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Gentle History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Gentle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
France
Germany
Italy

Etymology of Gentle

What does the name Gentle mean?

From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Gentle family. Originally, the French people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in France is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Gentle is a nickname type of surname for a person of good manners and courteous nature derived from the Old French word "gentil."

Early Origins of the Gentle family

The surname Gentle was first found in Picardy (French: Picardie) in the arrondissement of d'Amiens, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Gentle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gentle research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1070, 1589, 1652, 1766, 1771 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Gentle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gentle Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gentile, Gentille, Jentile, Jentille, Gentiles, Gentilles, Gentil, Jentiles, Jentilles, Chentile, Chentille, Chentiles, Chentilles, Chantile, Chantille, Chantilly, De Chantilly, Chantiles, Chantilles, Jentile, Jentille and many more.

Early Notables of the Gentle family

More information is included under the topic Early Gentle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gentle Ranking

In the United States, the name Gentle is the 10,354^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Gentle migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gentle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edward Gentle, who arrived in New York in 1777

Gentle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andrew Gentle, who settled in America in 1801
George Adam Gentle, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1802
William Gentle, aged 24, who arrived in New York in 1803 2
Andrew Gentle, who arrived in New York in 1812
Andrew Gentle, aged 35, who arrived in New York in 1812 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gentle migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gentle Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Gentle, who settled in Ontario in 1871

Gentle migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gentle Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Peter Gentle, (b. 1830), aged 18, Scottish publican who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bangalore" on 1st January 1850, arriving in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia 3
Edward Gentle, aged 18, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Osceola" 4
William Gentle, aged 19, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Star Queen" 5
George Gentle, aged 6, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Star Queen" 5
James Gentle, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Star Queen" 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gentle migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gentle Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Alexander Gentle, aged 22, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duchess of Argyle" in 1842
Mr. Thomas Gentle (Gentles), (b. 1805), aged 42, Scottish settler born in Lanarkshire arriving as Detachment of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling aboard the ship "Sir Robert Sale" from Gravesend via Cork arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 11th October 1847 6
Peter Gentle, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Aloe" in 1863

Contemporary Notables of the name Gentle (post 1700) +

Alice Gentle (1885-1958), American operatic mezzo-soprano
James Cuthbert Gentle (1904-1986), American Olympic bronze medalist soccer striker, member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame
Peter Gentle (b. 1965), Australian rugby league footballer of the 1980s
Johnny Gentle (b. 1936), stage name of John Askew, a British pop singer, best known for having briefly toured Scotland with the Silver Beetles - later known as The Beatles in 1960
Mary Rosalyn Gentle (b. 1956), British science fiction and fantasy author
Sir William Benjamin Gentle (1865-1948), English politician, High Sheriff of Norfolk, best known for fighting racecourse crime and was jointly responsible for promoting greyhound racing in the United Kingdom
Renee Gentle Powers, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 2008 7

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/australasia
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) OSCEOLA / ASCEOLA 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Osceola-Asceola.htm
South Australian Register Monday 1st January 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Star Queen 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/starqueen1854.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html