Gerard
A masculine name of French origin meaning "brave spear".
Name Census estimates that about 37,062 living Americans carry the first name Gerard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gerard today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gerard births was 1956 (1,617 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gerard. 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
- • Although Gerard is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 112 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Gerard have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
37K
~ 1 in 9,248 Americans
Peak year
1956
1,617 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,529
Tracked since 1886
Gender
Gender distribution for Gerard
Out of the 58,833 babies given the name Gerard since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Gerard as a male name
- Ranked #1,529 in 2024
- 115 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1956 (1,617 births)
Gerard as a female name
- Ranked #10,289 in 1987
- 6 female births in 1987
- Peak: 1952 (9 births)
Popularity
Gerard: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gerard from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 14,235 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
Gerard 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 Gerard during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gerards live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Gerard, while West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,194 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gerard
The name Gerard originates from the Germanic languages, where it is a compound of the elements "gair" meaning "spear" and "hardu" meaning "brave" or "hardy". Its earliest recorded use dates back to the 8th century in the Frankish empire, where it was a popular name among the nobility and warrior class.
The name was popularized through its association with Saint Gerard of Toul, a renowned 10th century bishop and patron saint of travelers, who was born around 935 AD in the Duchy of Lorraine. His feast day is celebrated on April 23rd in the Catholic Church, contributing to the widespread adoption of the name across medieval Europe.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Gerard of Brogne, a Benedictine monastic reformer born in 850 AD in present-day Belgium. He founded several monasteries and played a pivotal role in reviving monastic life in the region during the 10th century.
In England, the name gained prominence with Gerard of Cambrai, a Norman scholar and Bishop of Cambrai who was born around 1025 AD. He was a renowned teacher and author, and is credited with contributing to the spread of Aristotelian philosophy in the medieval period.
Another notable figure was Gerard of Cremona, an Italian scholar and one of the most prolific translators of Arabic scientific texts into Latin. Born around 1114 AD in Cremona, Italy, he played a crucial role in transmitting knowledge from the Islamic world to medieval Europe.
The name also found its way into the ranks of royalty, with Gerard, Count of Vienne and Burgundy, who lived from around 985 to 1023 AD. He was a powerful ruler in the Holy Roman Empire and played a significant role in the political landscape of the time.
Throughout history, the name Gerard has been borne by numerous scholars, clergy, and military leaders, reflecting its Germanic roots and associations with valor and wisdom. While its popularity has waxed and waned over the centuries, it has endured as a testament to its rich cultural heritage.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Gerard
People
Gerard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gerard 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
Gerard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gerard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 37,062 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gerard 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 9,248 US residents.
Is Gerard a common name?
We classify Gerard as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58,833 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gerard most popular?
The single biggest year for Gerard was 1956, when 1,617 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gerard is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gerard a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Gerard 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.
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.