Find out how popular the last name Gerald is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gerald.

Gerald, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gerald surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gerald in America

Gerald is the 6476th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gerald surname appeared 5,244 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Gerald.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gerald to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Gerald

The surname Gerald originates from the medieval English and French forms of the Germanic name Gerard, which is derived from the elements "gair" meaning "spear" and "hard" meaning "brave" or "hardy." The name is thought to have first emerged in Normandy, France, during the 11th century.

Gerald is considered a Norman surname, brought to England by the Norman Conquest in 1066. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. Examples of similar spellings from this period include Gerold, Geraud, and Geraldus.

One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Gerald was William FitzGerald, who lived in the late 12th century and was a prominent Anglo-Norman nobleman in Ireland. He was a direct descendant of Otho, an ancestor who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066.

Another notable figure was Gerald of Wales, born around 1146, who was a medieval chronicler, ecclesiastic, and one of the most influential writers of his time. His works provide valuable insights into the medieval world and the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.

In the 13th century, the surname Gerald was associated with places such as Geraldton in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and Geraldine in County Kilkenny, Ireland. These place names likely derived from the surname itself.

Sir Thomas Gerald, born in the late 15th century, was an English politician and military commander who served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire during the reign of Henry VIII.

Cardinal John Gerald, born in 1456 in Normandy, was a prominent figure in the Catholic Church and served as the Archbishop of York from 1501 until his death in 1521.

The surname Gerald has also been associated with various noble families throughout history, including the FitzGeralds of Ireland, the Gerards of Lancashire, and the Geraldines of Worcestershire, England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gerald

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gerald.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gerald was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gerald has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!