Gaute is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

masculine given name derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''Gauti'', which is formed by the word ''gautr'', i.e. "man from

Götaland Götaland (; also '' Geatland'', '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, wi ...

(Gautaland) in Sweden" or, even earlier, "

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

". In 2016, 1997 people used the name in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and is currently ranked #240. (Search for the name 'Iselin' in the NAVNESØK search box.) In Sweden the versions Göte or Göthe, in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Gauti or Gautur and in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

Göte is used as the given name equivalent.

Usage and appearance

''Gauti'' and ''Gautr'' is famously used in fifteen different

runic inscription A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of El ...

s from the

Viking era The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ge ...

, so the names were well known, but probably not among the most widely used at the time. ''Gaute'' was first used as epithets, but became common first names for the year 1300, also in forms ''Gaut'' and ''Gautr''. Over 40 different people with the name mentioned in

Regesta Norvegica ''Regesta Norvegica'' is a chronological inventory of all known documents relating to the history of Norway during the Middle Ages. The series contains summaries in modern Norwegian of medieval documents concerning Norway and Norwegian affairs. H ...

. The name was rarely used between 1700 and around 1930. In the 1940s, the name was adopted partly in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The admin ...

and got a small boost after 1970, but was still not among the most commonly used names. Today, the name has increased its use. Some place names also derives from the given name Gaute as a part of a longer geographical name. Gaute can also be used as the first or last part of other names. This was particularly common in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, like names as Arngaut, Asgaut, Audgaut, Algot, Gautrek, Hergaut and Torgauten. The name was in compositions often borrowed from Swedish. The variants Valgaut, Siggaut, Gautatýr and Gaut was occasionally used as the name of the god Odin.

Notable people

Some notable

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the ...

with the given name include; * (1475–1510), Norwegian Archbishop of Nidaros * (born 1956), Norwegian musician *

Gaute Storaas Gaute Storaas (born 20 August 1959 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (bass) and composer, and the older brother of jazz pianist Vigleik Storaas. Career Storaas grew out of the flowering musical environment in Bergen late 70es ...

(born 1959), Norwegian jazz musician * (born 1961), Norwegian football coach * (born 1962), Norwegian Professor of Physics *

Gaute Godager Funcom Oslo AS (, formerly Funcom Productions AS) is a Norwegian video game developer that specializes in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) titles ''Conan Exiles'', ''Age of Conan'', '' ...

(born 1970), Norwegian game developer * Svein Gaute Hølestøl (born 1971), Norwegian professional cyclist * Gaute Melby Gundersen (born 1972), Norwegian athlete * Gaute Barlindhaug (born 1975), Norwegian electronic musician * Gaute Haugenes * Gaute Heivoll (born 1978), Norwegian poet, novelist and playwright * (born 1979), Norwegian author * (born 1979), Norwegian television host * (born 1979), Norwegian discus thrower * Gaute Ormåsen (born 1983), Norwegian singer * (born 1983), Norwegian actor Some notable

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to othe ...

with the given name include; * Gaute Kivistik (born 1971), Estonian humorist and journalist

References

{{given name Norwegian masculine given names

Usage and appearance

Notable people

See also

References