Geralynn
Combination of Germanic name elements meaning "spear" and "pure, gentle".
Name Census estimates that about 355 living Americans carry the first name Geralynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Geralynn today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Geralynn births was 1959 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Geralynn. 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.
People living today
355
~ 1 in 965,505 Americans
Peak year
1959
32 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2013 SSA rank
#17,472
Tracked since 1942
Popularity
Geralynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Geralynn from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 193 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Geralynn 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 Geralynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Geralynns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Michigan, Illinois recorded the most babies named Geralynn, while New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Geralynn
The name Geralynn is a feminine form of the masculine name Gerald, which has its origins in the Germanic languages. The name is derived from the elements "ger" meaning "spear" and "wald" meaning "rule" or "power." Together, these elements create a meaning of "ruler with a spear" or "strong with a spear."
The name Gerald first appeared in the 8th century and was popular among the Franks, a Germanic tribe that settled in modern-day France and parts of Germany. It was later adopted by the Normans, who brought the name to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The feminine form, Geralynn, emerged in the 20th century as a combination of the traditional Gerald and the common feminine suffix "-lynn." While the name has no known direct historical references, it shares its roots with the masculine form, which was borne by several notable figures throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gerald was Gerald of Aurillac, a French nobleman and saint who lived from 855 to 909 AD. Another notable bearer was Gerald of Wales, a 12th-century chronicler and archdeacon who wrote extensively about the Welsh people and their customs.
In the 13th century, Gerald de Barri, also known as Giraldus Cambrensis, was a renowned Welsh clergyman and writer who authored works on the history and topography of Ireland and Wales.
During the 15th century, Gerald FitzGerald, the 8th Earl of Kildare, was a prominent Irish statesman and military leader who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland.
In more recent times, Gerald Ford, born in 1913, became the 38th President of the United States after succeeding Richard Nixon in 1974.
While the feminine form Geralynn has a shorter history, it has been borne by several notable individuals, including Geralynn Eiseman, an American color expert and author, and Geralynn Hewitt, a Canadian actress known for her roles in television series such as "Da Vinci's Inquest" and "Regenesis."
People
Geralynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Geralynn 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
Geralynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Geralynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 355 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Geralynn 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 965,505 US residents.
Is Geralynn a common name?
We classify Geralynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 455 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Geralynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Geralynn was 1959, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Geralynn is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Geralynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Geralynn 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.
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.