Gerard is a masculine forename of

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and

Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this case, those constituents are ''gari'' > ''ger-'' (meaning 'spear') and -''hard'' (meaning 'hard/strong/brave'). Common forms of the name are Gerard (English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, Polish and Catalan); Gerrard (English, Scottish, Irish); (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and Spanish); ( Portuguese); (

); ( Northern Italian, now only a surname); (variant forms and , now only surnames, French); ( Irish); Gerhardt and

Gerhart Gerhart is a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: As a given name * Gerhart Baum (1932–2025), German lawyer and politician, Federal Minister of the Interior * Gerhart Eisler (1897–1968), German communist politician * ...

/ Gerhard/ Gerhardus ( German, Dutch, and

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

); ( Hungarian); ( Lithuanian) and / ( Latvian); (

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

). A few abbreviated forms are Gerry and Jerry (English); (German) and (Afrikaans and Dutch); (Afrikaans and Dutch); (Afrikaans); (Dutch) and ( Bulgarian). The introduction of the name 'Gerard' into the English language took place following the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in 1066. Its original forms in Old French were ", " and "".

Patronymic surname A patronymic surname is a surname originated from the given name of the father or a patrilineal ancestor. Different cultures have different ways of producing patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based o ...

s derived from a form of Gerard include Garrard, Garritsen, Gerard, Geertsen, Gerardet, Gerardi,

Gerdes Gerdes or Geerdes ( , ) is a surname of German origin. It is a patronymic name, i.e. it comes from "son of Gerhard". When around 1800 the Prussian government under French occupation decided to fix the surnames, the contemporary "son of Gerhard" had ...

, Gerrard, Gerretsen, Gerrits(e), Gerritsen, Ghiraldi, and Giraud. The name

Gerald Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic languages prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Gerald is a Norman French variant of the Germanic name. An Old English equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original ...

, while

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

ally similar to Gerard, derives from a slightly different set of constituents: ''ger'' and ''wald'' (meaning 'rule/lead').

First name

Academics

* Gerard A. Alphonse, Haitian electrical engineer * Gerard Bolland (1854–1922), Dutch philosopher and radical *

Gerard Clauson Sir Gerard Leslie Makins Clauson (28 April 1891 – 1 May 1974) was an English civil servant, businessman, and Orientalist best known for his studies of the Turkic languages. He was born in Malta. The eldest son of Major Sir John Eugene Clauso ...

(1891–1974), English Orientalist *

Gerard of Cremona Gerard of Cremona (Latin: ''Gerardus Cremonensis''; c. 1114 – 1187) was an Italians, Italian translator of scientific books from Arabic into Latin. He worked in Toledo, Spain, Toledo, Kingdom of Castile and obtained the Arabic books in the libr ...

(1114–1187), Italian translator of scientific Arabic works * Gerard De Geer (1858–1943), Swedish geologist * Gerard Heymans (1857–1930), Dutch philosopher and psychologist * Gerard Hendrik Hofstede (1928–2020), Dutch social psychologist *

Gerard 't Hooft Gerardus "Gerard" 't Hooft (; born July 5, 1946) is a Dutch theoretical physicist and professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics with his thesis advisor Martinus J. G. Veltman "for elucidating t ...

(born 1946), Dutch theoretical physicist * Gerard de Jode (1509–1591), Dutch cartographer, engraver and publisher * Gerard Krefft (1830–1881), Australian zoologist * Gerard de Kremer (1512–1594), Flemish cartographer, geographer and cosmographer *

Gerard Kuiper Gerard Peter Kuiper ( ; born Gerrit Pieter Kuiper, ; 7 December 1905 – 23 December 1973) was a Dutch-American astronomer, planetary scientist, selenographer, author and professor. The Kuiper belt is named after him. Kuiper is consi ...

(1905–1973), Dutch–American astronomer *

Gerard Labuda Gerard Labuda (; 28 December 1916 – 1 October 2010) was a Polish historian whose main fields of interest were the Middle Ages and the Western Slavs. He was born in Kashubia. He lived and died in Poznań, Poland. Life Labuda was born in N ...

(1916–2010), Polish historian * Gerard van der Leeuw (1890–1950), Dutch historian and philosopher of religion * Gerard Luttikhuizen (born 1940), Dutch scholar of religion and early Christianity * Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992), American physicist and space activist *

Gerard Salton Gerard A. "Gerry" Salton (8 March 1927 – 28 August 1995) was a professor of computer science at Cornell University. Salton was perhaps the leading computer scientist working in the field of information retrieval during his time, and "the father ...

(1927–1995), German–born American computer scientist * Gerard van Swieten (1700–1772), Dutch–Austrian physician

Arts

Music

* Gerard Joling (born 1960), Dutch pop singer * Gerard Mortier (1943–2014), Belgian opera director and administrator * Gerard Nolan (1946–1992), American rock drummer *

Gerard Schwarz Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orc ...

(born 1947), American conductor *

Gerard Way Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the Rock music, rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitan ...

(born 1977), American singer-songwriter and comic book writer

Theater and film

* Gerard Montgomery Bluefeather (1887–1963), American movie actor known as "Monte Blue" * Gerard Butler (born 1969), Scottish actor * Gerard Damiano (1928–2008), American director of adult films * Gerard Depardieu (born 1948), French actor, filmmaker, and vineyard owner *

Gerard Kennedy (actor) Gerard Kennedy (8 March 1932 – 21 April 2025) was an Australian double Gold Logie award-winning actor. Kennedy started his career in theatre, before going on to appear in early television series, primarily with Crawford Productions, with se ...

(1932–2025), Australian actor * Gerard Marenghi (1920–2018), American actor * Gerard McCarthy (born 1981), Northern Irish actor * Gerard McSorley (born 1950), Irish actor * Gerard Murphy (Irish actor) (1948–2013), Northern Irish actor * Gerard Kenneth Tierney (1924–1985), American TV and western actor known as Scott Brady

Visual arts

* Gerard Bilders (1838–1865), Dutch painter and art collector * Gerard ter Borch (1617–1681), Dutch painter *

Gerard David Gerard David ( – 13 August 1523) was an Early Netherlandish painter and manuscript illuminator known for his brilliant use of color. Only a bare outline of his life survives, although some facts are known. He may have been the Meester ghera ...

(1460–1523), Dutch painter *

Gerard Dou Gerrit Dou (; 7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre s ...

(1613–1675), Dutch genre painter * Gerard Douffet (1594–1660), Flemish painter * Gerard Edelinck (1640–1707), Flemish–born French engraver * Gerard Hoet (1648–1733), Dutch painter and engraver *

Gerard van Honthorst Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickn ...

(1592–1656), Dutch painter * Gerard Horenbout (c. 1465–c. 1541), Flemish miniaturist a.k.a. the Master of James IV of Scotland * Gerard Houckgeest (c. 1600–1661), Dutch architectural and church interior painter * Gerard de Lairesse (1641–1711), Dutch painter and art theorist * Gerard Moerdijk (1890–1958), South African architect * Gerard Thomas Rietveld (1888–1964), Dutch furniture designer and architect *

Gerard Seghers Gerard SeghersGerard Seghers
at the

(1591–1651), Flemish painter, art collector, and art dealer * Gerard van Spaendonck (1746–1822), Dutch floral painter

Writing

* Gerard F. Conway (born 1952), American writer of comic books and television shows *

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...

(1844–1889), British poet * Gerard Malanga (born 1943), American poet, photographer, filmmaker, curator and archivist *

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855), the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, was a French essayist, poet, translator, and travel writer. He was a major figure during the era of French romantici ...

(1808–1855), nom-de-plume of French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie * Gerard Reve (1923–2006), Dutch writer * Gerard Soeteman (1936–2025), Dutch screenwriter and comics writer *

Gerard Walschap Jacob Lodewijk Gerard, Baron Walschap (9 July 1898 – 25 October 1989), was a Belgium, Belgian writer. Early life Walschap was born in Londerzeel-St. Jozef in 1898. He went to ''highschool'' at the ''Klein seminarie'' in Hoogstraten, and later ...

(1898–1989), Belgian writer

Business

* Gerard Adriaan Heineken (1841–1893), Dutch founder of Heineken beer * Gerard Kleisterlee (born 1946), Dutch business executive, CEO of Philips * Gerard Philips (1858–1942), Dutch co–founder of "Philips" * Gerard Reynst (1560s–1615), Dutch merchant and Governor–General of the Dutch East Indies

Crime

* Gerard Conlon (1954–2014), wrongfully imprisoned Northern Irishman, subject of "In the Name of the Father," * Gerard John Schaefer (1946–1995), American serial killer * Gerard Mahon, part of a married Irish couple who with wife was murdered in Twinbrook, Belfast

Medieval rulers

* Gerard I of Paris (died 779), count of Paris * Gerard, Count of Auvergne (died 841), son of Pepin I * Gerhard I of Metz (c. 875–910), count of Metz *

Gerard, Duke of Lorraine Gerard ( 1030 – 14 April 1070), also known as Gerard the Wonderful, was a Lotharingian nobleman. He was the count of Metz and Châtenois from 1047 to 1048, when his brother Duke Adalbert resigned them to him upon his becoming the Duke of Upp ...

(c. 1030–1070), Lotharingian nobleman * Gerard Grenier (died c. 1170), Lord of Sidon, Kingdom of Jerusalem * Gerard I, Count of Guelders (c. 1060–1120) * Gerard II, Count of Guelders (died 1131) * Gerard, Count of Loon (died 1191) * Gerard, Count of Rieneck (died 1216), son of Gerard, Count of Loon * Gerard III, Count of Guelders (1185–1229) * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (died 1340)

Military

* Gerard Bucknall (1894–1980), British army general * Gerard Pietersz Hulft (1621–1656), Dutch general *

Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief, India, Commander-in-Chief o ...

(1744–1808), British general * Gerard de Ridefort (died 1189), Flemish Grand Master of the Knights Templar

Politics

* Gerard Adams (born 1948), Irish politician, leader of the Sinn Feín party *

Gerard Batliner Gerard Batliner (9 December 1928 – 25 June 2008) was a lawyer and politician from Liechtenstein who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1962 to 1970. He later served in the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 1974 to 1982 and as the ...

(1928–2008), Prime Minister of Liechtenstein * Gerard Batten (born 1954), English UKIP politician * Gerard Anthony Brownlee (born 1956), New Zealand government minister * Gerard Collier, 5th Baron Monkswell (1947–2020), British politician * Gerard Cooreman (1852–1926), Belgian Prime Minister * Gerard MacBryan (1902–1953), British civil servant and private secretary * Gerard Wijeyekoon (1878–1952), Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician, first President of the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the Parliament of Ceylon, parliament of Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It ...

Religion

* Gerard, Abbot of Brogne (c. 895–959), Belgian abbot and saint * Gerard of Toul (935–994), German bishop and saint *

Gerard of Csanád Gerard or Gerard Sagredo (; ; ; 23 April 977/1000 – 24 September 1046) was the first bishop of Csanád in the Kingdom of Hungary from around 1030 to his death. Most information about his life was preserved in his legends which contain most c ...

(died 1046), Hungarian bishop and saint, a.k.a. ''Gerard Sagredo'' * Gerard of Florennes (c. 975–1051), Bishop of Cambrai * Gerard of Burgundy (died 1061), known as Pope Nicholas II * Gerard (archbishop of York) (died 1108), English archbishop * Blessed Gerard (c. 1040–1120), Benedictine founder of the Knights Hospitaller * Gerard Segarelli (c. 1240–1309), Italian founder of the Apostolic Brethren * Gérard de Dainville (died 1378), Bishop of Cambrai * Gerard Groote (1340–1384), Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life * Gerard van Groesbeeck (1517–1580), Flemish bishop and cardinal * Gerard Majella (1726–1755), Italian lay brother and saint * Gerard de Korte (born 1955), Dutch Roman Catholic bishop

Sports

* Gerard Cieślik (1927–2013), Polish football striker * Gerard Deulofeu (born 1994), Spanish football forward * Gerard Kemkers (born 1967), Dutch speed skater and skating coach * Gerard Friedrich Knetemann (1951–2004), Dutch racing cyclist * Gerard López (born 1979), Spanish football midfielder * Gerard Moreno (born 1992), Spanish football striker * Gerard Nijboer (born 1955), Dutch long–distance runner * Gerard Piqué (born 1987), Spanish football defender * Gerard Plessers (born 1959), Belgian football defender * Gerard de Rooy (born 1980), Dutch truck racer * Gerard van Velde (born 1971), Dutch speed skater and skating coach

Last name

* Alexander Gerard (1728–1795), Scottish church minister and academic * Alexander Gerard (explorer) (1792–1839), Scottish army officer and Himalayan explorer * A. E. Gerard (1877–1950), Alfred Edward Gerard, founder of several South Australian electrical businesses * Alphonso Gerard (1916–2002), Negro league baseball player * Darren Gerard (born 1984), English cricketer *

Dorothea Gerard Dorothea Mary Stanislaus Gerard (Mme Longard de Longgarde, 9 August 1855 – 29 September 1915) was a Scottish-born novelist and romance-writer who often wrote about controversial and unconventional subjects and "whose general conservatism co- ...

(1855–1915), Scottish novelist * Eddie Gerard (1890–1937), Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach *

Emily Gerard Emily Gerard (7 May 1849 – 11 January 1905), later Emily Laszowska, was a 19th-century Scottish author best known for the influence her collections of Transylvanian folklore had on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula''. Life Early life E ...

(1849–1905), Scottish author *

Étienne Maurice Gérard Étienne Maurice Gérard, 1st Comte Gérard (; 4 April 177317 April 1852) was a French general and statesman. He served under a succession of French governments including the ''ancien regime'' monarchy, the Revolutionary governments, the Restor ...

(1773–1852), French general and politician *

Geoff Gerard Geoff Gerard (born 10 July 1955) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football ...

(born 1955), Australian rugby league player * Geoff Gerard (politician) (1904–1997), New Zealand politician * Gil Gerard (born 1943), American actor * Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet of Harrow on the Hill (1587–1670), English politician * Gilbert Gerard (judge) (died 1593), English lawyer and judge * Gilbert Gerard (theological writer) (1760–1815), Scottish writer * Jack N. Gerard (born 1957), leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * Jacques Gérard, French World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

* James W. Gerard (1867–1951), American lawyer and diplomat * Jim Gerard (born 1936), New Zealand politician *

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular garde ...

(1545–1612), English botanist * John Gerard (Jesuit) (died 1637) * Leo Gerard (born 1947), Canadian labour union leader * Ralph W. Gerard (1900–1974), American neurophysiologist * Red Gerard (born 2000), American snowboarder * Richard Gerard of Hilderstone (1635–1680), English landowner * Robert Gerard (born 1944) South Australian electrical merchant and manufacturer * Sumner Gerard (1916–2005), American businessman, Montana politician, and US Ambassador to Jamaica

Fictional characters

*Prince Gerard Himerce, the main hero of Gaiapolis *

Brigadier Gerard Brigadier Gerard is the hero of a series of 17 historical short stories, a play, and a major character in a novel by the British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Brigadier Etienne Gerard is a Hussar officer in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars ...

in the novel ''Uncle Bernac'' and the short story anthologies ''The Adventures of Gerard'' and "The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard'', by

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

* Joe Gerard, husband of the title character in the 1970s television series ''Rhoda'' *Philip Gerard, pursuer of the title character in the television series '' The Fugitive'' *Samuel Gerard, in the films '' The Fugitive'' and '' U.S. Marshals'' * Gerard DuGalle, in the video game ''StarCraft: Brood War'' * Gerard Duval, in the 1929 novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' by Erich Maria Remarque *Gérard, in the '' Chronicles of Amber'' novel series by Roger Zelazny *Gerard Argent, a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

and antagonist in

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's cult television show ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed when he discover ...

''. *Marcel Gerard, a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

and ruler of the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

supernatural community in

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

network's television series '' The Originals''. * Gerard Valkyrie is a Quincy and a member of the Wandenreich's Sternritter with the designation "M" - The Miracle from the Bleach manga

References

{{given name English-language surnames Patronymic surnames Dutch masculine given names English masculine given names Polish masculine given names Masculine given names