Gerick
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "spear ruler" or "brave".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Gerick. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gerick today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gerick births was 1989 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gerick. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gerick. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1989
6 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,772
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Gerick: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gerick from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gerick 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 Gerick during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gerick
The given name Gerick has its origins in the Germanic languages, tracing back to the early medieval period. It is a variation of the name Gerhard, which was derived from the Old German words "ger" meaning "spear" and "hard" meaning "hardy" or "brave." The name was popular among the Frankish and Saxon tribes during the 6th to 10th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gerick can be found in the Annals of Fulda, a medieval chronicle compiled by monks in the Benedictine monastery of Fulda in present-day Germany. The chronicle mentions a Frankish nobleman named Gerick who participated in a military campaign against the Avars in the year 791.
The name Gerick also appears in several medieval charters and legal documents from various parts of Europe. For instance, a charter from the Lorsch Abbey in modern-day Germany, dated 786, mentions a landowner named Gerick who donated property to the monastery.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Gerick. One of the earliest was Gerick of Oudenaarde (c. 1070-1128), a Flemish nobleman and military leader who fought in the Crusades. Another notable figure was Gerick von Hoya (c. 1285-1349), a German nobleman and knight who served as the Bishop of Verden from 1324 to 1349.
In the 15th century, Gerick Schouten (c. 1420-1490) was a Dutch cartographer and navigator who is credited with mapping parts of the East Indies and contributing to the exploration of the Indian Ocean. Another individual of note was Gerick Velthuys (c. 1510-1580), a Dutch painter and engraver who was active in the Northern Renaissance period.
In more recent times, Gerick Wendrich (1923-2020) was a Dutch architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings and urban developments in the Netherlands. He was widely regarded as one of the leading modernist architects of his generation.
While the name Gerick has its roots in medieval Europe, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions over the centuries. However, it remains relatively uncommon compared to other Germanic names.
People
Gerick + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gerick 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
Gerick: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gerick?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gerick 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Gerick a common name?
We classify Gerick as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gerick most popular?
The single biggest year for Gerick was 1989, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gerick is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Gerick in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gerick a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gerick 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.
Is Gerick still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gerick 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 Gerick 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Gerick?
Want to know how many Americans are named Gerick? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.