Gerlach is a male forename of Germanic 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 ''ger'' (meaning 'spear') and ''/la:k /'' (meaning 'motion'). The meaning of the name is thus 'spear thrower'.
It became 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 ...

, and a source from which other surnames have been derived, as well.

Personal name

* Saint Gerlach (died c. 1170), Dutch saint * Gerlach I of Isenburg-Arnfels, Count of Isenburg-Arnfels from 1286 (1287) until 1303 * Gerlach I of Isenburg-Wied, Count of Isenburg-Wied from 1409 until 1413 *

Gerlach I of Nassau-Wiesbaden Gerlach I of Nassau (1288 – 7 January 1361), Count of Nassau in Wiesbaden, Idstein, Weilburg, and Weilnau. He was a son of Adolf of Nassau, elected King of the Romans, and Imagina of Isenburg-Limburg. Family and children He was married ...

(before 1288-1361), Count of Nassau * Gerlach II of Isenburg-Arnfels, Count of Isenburg-Arnfels from 1333 until 1379 * Gerlach II of Isenburg-Covern, Count of Isenburg-Covern from 1158 until 1217 * Gerlach III of Isenburg-Covern, Count of Isenburg-Covern from 1217 until 1235 *

Gerlach IV of Isenburg-Limburg Gerlach IV of Isenburg-Limburg (died 1289), also known as Gerlach I of Limburg, was from 1258 Count of (Isenburg-)Limburg, ruling over the town of Limburg an der Lahn and some villages in its hinterlands. He was the founder of the short-lived Hous ...

(died 1289), Lord of Limburg an der Lahn * Gerlach V of Isenburg-Limburg (died 1355), Count of Isenburg-Limburg; grandson of Gerlach IV * Gerlach VI of Isenburg-Limburg (died 1365), Count of Isenburg-Limburg and Lord of Limburg an der Lahn; son of Gerlach V * Gerlach Flicke (''fl.'' 1545-1558), German portrait painter of the English Tudor court * Gerlach Cornelis Joannes van Reenen (1818–1893), Dutch politician

Surname

Annette Gerlach Annette Gerlach in 2009. Annette Gerlach (born 16 October 1964 in Berlin), is a German TV host and journalist of the Franco-German television channel Arte. She presents the programs in German as well as in French. Life Born in Berlin, Gerlach h ...

(born 1964), German TV host *

Carl Gotthelf Gerlach Carl Gotthelf Gerlach (31 December 1704 – 9 July 1761) was a German organist, composer and violinist. Life Born in , Wermsdorf, hear Oschatz, Gerlach became a pupil at the Thomasschule in Leipzig, receiving musical training between 17 ...

(1704–1761), German organist and music director * Carl Ludvig Gerlach (1832–1893), Danish composer and opera singer * Carl R. Gerlach, mayor of Overland Park, Kansas * Charles L. Gerlach (1895-1947), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania *

Chris Gerlach Chris Gerlach (born November 17, 1964) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 37, which included portions of the cities of Apple Valley, Burnsville and Rosemount in Dakota County, which is ...

(born 1964), American politician *

Christian Gerlach Hans Christian Gerlach is professor of Modern History at the University of Bern. Gerlach is also Associate Editor of the '' Journal of Genocide Research'' and author of multiple books dealing with the Hunger Plan, the Holocaust, and genocide. ...

, professor of modern history at the University of Bern *

Daniel Gerlach Daniel Gerlach (born 1977) is a German author, journalist, publisher and Middle East expert. He is the current editor-in-chief of the German Middle East quarterly magazine zenith and director-general of the Candid Foundation. Career Gerlach s ...

(born 1977), German journalist *

Dave Gerlach David Fredrick Gerlach (July 2, 1940 – October 22, 2020) was a Canadian curler. He played as the third on the Ron Northcott rink that won the 1969 Brier and World Championship. Gerlach was the son of Fritz and Ida Gerlach, and grew up in th ...

(1940–2020), Canadian curler *

Elsie Gerlach Dr. Elsie Gerlach (1900-1967) was named the first superintendent of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry Children's Clinic in 1927 after having served as an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. Gerlach stayed for 38 ye ...

, 20th century dental educator *

Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach (7 March 1795 – 18 February 1877) was a Prussian politician, editor and judge. He is considered one of the main founders and leading thinkers of the Conservative Party (Prussia), Conservative Party in Kingdom of Prussi ...

(1795-1877), Prussian judge and politician *

Hellmut von Gerlach Hellmut Georg von Gerlach (2 February 1866 – 1 August 1935) was a German journalist and politician. Life Hellmut von Gerlach, the son of landowner Max von Gerlach, was born in Mönchmotschelnitz in Silesia. He studied law at the universiti ...

(1866-1935), German journalist and politician *

Jim Gerlach James William Gerlach (born February 25, 1955) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term. Early life, education and c ...

(born 1955), U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania *

Joseph von Gerlach Joseph von Gerlach (3 April 1820 – 17 December 1896) was a German professor of anatomy at the University of Erlangen. He was a native of Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Gerlach was a pioneer of histological staining and anatomical micrograph ...

(1820-1896), German anatomist and professor *

Kurt Albert Gerlach Kurt Albert Gerlach (22 August 1886, Hanover – 19 October 1922, Frankfurt) was a German professor and sociologist. Life Gerlach was the son of the chemist and later director of the Continental AG Albert Gerlach and his wife Martha Friedmann. ...

(1886-1922), German sociologist *

Ludwig Friedrich Leopold von Gerlach (Ludwig Friedrich) Leopold von Gerlach (17 September 1790 – 10 January 1861) was a Prussian army general, adjutant to King Frederick William IV of Prussia and a Protestant conservative associate of Otto von Bismarck. Ancestry He was the son ...

(1790-1861), Prussian general *

Manfred Gerlach Manfred Gerlach (8 May 1928 – 17 October 2011) was a German jurist and politician, and the longtime leader of the East German Liberal Democratic Party. He served as ''Chairman of the Council of State'' and was thus head of state of East Ge ...

(1928-2011), head of state of East Germany (1989-1990) * Otto von Gerlach (1801-1849), German theologian and pastor *

Talitha Gerlach Talitha A. Gerlach ( – Geng Lishu; 6 March 1896 – 12 February 1995) was an American YWCA worker who spent most of her life as a social worker in Shanghai, China, where she died. She received various awards from the Shanghai and Chinese governm ...

(1896–1995), American YMCA worker who spent most of her life as a social worker in Shanghai, China *

Walther Gerlach Walther Gerlach (1 August 1889 – 10 August 1979) was a German physicist who co-discovered, through laboratory experiment, spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern–Gerlach effect. The experiment was conceived by Otto Stern in 1921 an ...

(1889-1979), German physicist *

Wim Gerlach Willem Aaldert "Wim" Gerlach (24 June 1935 – 14 June 2007) is a retired boxer from the Netherlands. He competed at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics in the lightweight and light welterweight classes, respectively, and was eliminated in the fir ...

(1935-2007), Dutch Olympic boxer * Irene Gerlach, fictional character in Erich Kästner's ''

Lottie and Lisa ''Lisa and Lottie'', published in the United Kingdom and Australia as ''The Parent Trap'', (original German title: ''Das doppelte Lottchen'', "The Double Lottie") is a 1949 German children's novel by Erich Kästner. The book is about identical ...

Place

Gerlach Gerlach is a male forename of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this case, those ...

, a census-designated place in the U.S. state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Gerlachovský štít Gerlachovský štít (, translated into English as ''Gerlachov Peak'', German: ''Gerlsdorfer Spitze'', Hungarian: ''Gerlachfalvi-csúcs''), informally referred to as Gerlach, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the Carpat ...

also known as Gerlach, the highest mountain peak in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Personal name

Surname

Place

See also