Gabriella

Gabriella grows from a Hebrew root. Behind it stands Gabriel, the archangel whose name joins gever, a word for man and strength, to El, one of the names of God. The short meaning usually given is "God is my strength," while Polish leans toward boży wojownik, a warrior of God. The feminine ending belongs to Italy, where Gabriella spread widely from Tuscany down through the south.

In Poland the name settled mainly as Gabriela. Everyday speech then wore it down. A Gabriela turns into Gabrysia among friends, and sometimes Gabryś, the same short form a boy named Gabriel might answer to. Open a school class register and you may see Gabriela written in full while the teacher calls out Gabrysia.

The masculine Gabriel walks beside her, older and sharing the same root. He carries the archangel of the Annunciation; she carries the ending that made the name her own. Both hold the meaning at the base: God is my strength.