The name Gerhard is of Germanic origin and dates back to the 8th century. It is derived from the Old German words "ger" meaning spear and "hard" meaning hardy or strong. The name essentially means "strong with a spear" or "brave with a spear".

The name was popular among the Franks and other Germanic tribes during the Middle Ages. It was also widespread in areas such as modern-day Germany, Netherlands, and parts of France. Variations in spelling included Gerhard, Gerhardus, Gerhart, and Gerhart.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name is found in the 8th century Latin work "Vita Sancti Liudgeri" which mentions a man named Gerhard who served as a nobleman and advisor to Charlemagne. Another early figure was Gerhard of Augsburg, a Catholic bishop who lived from 949 to 1036.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Gerhard. One of the most famous was Gerhard Mercator (1512-1594), a Flemish cartographer who created the Mercator projection world map. Another was Gerhard Schröder (1844-1900), a German chemist who developed the Schröder-Grignard reaction.

In the realm of literature, there was Gerhard Hauptmann (1862-1946), a German dramatist and novelist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1912. The philosopher Gerhard Ritter (1888-1967) was also a prominent figure in the 20th century.

More recently, there was Gerhard Firth (1904-1992), a British linguist and philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of language and meaning. His work influenced the fields of semantics and pragmatics.