Eugene (given name)

Eugene

Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of the greatest military commanders of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Pronunciation| /juːˈdʒiːn/ yoo-JEEN
Gender| Male
Origin
Word/name| Greek
Meaning| "noble", "well-born"
Region of origin| Greece, Southern Europe
Other names
Nickname(s)| Gene
Related names| Owen, Eòghann, Euan, Kevin, Eugenie, Eugenio, Eugênio, Eugine, Yu-jin

Eugene is a common masculine given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (eugenēs), "noble", literally "well-born",[1] from εὖ (eu), "well"[2] and γένος (genos), "race, stock, kin".[3] Gene is a common shortened form. The feminine variant is Eugenia or Eugenie.

Other male foreign-language variants include:

Albanian | Eugjen, Eugjeni

|

Arpitan | Eugêne, Genio
Asturian | Oxenu
Basque | Euken(i)
Belarusian | Jaŭhien (Яўген), Jaŭhienij (Яўгеній), Yauhen (Яўген)
Breton | Ujan
Bulgarian | Евгени (Evgeni)
Catalan | Eugeni
Croatian | Eugen
Czech | Evžen, Eugen
Dutch | Eugeen
Esperanto | Eŭgeno
Estonian | Jevgeni
French | Eugène, Yvain
Galician | Uxío
German | Eugen, Eugine
Greek | Ευγένιος (Eugénios)
Hungarian | Jenő, Eugén
Irish | Eoghan/Eóghan[4][5]
Italian | Eugenio
Japanese | ユージーン (romanized as Yūjīn)
Korean | 유진 (romanized as Yujin or Yoojin)
Latin | Eugenius
Latvian | Eižens
Lithuanian | Eugenijus
Macedonian | Евгениј (Evgenij)
Occitan | Eugèni
Piedmontese | Genio
Polish | Eugeniusz (Gienek)
Portuguese | Eugênio (Brazil), Eugénio (Portugal)
Romanian | Eugen, Eugeniu
Russian | Евгений (transliterated as Evgeni, Evgeniy, Evgeny, Evgenii, Evgueni, Eugeny, Eugeniy, Ievgeny, Jevgeni, Jevgeny, Yevgeny, Yevgeni, Yevgeniy, in German often as Jewgenij or Jewgeni)
Scottish Gaelic | Eòghann,[5] Ewan, Euan[6]
Serbian | Еуген (Eugen), Евгеније (Evgenije)
Sicilian | Eugeniu
Slovak | Eugen
Slovenian | Evgen
Spanish | Eugenio
Swedish | Eugen
Syriac | ܐܘܓܝܢ (Augin)
Ukrainian | Євген (national translit. Yevhen, also occur Ievhen, Yevgen, Ievgen), Євгеній (Yevhenii, also occur Yevgenii, Ievhenii, Ievgenii, Yevheniy, Yevgeniy, Ievheniy), Евген (Evhen), Ївген (Yivhen)
Welsh | Owain,[4][5] Owen,[4][5] Ouein,[4] Oen,[4] Ewein,[4] Ywein/Ywain,[4] Yuein,[4]

## People

[edit]

Notable people with the given name Eugene or Eugène include:

### Christianity

[edit]

* Eugene or Eugenios of Trebizond, 4th century Christian saint and martyr
* St. Eugene, one of the deacons of saint Zenobius of Florence
* Eugene (Eoghan) (died c. 618), Irish saint
* Pope Eugene I (died 657), Italian pope from 655 to 657
* Pope Eugene II (died 827), Italian pope from 824 to 827
* Pope Eugene III (died 1153), Italian pope from 1145 to 1153
* Pope Eugene IV (1383–1447), Italian pope from 1431 to 1447
* Eugène Philippe LaRocque (1927–2018), Roman Catholic bishop from Canada
* Eugene Antonio Marino (1934–2000), first African-American archbishop in the United States

### Military

[edit]

* Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), Austrian general, statesman of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian monarchy
* Eugène de Beauharnais (1781–1824), stepson and adopted child of Napoleon
* Eugene A. Greene (1921–1942), American sailor, posthumous recipient of the Navy Cross
* Eugène Maizan (1819–1845), French naval lieutenant and explorer
* Eugene Sledge (1923–2001), American World War II Marine and academic
* Eugene Sullivan (1918–1942), American sailor, one of the Sullivan brothers
* Eugene Goodman (born 1980), American United States Capitol Police officer who diverted invading rioters from the United States Senate chamber during the January 6 Capitol attack

### Television and films

[edit]

* Gene L. Coon (1924–1973), American screenwriter and television producer
* Eugene Cordero (born 1986), American actor
* Eugene Robert Glazer (born 1942), American actor
* Gene Hackman (1930–2025), American actor
* Gene Kelly (1912–1996), American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer
* Eugene Levy (born 1946), Canadian actor
* Eugene Mirman (born 1974), Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker
* Gene Rayburn (1917–1999), American radio personality and game show host
* Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991), American scriptwriter and producer
* Eugène Saccomano (1936–2019), French radio journalist and non-fiction author
* Gene Siskel (1946–1999), American film critic

### Music

[edit]

* Gene Allison (1934–2004), American R&B singer
* Gene Austin (1900–1972), American singer-songwriter
* Gene Clark (1944–1991), American singer, songwriter, founding member of the band The Byrds
* Eugen Doga (born 1937), Moldovan composer
* Wendell Eugene (1923–2017), American jazz musician
* Eugene Aynsley Goossens (1893–1962), English conductor and composer
* Eugène Goossens, fils (1867–1958), French conductor and violinist
* Eugène Goossens, père (1845–1906), Belgian conductor
* Eugene Hütz (born 1972), Ukrainian-American singer, composer, disc jockey and actor, frontman of the band Gogol Bordello
* Eugene Izotov (born 1973), Russian-American oboist
* Gene Krupa (1909–1973), American jazz and big band drummer
* Gene McDaniels (1935–2011), American singer-songwriter
* Eugene Ormandy (1899–1985), Hungarian-born conductor
* Eugene Pao (fl. 2000s–2010s), Hong Kong jazz guitarist
* Eugene Tzigane (fl. 2000s–2020s), Japanese-American conductor
* Eugene Wright (1923–2020), American jazz bassist, member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet
* Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931), Belgian violinist, composer and conductor
* Gene Simmons (born 1949), bassist and co-lead singer of rock band Kiss

### Literature

[edit]

* Eugene Field (1850–1895), American writer, columnist and children's poet
* Eugène Ionesco (1909–1994), Romanian-French playwright and dramatist
* Eugène Marin Labiche (1815–1888), French dramatist
* Eugène Lanti (1879–1947), French Esperantist, socialist and writer
* Eugène Marais (1871–1936), South African writer and poet
* Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953), American playwright
* Eugène Edine Pottier (1816–1887), French revolutionary socialist, poet, and transport worker
* Eugene Trivizas (born 1946), Greek author

### Art

[edit]

* Eugène Broerman (1861–1932), Belgian painter
* Eugène Boudin (1824–1898), French painter
* Eugène Carrière (1849–1906), French symbolist
* Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863), French painter
* Eugène Grasset (1845–1917), Swiss decorative artist of the Belle Epoque
* Eugène Jansson (1852–1915), Swedish painter
* Eugene Lambert (1928–2010), Irish puppeteer
* Eugene Pandala (born 1954), Indian architect
* Eugene Oliver Palmer (born 1955), Jamaican-born British artist
* Evgenios Spatharis (1924–2009), Greek shadow theatre artist
* Eugene V. Thaw (1927–2018), American art dealer and collector

### Politics

[edit]

* Eugène Koffi Adoboli (1934–2025), Togolese politician
* Eugene H. Belden (1840–1910), Michigan politician
* Eugene "Geno" Chiarelli (born 1994), West Virginian state delegate
* Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926), American socialist
* Eugene Reginald de Fonseka (died 2003), puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
* Eugene D. Lujan (1887–1980), justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court
* Eugene McCarthy (1916–2005), U.S. senator from Minnesota
* Eugene McGehee (1929–2014), Louisiana politician
* Eugene Mitchell (1866–1944), American lawyer and president of the Atlanta Board of Education
* Eugène Paquet (1867–1951), Canadian parliamentarian
* Eugene E. Pratt (c. 1892–1970), justice of the Utah Supreme Court
* Eugène Ruffy (1854–1919), Swiss politician
* Eugene Sawyer (1934–2008), American businessman and politician
* Eugène Terre'Blanche (1941–2010), South African right-wing politician and leader of the AWB

### Sports

[edit]

* Eugene Asante (born 2001), American football player
* Eugene Laverty (born 1986), Irish professional motorcyclist
* Eugene Galekovic (born 1981), Australian goalkeeper
* Eugene Sseppuya (born 1983), Ugandan football striker
* Eugène Chaboud (1907–1983), Formula One driver from France
* Eugène Christophe (1885–1970), French professional cyclist
* Eugene Lawrence (born 1986), American professional basketball player
* Eugene Selznick (1930–2012), American volleyball player
* Eugene Glazer (fencer) (born 1939), American Olympic fencer
* Gene Cockrell (1934–2020), American football player
* Gene Filipski (1931–1994), American football player
* Gene Moore (outfielder) (1909–1978), right fielder in Major League Baseball
* Gene Moore (pitcher) (1886–1938), left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball
* Gene Okerlund (1942–2019), American professional wrestling announcer
* Gene Prebola (1938–2021), American football player
* Geno Smith (born 1990), American football player
* Gene Snitsky (born 1970), American professional wrestler who formerly performed for World Wrestling Entertainment
* Gene Upshaw (1945–2008), American football player, labor leader, and former NFL Players Association director

### Sciences

[edit]

* Eugène Michel Antoniadi (1870–1944), Greek astronomer
* Eugen Bleuler (1857–1939), Swiss psychiatrist who coined the terms schizophrenia and autism
* Eugène Charles Catalan (1814–1894), Belgian mathematician
* Eugene Cernan (1934–2017), American astronaut, eleventh person to walk on the Moon
* Eugene Chelyshev (1921–2020), Russian indologist
* Eugene V. Gallagher (born 1950), American religious scholar
* Eugene Goodilin (born 1969), Russian material scientist
* Eugène Joseph Delporte (1882–1955), Belgian astronomer
* Eugene Gu (born 1986), American physician-scientist
* Eugene Guth (1905–1990), Hungarian-American theoretical physicist
* Eugene Lazowski (1913–2006), Polish doctor who saved 8,000 people by creating a fake typhus epidemic in World War II
* Eugene Parker (1927–2022), American solar and plasma physicist, after which the Parker Solar Probe was named
* Eugene Merle Shoemaker (1928–1997), American astronomer and geologist
* Eugène Schueller (1881–1957), French chemist, entrepreneur and founder of L'Oréal
* Eugène Simon (1848–1924), French arachnologist
* Eugène Soubeiran (1797–1859), French scientist who served as chief pharmacist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital
* Eugene Stanley (born 1941), American physicist
* Eugene Wigner (1902–1995), Hungarian-American theoretical physicist and winner of Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963

### Other professions

[edit]

* Eugene Allen (1919–2010), White House butler
* Eugene Burger (1939–2017), American magician and author
* Gene Gotti (born 1946), Italian-American mobster
* Eugene Jarvis (fl. 1970s–2020s), American computer games designer and programmer
* Eugene de Kock (born 1949), South African policeman serving a life sentence
* Gene Kranz (born 1933), NASA Flight Director
* Eugène Minkowski (1885–1972), French psychiatrist
* Gene Moore (window dresser) (1910–1998), American designer and window dresser
* Eugene Murtagh (born 1942), Irish billionaire businessman, founder of Kingspan Group
* Eugene K. Palmer (born 1939) American fugitive
* Eugene Skinner (1809–1864), American pioneer, founder of Eugene, Oregon
* Eugene Stoner (1922–1997), American firearms designer, who designed M16 rifle
* Eugene Tan (born 1970), Singapore political analyst and law lecturer
* Eugene Thuraisingam (born 1975), Singaporean criminal lawyer
* Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879), French architect
* Eugene Lee Yang (born 1986), American filmmaker, actor, author, and internet celebrity

## Fictional characters

[edit]

* Gene Belcher, a main character in the animated series Bob's Burgers
* Eugene Chaud, in Mega Man Battle Network
* Eugene Fitzherbert, the male protagonist in Tangled, commonly called 'Flynn Rider'
* Eugene Grizzard, in Bonnie & Clyde
* Eugene "Bling-Bling Boy" Hamilton, antagonist in the animated series Johnny Test
* Eugene Horowitz, in Hey Arnold! media
* Gene Hunt, in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes
* Eugene H. Krabs, in SpongeBob SquarePants media
* Eugene Meltsner, in the Adventures in Odyssey series
* The title character in Eugene Onegin, a novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin also made into an opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
* Eugene (Pokémon) or Eusine, in Pokémon media
* Eugene Tackleberry, in Police Academy
* Eugene "Flash" Thompson, in the Spider-Man comics
* Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch, comic relief in Power Rangers
* Eugene Wrayburn, one of the main characters in Charles Dickens' novel Our Mutual Friend
* Eugene Young, in The Practice
* Gene Evernight, also known as Kyrios, antagonist in ArcheAge
* Eugene Dix, in Final Destination 2
* Eugene Francis, in The Boss Baby
* Eugene Choi, a main character in the Korean drama Mr. Sunshine
* Gene, a former antagonist on Regular Show
* Eugene is an alias under the Halley Labs / LapFox Trax label
* Eugene Hofstadt and Eugene “Gene” Draper, Don Draper’s father-in-law and youngest son in Mad Men
* Eugene, a character from the 2023 indie-adventure RPG Cassette Beasts
* Eugene, a localized name for Yusuke Urameshi (see list of YuYu Hakusho characters), in the Tagalog dub of YuYu Hakusho (known in the Philippines as Ghost Fighter)

## See also

[edit]

* Eugene (disambiguation)
* Eugen
* Eugenio
* Eugenios
* Eugenius, Western Roman emperor
* Eugenia (name)
* Kevin, a name of Irish origin with a similar meaning

## References

[edit]

1. ^ εὐγενής, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
2. ^ εὖ, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
3. ^ γένος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Morgan, T.J. and Morgan, Prys, Welsh Surnames, University of Wales, 1985, Owain (Owen, Bowen, Ednowain). pp.172-173: Owen is a derivation of the Latin Eugenis" > [Old Welsh] Ou(u)ein, Eug(u)ein ... 'variously written in [Middle Welsh] as Ewein, Owein, Ywein. LL gives the names Euguen, Iguein, Yuein, Ouein. The corresponding form in Irish is Eoghan." Morgan notes that there are less likely alternative explanations and agrees with Dr. Rachel Bromwich that Welsh Owein "is normally latinized as Eugenius", and both the Welsh and Irish forms are Latin derivatives. Another Latinised variation of the name Owen is Audoenus in certain parish registers.
5. ^ a b c d Surnames of the United Kingdom, reprinted for Clearfield Company, Inc by Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc, Baltimore 1995, 1996. Entry notes that the most likely and widely accepted origin of Owen (Old Welsh Owain, Irish Gaelic Eoghan, and Scottish Gaelic Eòghann) is from Latin Eugenius. "Cormic gives this origin for Eogan (one MS, Eogen); and Zimmer considers Owen to be borrowed from Latin Eugens, as noted by MacBain, p. 400. The mediaeval Latinization of Owen as Oenus led to a belief that the etymology was the Welsh and Breton oen ‘lamb’. With much stronger reason it was at one time considered that the name represented Irish eoghunn = Gael. Ogan – [f.Old Irish oc- Welsh og, young], ‘youth’.
6. ^ "Euan - Baby Name Meaning, Origin and Popularity". www.thebump.com. Retrieved 2025-03-11.

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