W shortened pronunciations, as many speakers find the phrase "double-u double-u double-u" inconveniently long. In other Germanic languages, including German (but not Dutch, in which it is pronounced wé), its name is similar to that of English V . In many languages, its name literally means "double v": Portuguese "duplo vê", Spanish "doble ve" (though it can be spelled "uve doble"), French "double vé", Icelandic "tvöfalt vaff", Czech "dvojité vé", Finnish "kaksois-vee", etc. Former U.S. president George W. Bush was given the nickname "Dubya" after the colloquial pronunciation of his middle initial in Texas, where he spent much of his childhood.
Gilbert (given name) the alternative spelling "Guilbert" with "Guil-" [gil]. Variant spellings have evolved throughout Europe, including the Romance language version, "Gilberto", and the Latin version, "Gilbertus". The diminutive, "Gil", is popular as a given name or nickname. "Gilbert", with variant spellings, is also used as a surname (see Gilbert (surname)). Gilbert (given name) Gilbert is a given name of Norman-French origin, itself from Germanic "Gisilberht" or "Gisalberht". Original spellings included "Gislebert", "Guilbert" and "Gilebert". The first element, "Gil-", comes from Germanic "gīsil", meaning "shaft of an arrow" or "gisal" "pledge, hostage", while the second element, "-bert" comes from Germanic "-behrt", short form