Gamaliel the Elder (/É¡ÉËmeɪliÉl, -ËmÉ -, ËɡæmÉËli Él/;also spelled Gamliel; Hebrew: רַ×Ö·Ö¼× ×Ö·Ö¼×Ö°×Ö´××Öµ× ×Ö·×Ö¸Ö¼×§Öµ× Rabban GamlÄ«yʾÄl hazZÄqÄn; KoinÄ Greek: Îαμαλιὴλ á½ Î ÏεÏβÏÏεÏÎ¿Ï GamaliÄl ho Presbýteros), or Rabban Gamaliel I, was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early first century AD. He was the son of Simeon ben Hillel and grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder. Gamaliel is thought to have died in 52 AD (AM 3813). He fathered Simeon ben Gamliel, who was named for Gamaliel's father, and a daughter, who married a priest named Simon ben Nathanael.
Gamaliel as a boy's name is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Gamaliel is "recompense of God". A biblical name probably brought to America by the Puritans.