Guido

Guido is a masculine given name of Italian origin. It has been borne by a number of figures in Italian history and culture and remains in use in Italy and among Italian communities around the world.

One of the earliest and most influential bearers is Guido d'Arezzo (circa 991–1050), a Benedictine monk who helped develop medieval musical notation and the hexachord system. He popularized solmization syllables—ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la—that laid groundwork for later movable-do systems, and his work contributed to the tradition of Western musical notation. He is also associated with the Guidonian Hand, a mnemonic device used in teaching singers.

Guido Cavalcanti (1255–1300) was a Florentine poet connected with the Dolce Stil Novo movement, noted for his philosophical and intricate verse. Guido Reni (1575–1642) was a prominent Italian Baroque painter whose polished style contrasted with the more dramatic tendencies of some contemporaries.

In modern times, Guido van Rossum (born 1956) is a Dutch programmer best known as the creator of the Python programming language, a widely used language in education, science, and industry.

In contemporary slang used in parts of North America, the term "Guido" has also been used to describe a stereotype of a fashion-conscious Italian-American male, sometimes associated with particular grooming and car culture; the term is controversial and can be considered offensive in some contexts.