Gerald
Feminine · “spear rule”
Gerald is given to boys far more often — 448,966 boys against 2,385 girls since 1880. See Gerald as a boy name
The man who wrote the first detailed accounts of Wales and Ireland was called Gerald, and he got a great deal wrong. Gerald of Wales traveled both countries in the twelfth century, wrote them up at length, and mixed careful observation with everything anybody told him — which is why historians use him constantly and trust him carefully.
How old is the name Gerald?
Gerald first appears in US birth records in 1910 — 115 years ago. The typical Gerald alive today was born around 1947, making them about 78 years old. About 1,400 people named Gerald are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gerald most popular?
Gerald peaked in 1931, reaching #931 nationally. See the whole 1931 chart.
Where it comes from
From Gerwald to Gerald
The story of Gerald
Giraldus Cambrensis was half Norman and half Welsh, wanted to be bishop of St Davids, never got it, and spent his life writing instead. His books are the earliest sustained descriptions of either country: the topography, the customs, the food, the music, the fish. Some of it is first-rate reporting and some of it is credulous nonsense about barnacle geese growing on trees. English keeps Gerald and Gerard apart as two names; French does not distinguish them nearly so firmly, and the two Germanic compounds behind them differ only in their second element.
Meaning
spear rule
The Germanic compound joins a word for a spear to one for rule or power. It is among the clearest compounds in the whole name stock.
How the name formed
- Gerwald
- Gerald
Related forms: Geraud · Giraldo · Geraldo · Gerold
Pronouncing Gerald
JER-uld
Two syllables with the weight at the front, the g soft. Italian and Spanish give it three with a hard g.
Nicknames for Gerald
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1910
- Most girls named
- 193155 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #931reached in 1931
- Change vs 1991
- +100.0%10 in 1993, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Gerald in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Geraud in French — same name
- Giraldo in Italian — same name
- Geraldo in Spanish — same name
- Gerold in German — spelling variant
Geralds among us
people named Gerald are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Gerald sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has a form in every western European language.
- Jerry is one of the most established short forms in English.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- The meaning is transparent and easy to explain.
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the twentieth century in America.
- Gerald and Gerard are constantly substituted for one another.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
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Gerald
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Geralds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Gerald are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gerald in 2025?
- Gerald is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Gerald with classmates?
- Gerald will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
Grace#38 · Gloria#654 · Gladys#3211 · Geraldine#2438 · Gail#8362 · Gertrude#6546 · Georgia#99 · Gina#2076
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gerald? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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