Gregory

Gregory is an English given name derived from the Latin Gregorius, itself from the Greek Gregorios, meaning watchful or alert, from the verb gregorein, to be awake. The name was widely adopted across medieval Europe largely through the influence of two celebrated popes, Gregory the Great in the sixth century and Gregory VII in the eleventh, as well as numerous saints. It became one of the most enduring clerical and scholarly names in Western Christendom. Related forms include the French Grégory, the Spanish and Italian Gregorio, and the Scottish Gaelic Griogair, which gave rise to the surname MacGregor.