Letters from Gid. J. Pillow

Gideon is a gender neutral given name and surname of Hebrew origin which translates to 'feller' or 'hewer' in Hebrew. It can also be interpreted as "One who has a stump in place of a hand" or "One who cuts down". The name originates with the Biblical judge and leader Gideon, who impressed Calvinist groups like English Puritans and French Huguenots with his martial skill and utility. They then adopted it as a Christian name. The given name was first used in the 16th century when it became common to use 'Old Testament'-derived names. The Huguenots used the surrogate variation Gédéon. The name soon lost popularity in the 20th century as it declined to a low of four recorded newborn births in Great Britain during the 1930s with this name. Alternate spellings of this name include Gideone, Guideon, and Gidieon.