Find out how popular the first name Gerhard has been for the last 47 years (from 1974 to 2020) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Gerhard by gender

Based on the last 47 years of data, Gerhard is exclusively a male name.

For the most recent data in 2020, there were 5 male babies and 0 female babies born with the name Gerhard.

The history of the first name Gerhard

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.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Gerhard was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gerhard, please contact us.

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