Gearldine
Feminine form of the Germanic name Gerald, meaning "ruler of the spear."
Name Census estimates that about 1,511 living Americans carry the first name Gearldine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gearldine today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gearldine births was 1935 (165 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gearldine. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Gearldine is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gearldines were born before 1959.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 226,839 Americans
Peak year
1935
165 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1939 SSA rank
#3,677
Tracked since 1908
Census
Gearldine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 761 people with the first name Gearldine, which placed it at #15,191 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,191
National first-name rank
People counted
761
761 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gearldine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gearldine is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Black (35.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gearldine described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gearldine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.7% · 447
- Black or African American35.6% · 271
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 14
- Two or more races1.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Gearldine
Out of the 4,691 babies given the name Gearldine since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Gearldine as a male name
- Ranked #3,677 in 1939
- 5 male births in 1939
- Peak: 1939 (5 births)
Gearldine as a female name
- Ranked #10,120 in 1977
- 5 female births in 1977
- Peak: 1935 (165 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gearldine appears almost entirely female. Of the 765 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Gearldine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gearldine from the 1900s through to the 1970s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 1,356 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gearldine by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gearldine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gearldines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Gearldine, while Florida, Ohio, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 145 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gearldine
The name Gearldine has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the Germanic root words "ger" meaning "spear" and "ald" meaning "old" or "ancient". This combination suggests a connection to warriors or soldiers from ancient times.
In the early Middle Ages, the name was primarily used in regions of present-day England, particularly among Anglo-Saxon communities. It was often spelled as "Gearldin" or "Gearldyn" during this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gearldine can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Gearldin" in reference to a landowner in the county of Essex.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name remained relatively uncommon, but it gained some prominence in the 13th century with the birth of Gearldine of Burgundy (1223-1292), a French noblewoman and countess who played a significant role in the conflicts between France and England during her lifetime.
Another notable figure bearing the name Gearldine was Gearldine de Corbie (1328-1406), a French nun and mystic who founded several convents and was known for her spiritual writings and teachings.
During the Renaissance, the name experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in England and Scotland. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Gearldine Douglas (1475-1537), a Scottish noblewoman and mother of King James V of Scotland.
In the 17th century, Gearldine Weston (1609-1658), an English poet and author, gained recognition for her works, including a collection of poems titled "The Muse's Garden".
Moving into the 18th century, Gearldine Griffith (1720-1788) was a Welsh educator and philanthropist who established several schools for underprivileged children in her home country.
While the name Gearldine has waned in popularity in recent times, it remains a unique and evocative name with a rich historical legacy, reflecting its ancient roots and connections to warriors, nobility, and notable figures throughout history.
People
Gearldine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gearldine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gearldine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gearldine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,511 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gearldine going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 226,839 US residents.
Is Gearldine a common name?
We classify Gearldine as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,691 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gearldine most popular?
The single biggest year for Gearldine was 1935, when 165 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gearldine is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gearldine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 761 people with the name Gearldine, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,191 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gearldine in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gearldine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gearldine appears almost entirely female. Of the 765 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gearldine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gearldine is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Black (35.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gearldine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gearldine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (447 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gearldine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gearldine a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Gearldine in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gearldine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gearldine in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gearldine can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Gearldine as a first name?
See how many people share the name Gearldine on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.