History of Geneva History of Geneva The History of Geneva dates from before the Roman occupation in the second century BC. Now the principal French-speaking city of Switzerland, Geneva was an independent city state from the Middle Ages until the end of the 18th century. John Calvin was the Protestant leader of the city in the 16th century. Geneva first appears in history as an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Celtic Helvetii tribe, which the Romans took in 121 BC. In 58 BC, Caesar, Roman governor of Gaul, destroyed the Rhône bridge at Geneva and built a 19-mile earthwork from Lake Geneva
Juniper (given name) The French name was shortened to "geneva", sounding the same as the place name, and further abbreviated to 'gin'. In some French dialects, the plant is known as "geneviève". This is also a French given name, notably that of Sainte Genevieve, patron saint of Paris. However, this name was derived from Latin "Genovefa" for Germanic "Kenowefa" (like English "kin" and "wife") and originally had no link with "genièvre" (French for "juniper"), which is not a female first name. Another name which was originally unrelated is the British name Guinevere ("Guenièvre" in French), a variant Old French spelling of "Gwenhwyfar", which