Eugene (given name)

Eugene is a common masculine given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (eugenēs), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (eu), "well" and γένος (genos), "race, stock, kin". Gene is a common shortened form. The feminine variant is Eugenia or Eugenie.

Other male foreign-language variants include:

People

Notable people with the given name Eugene or Eugène include:

Christianity

• Eugene or Eugenios of Trebizond, 4th century Christian saint and martyr
• St. Eugene, one of the deacons of saint Zenobius of Florence
• Eugene (Eoghan) (died c. 618), Irish saint
• Pope Eugene I (died 657), Italian pope from 655 to 657
• Pope Eugene II (died 827), Italian pope from 824 to 827
• Pope Eugene III (died 1153), Italian pope from 1145 to 1153
• Pope Eugene IV (1383–1447), Italian pope from 1431 to 1447
• Eugène Philippe LaRocque (1927–2018), Roman Catholic bishop from Canada
• Eugene Antonio Marino (1934–2000), first African-American archbishop in the United States

Military

• Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), Austrian general, statesman of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian monarchy
• Eugène de Beauharnais (1781–1824), stepson and adopted child of Napoleon
• Eugene Goodman (born 1980), American United States Capitol Police officer who diverted invading rioters from the United States Senate chamber during the January 6 Capitol attack
• Eugene A. Greene (1921–1942), American sailor, posthumous recipient of the Navy Cross
• Eugene Hasenfus (1941–2025), United States Marine helping the right-wing rebel Contras in Nicaragua
• Eugène Maizan (1819–1845), French naval lieutenant and explorer
• Eugene Sledge (1923–2001), American World War II Marine and academic
• Eugene Sullivan (1918–1942), American sailor, one of the Sullivan brothers

Television and films

• Gene L. Coon (1924–1973), American screenwriter and television producer
• Eugene Cordero (born 1986), American actor
• Eugene Robert Glazer (born 1942), American actor
• Gene Hackman (1930–2025), American actor
• Gene Kelly (1912–1996), American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer
• Eugene Levy (born 1946), Canadian actor
• Eugene Mirman (born 1974), Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker
• Gene Rayburn (1917–1999), American radio personality and game show host
• Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991), American scriptwriter and producer
• Eugène Saccomano (1936–2019), French radio journalist and non-fiction author
• Gene Siskel (1946–1999), American film critic

Music

• Gene Allison (1934–2004), American R&B singer
• Gene Austin (1900–1972), American singer-songwriter
• Gene Clark (1944–1991), American singer, songwriter, founding member of the band The Byrds
• Eugen Doga (1937–2025), Moldovan composer
• Wendell Eugene (1923–2017), American jazz musician
• Eugene Aynsley Goossens (1893–1962), English conductor and composer
• Eugène Goossens, fils (1867–1958), French conductor and violinist
• Eugène Goossens, père (1845–1906), Belgian conductor
• Eugene Hütz (born 1972), Ukrainian-American singer, composer, disc jockey and actor, frontman of the band Gogol Bordello
• Eugene Izotov (born 1973), Russian-American oboist
• Gene Krupa (1909–1973), American jazz and big band drummer
• Gene McDaniels (1935–2011), American singer-songwriter
• Eugene Ormandy (1899–1985), Hungarian-born conductor
• Eugene Pao (fl. 2000s–2010s), Hong Kong jazz guitarist
• Gene Puerling (1929–2008), vocal arranger, leader of The Hi-Lo's and The Singers Unlimited
• Eugene Tzigane (fl. 2000s–2020s), Japanese-American conductor
• Eugene Wright (1923–2020), American jazz bassist, member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet
• Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931), Belgian violinist, composer and conductor
• Gene Simmons (born 1949), bassist and co-lead singer of rock band Kiss

Literature

• Eugene Field (1850–1895), American writer, columnist and children's poet
• Eugène Ionesco (1909–1994), Romanian-French playwright and dramatist
• Eugène Marin Labiche (1815–1888), French dramatist
• Eugène Lanti (1879–1947), French Esperantist, socialist and writer
• Eugène Marais (1871–1936), South African writer and poet
• Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953), American playwright
• Eugène Edine Pottier (1816–1887), French revolutionary socialist, poet, and transport worker
• Eugene Trivizas (born 1946), Greek author

Art

• Eugène Broerman (1861–1932), Belgian painter
• Eugène Boudin (1824–1898), French painter
• Eugène Carrière (1849–1906), French symbolist
• Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863), French painter
• Eugène Grasset (1845–1917), Swiss decorative artist of the Belle Epoque
• Eugène Jansson (1852–1915), Swedish painter
• Eugene Lambert (1928–2010), Irish puppeteer
• Eugene Pandala (born 1954), Indian architect
• Eugene Oliver Palmer (born 1955), Jamaican-born British artist
• Evgenios Spatharis (1924–2009), Greek shadow theatre artist
• Eugene V. Thaw (1927–2018), American art dealer and collector

Politics

• Eugène Koffi Adoboli (1934–2025), Togolese politician
• Eugene H. Belden (1840–1910), Michigan politician
• Eugene "Geno" Chiarelli (born 1994), West Virginian state delegate
• Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926), American socialist
• Eugene Reginald de Fonseka (died 2003), puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
• Eugène Heijnen (born 1964), Dutch politician and tax consultant
• Eugene D. Lujan (1887–1980), justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court
• Eugene McCarthy (1916–2005), U.S. senator from Minnesota
• Eugene McGehee (1929–2014), Louisiana politician
• Eugene Mitchell (1866–1944), American lawyer and president of the Atlanta Board of Education
• Eugène Paquet (1867–1951), Canadian parliamentarian
• Eugene E. Pratt (c. 1892–1970), justice of the Utah Supreme Court
• Eugène Ruffy (1854–1919), Swiss politician
• Eugene Sawyer (1934–2008), American businessman and politician
• Eugène Terre'Blanche (1941–2010), South African right-wing politician and leader of the AWB

Sports

• Eugene Asante (born 2001), American football player
• Eugene Laverty (born 1986), Irish professional motorcyclist
• Eugene Galekovic (born 1981), Australian goalkeeper
• Eugene Sseppuya (born 1983), Ugandan football striker
• Eugène Chaboud (1907–1983), Formula One driver from France
• Eugène Christophe (1885–1970), French professional cyclist
• Eugene Lawrence (born 1986), American professional basketball player
• Eugene Selznick (1930–2012), American volleyball player
• Eugene Glazer (fencer) (born 1939), American Olympic fencer
• Gene Cockrell (1934–2020), American football player
• Gene Filipski (1931–1994), American football player
• Gene Moore (outfielder) (1909–1978), right fielder in Major League Baseball
• Gene Moore (pitcher) (1886–1938), left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Gene Okerlund (1942–2019), American professional wrestling announcer
• Gene Prebola (1938–2021), American football player
• Geno Smith (born 1990), American football player
• Gene Snitsky (born 1970), American professional wrestler who formerly performed for World Wrestling Entertainment
• Gene Upshaw (1945–2008), American football player, labor leader, and former NFL Players Association director

Sciences

• Eugène Michel Antoniadi (1870–1944), Greek astronomer
• Eugen Bleuler (1857–1939), Swiss psychiatrist who coined the terms schizophrenia and autism
• Eugène Charles Catalan (1814–1894), Belgian mathematician
• Eugene Cernan (1934–2017), American astronaut, eleventh person to walk on the Moon
• Eugene Chelyshev (1921–2020), Russian indologist
• Eugene V. Gallagher (born 1950), American religious scholar
• Eugene Goodilin (born 1969), Russian material scientist
• Eugène Joseph Delporte (1882–1955), Belgian astronomer
• Eugene Gu (born 1986), American physician-scientist
• Eugene Guth (1905–1990), Hungarian-American theoretical physicist
• Eugene Lazowski (1913–2006), Polish doctor who saved 8,000 people by creating a fake typhus epidemic in World War II
• Eugene Parker (1927–2022), American solar and plasma physicist, after which the Parker Solar Probe was named
• Eugene Merle Shoemaker (1928–1997), American astronomer and geologist
• Eugène Schueller (1881–1957), French chemist, entrepreneur and founder of L'Oréal
• Eugène Simon (1848–1924), French arachnologist
• Eugène Soubeiran (1797–1859), French scientist who served as chief pharmacist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital
• Eugene Stanley (born 1941), American physicist
• Eugene Wigner (1902–1995), Hungarian-American theoretical physicist and winner of Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963

Other professions

• Eugene Allen (1919–2010), White House butler
• Eugene Burger (1939–2017), American magician and author
• Gene Gotti (born 1946), Italian-American mobster
• Eugene Jarvis (fl. 1970s–2020s), American computer games designer and programmer
• Eugene de Kock (born 1949), South African policeman serving a life sentence
• Gene Kranz (born 1933), NASA Flight Director
• Eugène Minkowski (1885–1972), French psychiatrist
• Eugene Murtagh (born 1942), Irish billionaire businessman, founder of Kingspan Group
• Eugene K. Palmer (born 1939) American fugitive
• Eugene Skinner (1809–1864), American pioneer, founder of Eugene, Oregon
• Eugene Stoner (1922–1997), American firearms designer, who designed M16 rifle
• Eugene Tan (born 1970), Singapore political analyst and law lecturer
• Eugene Thuraisingam (born 1975), Singaporean criminal lawyer
• Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879), French architect
• Eugene Lee Yang (born 1986), American filmmaker, actor, author, and internet celebrity

Fictional characters

• Gene Belcher, a main character in the animated series Bob's Burgers
• Eugene Chaud, in Mega Man Battle Network
• Eugene Fitzherbert, the male protagonist in Tangled, commonly called 'Flynn Rider'
• Eugene Grizzard, in Bonnie & Clyde
• Eugene "Bling-Bling Boy" Hamilton, antagonist in the animated series Johnny Test
• Eugene Horowitz, in Hey Arnold! media
• Eugene H. Krabs, in SpongeBob SquarePants media
• Eugene Meltsner, in the Adventures in Odyssey series
• Eugene Onegin, the title character in the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin and in the eponymous opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
• Eugene (Pokémon) or Eusine, in Pokémon media
• Eugene Tackleberry, in Police Academy
• Eugene "Flash" Thompson, in the Spider-Man comics
• Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch, comic relief in Power Rangers
• Eugene Wrayburn, one of the main characters in Charles Dickens' novel Our Mutual Friend
• Eugene Young, in The Practice
• Gene Evernight, also known as Kyrios, antagonist in ArcheAge
• Eugene Dix, in Final Destination 2
• Eugene Francis, in The Boss Baby
• Eugene Choi, a main character in the Korean drama Mr. Sunshine
• Gene, a former antagonist on Regular Show
• Eugene is an alias under the Halley Labs / LapFox Trax label
• Eugene Hofstadt and Eugene “Gene” Draper, Don Draper’s father-in-law and youngest son in Mad Men
• Eugene, a character from the 2023 indie-adventure RPG Cassette Beasts
• Eugene, a localized name for Yusuke Urameshi, in the Tagalog dub of YuYu Hakusho (known in the Philippines as Ghost Fighter)

See also

• Eugene (disambiguation)
• Eugen
• Eugenio
• Eugenios
• Eugenius, Western Roman emperor
• Eugenia (name)
• Kevin, a name of Irish origin with a similar meaning

References