general
Guy Le Jaouen (1933–2014), French politician
Guy Lombardo (1902–1977), Canadian-American bandleader and musician
Guy Madison (1922–1996), American actor
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (born 1974), French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and film director
Guy Marchand (born 1937), French actor, musician and singer
Guy Martin (born 1981), British motorcycle racer, truck mechanic and TV personality
Guy McAfee (1888–1960), owner of gambling saloons and brothels in Los Angeles, California and casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada
Guy Mitchell (1927–1999), American singer and actor
Guy Molinari (1928–2018), former US Representative from New York
Guy Mollet (1905–1975), former prime minister of France
Guy Moon (born 1962), film and television composer
Guy Mowbray (born 1972), English football commentator
Guy Oseary (born 1972), Israeli American businessman
Guy Pearce (born 1967), English-born Australian actor
Guy Perry, American actor
Guy Picciotto (born 1965), of the band Fugazi
Guy Pratt (born 1962), British session musician
Guy Randrianarisoa (born 1962), Malagasy politician
Guy Remmers (born 1995), English actor
Guy Richer (born 1954), Canadian actor
Guy Ritchie (born 1968), British film director, formerly married to Madonna
Guy Rivard (born 1936), Canadian politician
Guy B. Roberts, American government official, lawyer, and retired United States Marine Corps colonel
Guy Sebastian (born 1981), singer and winner of the first Australian Idol
Bryan Guy Adams (born 1959), Canadian singer
Guy Severin (1926–2008), former director of NPP Zvezda
Guy Simonds (1903–1974), Canadian major general
Guy Siner (born 1947), American-born English actor known for portraying Hubert Gruber in the sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!
Guy Standing (1873–1937), English actor
Guy Standing (economist) (born 1948), British economist
Guy L. Steele Jr. (born 1954), American computer scientist and designer of the Scheme programming language
Guy Talarico (born 1955), American state politician
Guy Thomas-Everard (born 1969), English farmer
Guy Trosper (1911–1963), American screenwriter
Guy Verhofstadt (born 1953), Prime Minister of Belgium (1999–2008)
Guy Waggoner (1883–1950), American rancher and business executive
Guy Warren (1923–2008), also known as Kofi Ghanaba, Ghanaian musician
Guy Weill (1914–2006), Swiss-born American art collector
Guy Wetmore Carryl (1873–1904), American author and poet
Guy Whatley (born 1975), American organist

Fictional characters

The Guy, a character in the film
Guy, a character from the video game
Guy, a character from the Final Fight and Street Fighter series
Guy, a character in The Croods franchise
Guy, one of the four main player characters in Final Fantasy II
Guy, a hero of the First Doom Island War in the Lufia series
Guy, the protagonist of the 2021 film Free Guy
Guy of Gisbourne, a villain in the Robin Hood legend
Guy of Warwick, a legendary English hero
Guy Caballero, a character in the Canadian sketch comedy TV series SCTV
Guy Cecil, one of the main characters in the video game Tales of the Abyss
Guy Crouchback, the main protagonist in Sword of Honour
Guy Diamond, a character in
Guy Fleegman, a character in Galaxy Quest
Guy Forcas, a character in the 2009 Ubisoft game Anno 1404
Guy Francon, a character in the novel The Fountainhead
Guy Gagné, a character in Turbo
Guy Gardner, a DC Comics character
Guy Germaine, a character in The Mighty Ducks franchise
Guy Haines, the main protagonist of the 1951 Hitchcock murder mystery film Strangers on a Train
Guy Hamdon, the main protagonist of the Australian animated series SheZow
Guy Hastings, a character in the series Alcatraz
Guy LeDouche, the name used for the Takeshi's Castle character Junji Inagawa on that series' American parody/adaptation MXC
Guy Malton, from C. J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake novels
Guy Marriott, spy in the Australian radio serial Undercover
Guy Montag, a character in the Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451
Guy Noir, a character in A Prairie Home Companion
Guy Patterson, a character in That Thing You Do!
Guy Secretan, a character in the British sitcom Green Wing
Guy Smiley, a Muppet character from Sesame Street
Guy Spelunky, the main character from the video game Spelunky
Guy Thierrault, the second Marvel Comics supervillain known as Flag-Smasher
Might Guy, a character from the anime/manga series Naruto

Notes and References

Book: Hanks. Patrick. Hardcastle. Kate . Hodges. Flavia. 2006. Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press . 116. 0-19-861060-2.
Web site: Cleveland Evans: The romantic — and rebellious — history of Guy . Evans . Cleveland Kent . 15 August 2021 . omaha.com . Omaha World Herald . 29 December 2023 .
Web site: Appendix:Hebrew given names - Wiktionary . En.wiktionary.org . 2018-01-30 . 2018-03-19.
Web site: Guy . Campbell . Mike . www.behindthename.com . Behind the Name . 29 December 2023 .