Definitions of govern:

• verb:   direct or strongly influence the behavior of

  Example: "His belief in God governs his conduct"

• verb:   exercise authority over; as of nations

  Example: "Who is governing the country now?"

• verb:   require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood

  Example: "Most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German"

• verb:   bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations
• name:  A surname (very rare: popularity rank in the U.S.: #47239)