The gentile Surname
gentile Name Meaning and History
- Italian: from the personal name Gentile, a continuation of Late Latin Gentilis meaning ‘of the same stock (Latin gens)’ and then ‘non-Christian’, ‘pagan’; as a medieval name it was an omen name with the sense ‘noble’, ‘courteous’, also ‘delicate’, ‘charming’, ‘graceful’ (Italian gentile). In some cases the surname may have arisen from a nickname, sometimes possibly ironical, from the same word.
- English: variant of Gentle.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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