Gomer

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[edit] ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Although Gomer was originally a biblical name, it was never overly popular. Some Hebrew origins indicate it can mean “standing for the whole family.” Further evidence of the origin related to “complete” is based on Gomer’s traditional identification with the Cimmerians (Akkadian Gimirru, "complete.”^[1] *Gomer is also the Spanish name for cimerios.

Gomer was the eldest son of Japheth, and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible ^[2] Gomer’s family settled near the Black Sea and actually initiated a tribe that became the Gomerites. Some of the Gomerites either remained in that area, and others went west as far as France, Spain and to the British Isles. The part of the tribe that returned to Asia Minor came to be known as the Galatians. Although there are some disputes that the form "Galatia" does not smoothly convert to "Gomer", a derivation is possible. One position is that the middle consonant of the word GoMeR can be substituted with a W or a U, thus G-M-R can convert to G-W-R, or G-U-R. ^[3]

Today, it tends to draw less than positive connotations regarding intellect and suggests a rural backwardsness. Given its noble etymology, this seems unfair.

[edit] POPULARITY

According to the Social Security Administration, Gomer is not in the top 1000 names for any year of birth in the last 15 years.

[edit] FACTS

• The Gomers are a band from Madison, Wisconsin
• Gomers are fans of Third Day(a band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s)
• La Gomera, a Spanish island in the Canaries.
• Gomer Press, a printing company and publishing house in Wales. ^[4]

[edit] NAMESAKES

• GOMER (Abbreviation: medical) “Get out of my emergency room”
• GOMER (Abbreviation: medical) “Grand old man/matron of the emergency room”
• gomer: an undesirable patient (medical slang, as in one who does not respond to treatment)
• Gomer, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in France
• Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, an island of the coast of Morocco controlled by Spain
• an enemy aviator, think dogfight ^[5]

[edit] FAMOUS PERSONS

• Gomer Pyle, USMC – A character played by actor [Jim] Nabors first on the 1960s television program “Andy Griffith” and later as a spinoff on his own series “Gomer Pyle.” Contemporarily, this is perhaps the strongest reference to the name and likely responsible for its lack of popularity. Although the character Gomer has a heart-of-gold, he was also portrayed as hickish and backwards. Calling someone a “Gomer” today usually implies that the person exhibits these traits.
• Gomer Hodge, baseball player

Author: Mike_Szimanski

[edit] NOTES

1. ↑ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomer"
2. ↑ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomer"
3. ↑ "http://www.custance.org/Library/Volume1/Part_II/Chapter2.html"
4. ↑ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomer_%28disambiguation%29"
5. ↑ "http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gomer"