Gys as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Gys

What is the meaning of the name Gys ?

The baby name Gys is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /ɣɛis/ (Dutch) — approx. 'hice' or 'gice' in English.

Gys is Afrikaans, Dutch in Origin.

Gys is a Dutch–Afrikaans masculine given name, a variant of Gijs and a short form of Gijsbert or Gijsbrecht. These derive from the Germanic elements gisel (gisil) "pledge, hostage; noble youth" and berht "bright, famous," yielding the sense "bright pledge" or "illustrious youth." In Afrikaans, the spelling with y reflects the language’s shift from Dutch ij to y, and the name is well established in South Africa; in the Low Countries it also appears, though Gijs is more common. It typically rhymes with "ice."

As a familiar hypocoristic, Gys has been in use since medieval times via Gijsbrecht, a name borne by nobles and dramatized in Vondel’s 17th-century play Gijsbrecht van Aemstel. Variants and related forms include Gijs, Gijsbert, Gijsbrecht, German Gisbert, Spanish/Portuguese Gisberto, and diminutives such as Gijsje or Gysie; rare feminine counterparts are Gisberta/Gisbertina.