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

Gerrard, 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 Gerrard surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gerrard in America

Gerrard is the 14691st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gerrard surname appeared 2,024 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Gerrard.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gerrard 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 Gerrard

The surname Gerrard originated in England, derived from the personal name Gerard, which itself has Germanic roots. The name Gerard is composed of the elements "gar" meaning "spear" and "hard" meaning "brave" or "hardy." It was introduced into Britain by the Normans after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Gerrard is a variant spelling of the more common Gerard, with the double "r" likely arising from regional pronunciation differences. The name can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England following the Norman invasion. Several entries mention individuals with the name Gerard or a similar spelling.

In the 12th century, a notable bearer of the name was Gerard de Camville, a Norman nobleman who served as Sheriff of Lincolnshire and was involved in the rebellion against King Stephen. Another early example is Gerard de Furnivall, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and was a prominent landowner in Yorkshire.

During the Middle Ages, the surname was often associated with places or towns, leading to variants like Gerard of Wigan or Gerard of Winwick. Over time, these locational surnames evolved into fixed family names, such as Gerrard.

One famous bearer of the Gerrard surname was Sir John Gerrard, born around 1516, who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I. Another notable figure was Marcus Gerrard, a 17th-century English traveler and author who wrote accounts of his journeys to the West Indies and Virginia.

In the literary world, Alexander Gerrard, born in 1628, was a Scottish poet and minister best known for his work "An Apology for the Service of Love." Meanwhile, Samuel Gerrard, born in 1637, was an English botanist and surgeon who contributed significantly to the study of plant life in the 17th century.

The Gerrard surname has also been associated with several notable places, such as Gerard's Cross in Buckinghamshire, England, which is believed to have derived its name from an early bearer of the surname who owned land in the area.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gerrard

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

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 Gerrard 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 Gerrard 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 Gerrard was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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