Named after Yury Alekseyevich Gagarin - Soviet cosmonaut (1934-1968).
Gagarin is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side. To the southwest is the crater Pavlov and to the northeast lies Keeler. Closer to the rim are the craters Levi-Civita to the southwest, and Beijerinck to the north-northeast. Isaev lies entirely within the northwest rim. (wikipedia entry)
A crater is a circular depression likely created by an impact event. On the Moon they are named after deceased scientists, polar explorers, astronauts or cosmonauts.