Gerald
Gerald around the world
One shared root links 7 names across 4 languages.
Shared root: two Germanic ger "spear" compounds, Gerald with wald "rule" and Gerard with hart "hard, brave", so entangled in medieval English use that their descendants are shared
The constellation
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Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gerald peaked in the 1940s and the 1950s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
463 people · the #14,113 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 28
Among people named Gerald living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Gerald
People given the name Gerald in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1979. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Gerald deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Gerald truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Gerald fits with your family’s names and surname.
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