Gehard
A masculine German name derived from the word "ger" meaning "spear".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Gehard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gehard today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gehard births was 1923 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gehard. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gehard. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1923
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#4,474
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Gehard: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Gehard 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 Gehard during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Gehard
The name Gehard originates from the Germanic languages, specifically Old High German. It is derived from the Germanic elements "gēr," meaning spear or javelin, and "hard," meaning hardy, brave, or strong. The name likely emerged during the early medieval period, around the 5th to 10th centuries AD, when the Germanic tribes dominated large parts of central and western Europe.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Gehard can be found in ancient Germanic manuscripts and chronicles. One notable mention is in the Vita Sancti Deicoli, a 9th-century hagiography of Saint Deicolus, where a figure named Gehard is mentioned as a loyal companion of the saint.
Throughout history, several individuals have borne the name Gehard. One of the earliest known figures was Gehard of Seeon (c. 900 - 965), a Benedictine monk and the first abbot of Seeon Abbey in Bavaria, Germany. Another notable Gehard was Gehard of Augsburg (c. 950 - 1022), a German bishop who played a significant role in the ecclesiastical affairs of his time.
In the 12th century, Gehard of Arles (c. 1125 - 1188) was a prominent French cleric who served as the Archbishop of Arles and played a pivotal role in the Crusades. During the same period, Gehard of Salzburg (c. 1140 - 1200) was a German nobleman and the 16th Archbishop of Salzburg.
Fast-forwarding to the 16th century, Gehard Mercator (1512 - 1594) was a renowned Flemish cartographer and geographer, best known for creating the Mercator projection, a cylindrical map projection that became a standard for nautical navigation.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Gehard, but they illustrate the longevity and cultural significance of this Germanic name throughout the centuries.
People
Gehard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gehard 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
Gehard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gehard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gehard 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 - US residents.
Is Gehard a common name?
We classify Gehard as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gehard most popular?
The single biggest year for Gehard was 1923, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gehard is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Gehard in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gehard a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gehard in the SSA data are male. 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 Gehard still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gehard 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 Gehard 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Gehard?
Find out how many people have the name Gehard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.