Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...

prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Gerald is a

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...

variant of the Germanic name. An

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original name of Gerald of Mayo, a British

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

monk who established a monastery in Mayo, Ireland in 670. Nearly two centuries later, Gerald of Aurillac, a French

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, took a vow of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied ...

and later became known as the Roman Catholic

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of bachelors. The name was in regular use during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

but declined after 1300 in England. It remained a common name in Ireland, where it was a common name among the powerful

FitzGerald dynasty The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Normans, Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. They have been Peerage of Ireland, peers of Ireland since at least the 13th centur ...

. The name was revived in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

in the

19th century The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was Abolitionism, ...

by writers of historical novels along with other names that had been popular in the medieval era. British novelist

Ann Hatton Ann Julia Hatton (Birth name, née Kemble, published as Ann of Swansea; 29 April 1764 – 26 December 1838), was a popular novelist in Britain in the early 19th century and author of ''Tammany'', the first known libretto by a woman. Biography ...

published a novel called ''Gerald Fitzgerald'' in 1831. Author Dorothea Grubb published her novel ''Gerald Fitzgerald'' in 1845, and Irish author

Charles Lever Charles James Lever (31 August 1806 – 1 June 1872) was an Irish novelist and raconteur, whose novels, according to Anthony Trollope, were just like his conversation. Biography Early life Lever was born in Amiens Street, Dublin, the secon ...

published his novel, also entitled ''Gerald Fitzgerald'', in 1859. The name had strong associations with Ireland in English-speaking countries. In the United States, it increased in use for boys after 1910 and peaked in use in 1939, when it was the 19th most popular name given to American boys. Jerry is the usual short form of the name. Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

Jeri Jeri is a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Jeri Campbell (born 1970), American figure skater * Jeri Ellsworth (born 1974), American entrepreneur and computer chip designer * Jeri Laber (born 1931), Ame ...

and the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

Gerallt and

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

Gearalt. Gerald is less common as a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

. The name is also found in French as Gérald. Geraldine is the feminine equivalent.

Given name

People with the name Gerald include:

Politicians

* Gerald Boland (1885–1973), Ireland's longest-serving Minister for Justice *

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

(1913–2006), 38th President of the United States *

Gerald Gardiner, Baron Gardiner Gerald Austin Gardiner, Baron Gardiner, (30 May 1900 – 7 January 1990) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician, who served as Lord Chancellor, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1964 United Kingdom general election, 1964 to ...

(1900–1990), Lord Chancellor from 1964 to 1970 * Gerald Häfner (born 1956), German MEP * Gerald Klug (born 1968), Austrian politician * Gerald Nabarro (1913–1973), British Conservative politician * Gerald S. McGowan (born 1946), US Ambassador to Portugal * Gerald Van Woerkom (born 1947), American former member of the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...

in both the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

* Gerald Willis (politician) (1940–2015), American businessman and politician * Gerald "Boomer" Wright, American politician * Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington (1885–1972), British diplomat, soldier, and architect * Gerald Michael Gabbard (born 1948), also known as Mike Gabbard.

Sports

* Gerald Asamoah (born 1978), Ghanaian-born German football player * Gerald Beverly (born 1993), American basketball player * Gerald Brown (American football) (born 1959), American football coach * Gerald Christian (born 1991), American football player * Gerald Davies (born 1945), Welsh rugby player * Gerald Dockery (born 1970), American football player * Gerald Everett (born 1994), American football player * Gerald Green (born 1986), American basketball player * Gerald "Dusty" Hannahs (born 1993), American basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Gerald Humphries (1908–1983), English cricketer * Gerald Laird (born 1979), American baseball player * Gerald Madkins (born 1969), American basketball player and executive *

Gerald Melzer Gerald Melzer (born 13 July 1990) is an Austrian professional inactive tennis player who competed mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 68 in November 2016. Gerald is also part of Austrian Da ...

(born 1990), Austrian tennis player * Gerald Sensabaugh (born 1983), American football player * Gerald Sherry, American football player * Gerald Tabios (born 1969), Filipino long-distance runner * Gerald Wallace (born 1982), American basketball player * Gerald Willis (born 1995), American football player

Entertainment

* Gerald Anderson (born 1989), Filipino-American actor * Gerald Butler (writer) (1907–1988), English writer and screenwriter * Gerald Casale (born 1948), vocalist, bass guitar & synthesizer player, ''Devo'' * Gerry Cinnamon (born Gerald Crosbie, 1984), Scottish musician * Gerald Finzi (1901–1956), British composer * Gerald Fried (1928–2023), American composer * Gerald Harper (born 1931), English actor * Gerald Haslam (1937–2021), American author ''The Other California'' * Gerald Alexander Held (born 1958), German actor * Gerald Levert (1966–2006), American R&B singer and songwriter * Gerald Masters (1955–2007), songwriter and musician * Gerald McRaney (born 1947), American actor * Gérald Neveu (1921–1960), French poet * Gerald Santos (born 1991), Filipino actor and singer * Gerald Lee Smith (born 1983), American rapper known as "Nekro G" * Jerry Stiller (1927–2020), American actor and comedian and the father of Ben Stiller. * Gerald Vizenor (born 1934), novelist, poet and critic * Gerald Gillum (born 1989), American rapper known as "G-Eazy" * Gerald Wiley, a pseudonym used by British comic actor and writer

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', ...

(1929-2005)

Other fields

* Gerald Ash (born 1942), electrical engineer * Gerald Birks (1894–1991), Canadian World War I fighter ace * Gerald Bull (1929–1990), Canadian aerospace/artillery engineer * Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales), medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times * Gerald Cohen (1941–2009), Canadian professor of social and political theory at Oxford University, known as G. A. Cohen * Gerald Cooper British farmer and tv personality featuring on Clarkson’s Farm *

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell Order of the British Empire, OBE (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservation movement, conservationist, and television presenter. He was born in Jamshedpur in British Ind ...

(1925–1995), British naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author, and television presenter * Lady Gerald Fitzalan-Howard, British aristocrat * Gerald Murphy, American heir * Gerald Ratner (born 1949), British retail tycoon * Gerald Ratner (lawyer) (1913–2014), lawyer in Chicago * Gerald Mayo, filed a lawsuit against Satan and his servants in US District Court * Gerald Shur (1933–2020), American lawyer, and the founder of the US Federal Witness Protection Program * Gerald Sparrow (1903–1988), British lawyer, judge and travel writer * Gerald Templer (1898–1979), British Army officer and military commander * Gerald C. Thomas (1894–1984), United States Marine Corpsgeneral who served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps * Gerald Zamponi, Canadian academic

Disambiguation pages

* Gerald Brown (disambiguation) * Gerald Butler (disambiguation) * Gerald Davis (disambiguation) * Gerald Ford (disambiguation) * Gerald Green (disambiguation) * Gerald Lascelles (disambiguation) * Gerald Thomas (disambiguation)

Fictional characters

* Gerald Tippett, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' * Gerald Robotnik, a character from ''Sonic Adventure 2'' * Gerald Broflovski, a character from ''South Park'' * Gerald Martin Johanssen, a character from Nickelodeon's ''Hey Arnold!'' * Gerald, a minor pelican in the 2003 animated film ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...

'' * Gerald, an anthropomorphic sea lion in the 2016 animated sequel film '' Finding Dory'' * Gerald McCloy, protagonist in 1950 short film '' Gerald McBoing-Boing'' * Gerald, a character from Little Lotta comics and '' Harvey Street Kids'' * Gerald O'Hara, Scarlett O'Hara's father in the film '' Gone with the Wind'' * Gerald, real name of Gator, a character from '' Thomas and Friends''. *Gerald Jinx Mouse, or Jerry Mouse, a character from ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

Surname

* Florence Gerald (1858–1942), American writer, stage actress * Matt Gerald (born 1970), American actor and screenwriter

References

{{given name English masculine given names Masculine given names