Family name origins & meanings
- Italian : from the personal name Gentile, a continuation of Late Latin Gentilis meaning ‘of the same stock (Latin gens)’ and then ‘non-Christian’, ‘pagan’; as a medieval name it was an omen name with the sense ‘noble’, ‘courteous’, also ‘delicate’, ‘charming’, ‘graceful’ (Italian gentile). In some cases the surname may have arisen from a nickname, sometimes possibly ironical, from the same word.
- English : variant of Gentle.