Geraldean
Feminine variant of the name Gerald, meaning "ruler with a spear".
Name Census estimates that about 230 living Americans carry the first name Geraldean. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Geraldean today is around 80 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Geraldean births was 1934 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Geraldean. 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 Geraldean is about 80 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Geraldeans were born before 1956.
People living today
230
~ 1 in 1,490,236 Americans
Peak year
1934
41 babies that year
Average age
80
years old
1963 SSA rank
#6,959
Tracked since 1915
Census
Geraldean in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 354 people with the first name Geraldean, which placed it at #26,327 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
#26,327
National first-name rank
People counted
354
354 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Geraldean
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Geraldean is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Geraldean 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 Geraldean at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.2% · 277
- Black or African American15.0% · 53
- Two or more races2.8% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
Popularity
Geraldean: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Geraldean from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 287 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
Geraldean 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 Geraldean during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Geraldeans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas recorded the most babies named Geraldean, while Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Geraldean
The given name Geraldean is a feminine form derived from the masculine name Gerald, which has its origins in the Germanic languages. The name is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 9th or 10th century.
Gerald itself is a combination of the Germanic elements "ger" meaning "spear" and "wald" meaning "ruler" or "leader." The name can be interpreted as "ruler with a spear" or "brave with a spear." The name was popular among the Franks and other Germanic tribes during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Geraldean can be found in the "Book of Leinster," an ancient Irish manuscript dating back to the 12th century. In this text, there are references to a female figure named "Geraldena," which is likely a variant spelling of Geraldean.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Geraldean. One of the earliest was Geraldean of Aquitaine (1122-1195), a French noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was known for her support of troubadours and her influence in the cultural life of medieval France.
Another prominent figure was Geraldean de Warrenne (1292-1349), an English noblewoman and heiress to the earldom of Surrey. She played a significant role in the political affairs of her time and was involved in the conflicts between Edward II and his barons.
In the 16th century, Geraldean Fitzgerald (1532-1610) was an Irish noblewoman and a member of the powerful Fitzgerald dynasty. She was an influential figure during the Tudor conquest of Ireland and was known for her defiance against English rule.
During the 18th century, Geraldean Browning (1714-1790) was a British painter and one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition. She was renowned for her portraits and was elected as a founding member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
In more recent times, Geraldean Farmer (1913-2010) was an American author and educator. She wrote several books on African American history and culture, and her works shed light on the experiences of Black people in the United States.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the name Geraldean throughout history. The name has endured for centuries and has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures, reflecting its rich heritage and historical significance.
People
Geraldean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Geraldean 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
Geraldean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Geraldean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 230 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Geraldean 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 1,490,236 US residents.
Is Geraldean a common name?
We classify Geraldean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 916 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Geraldean most popular?
The single biggest year for Geraldean was 1934, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Geraldean is about 80 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Geraldean in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 354 people with the name Geraldean, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,327 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 Geraldean 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 Geraldean?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Geraldean appears almost entirely female. Of the 355 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Geraldean?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Geraldean is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Geraldean most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Geraldean in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.2% (277 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 Geraldean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Geraldean a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Geraldean 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 Geraldean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Geraldean 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 Geraldean 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 Geraldean as a first name?
See how many Americans are named Geraldean on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.