Geraline
Feminine · “spear-rule”
Geraline is a syllable shorter than the name it most resembles, and it may not come from that name at all. The Germanic element at the front of the family means a spear, and the same word is sitting in an ordinary English vegetable.
How old is the name Geraline?
Geraline first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Geraline alive today was born around 1939, making them about 86 years old. About 300 people named Geraline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Geraline most popular?
Geraline peaked in 1938, reaching #1437 nationally. See the whole 1938 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Geraline
Garlic is spear-leek. The Old English gar meant a spear — it is the same element at the front of Gerald, Gerard, Garrett and Edgar, and it survives on its own in the word gore, meaning to pierce — and leac was a leek, used broadly for the whole onion family. The name describes the leaves, which come up flat and pointed like blades rather than round like an onion's. English does this constantly with plants: horseradish, woodruff, stitchwort, lungwort, eyebright and self-heal all describe a shape, a habitat or a supposed use, and most speakers have stopped hearing the description. Gar also gives the garfish, which is named for being long and pointed, and the garlic mustard that smells of one plant and looks like another.
Meaningscholars disagree
spear-rule, at a remove
If it shortens Geraldine, it descends from a Germanic compound joining a spear to a word about ruling. If it is a build on a free front and the ending the period favored, it means nothing. Both patterns are attested in the same decades and nothing chooses between them.
Pronouncing Geraline
JEHR-uh-leen
Three syllables with the stress at the front. The ending says leen rather than the English word line, following the French names it was borrowed from.
Nicknames for Geraline
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
- 1914
- Most girls named
- 193827 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1437reached in 1938
- Change vs 1963
- +16.7%7 in 1964, from 6
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.
Geralines among us
people named Geraline 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
Geraline 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
- Gerry detaches cleanly and works for a child of either sex.
- Front stress on three syllables is a comfortable English rhythm.
- The spelling is phonetic once the ending is known.
- Geraldine and Geralyn are both commoner and will be written for it.
- The ending will be read as the English word line by strangers.
- Which longer name it came from is not recorded, so the meaning has two routes.
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Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Geralines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Geraline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Geraline in 2025?
- Geraline is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Geraline with classmates?
- Geraline 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 Geraline? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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