Gerald Name Meaning, Popularity and Origins

Origin:

German

Gender Distribution:

99% Masculine / 1% Feminine

Meaning:

Gerald means 'ruler with a spear'.

Meaning of the Name Gerald

Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic name Gerwald, composed of the elements 'ger' meaning 'spear' and 'wald' meaning 'rule'. It has Old English and Old Spanish origins and is commonly associated with strength, power, and leadership.

Popularity of the Name Gerald

The popularity for the name Gerald peaked in popularity in the year 1942 with 11,481 births, which ranked number 43 out of 8,383 unique names for that year. Gerald had the most female births in 1927 with 56, which ranked number 1,023 out of 5,602 female names for that year, and had the most male births in 1942 with 11,481, which ranked number 22 out of 4,044 male names for that year. The number of births for the name Gerald has declined sharply over the last ten years from 346 births to 203 births, a decline of -41.33%. Among males, Gerald has declined sharply in popularity over the last ten years from 346 births to 203 births, a decline of -41.33%.

Nationwide Popularity of Gerald

20 Year Trend of Gerald: -63.49%
10 Year Trend of Gerald: -41.33%
10 Year Male Trend of Gerald: -41.33%

Popularity of Gerald by State

For males, Gerald was most popular in Southeastern states with 47 births in the region. It was most commonly seen in TX, with 24 male births. See below for a full state by state breakdown of the name Gerald. States with less than five births recorded will not be shown.

State	Male Births	Male Gender Rank	Female Births	Female Gender Rank
AL	6	685	< 5	N/A
CA	12	1464	< 5	N/A
FL	12	1049	< 5	N/A
GA	8	1006	< 5	N/A
IL	5	1279	< 5	N/A
IN	9	644	< 5	N/A
LA	5	805	< 5	N/A
MD	6	722	< 5	N/A
MI	5	1104	< 5	N/A
NC	9	864	< 5	N/A
NJ	10	650	< 5	N/A
NY	15	835	< 5	N/A
PA	14	630	< 5	N/A
TX	24	969	< 5	N/A
VA	7	848	< 5	N/A
WI	9	511	< 5	N/A

2024 Popularity Projections for Gerald

Total Births of Gerald: 192 (-5.19%)
Male Births of Gerald: 192 (-5.19%)

Given the downward trend of Gerald over the last 10 years, we expect this to continue in 2024 with roughly a -5.19% decrease in total births, for a total of 192 births in 2024. Male births for Gerald have been decreasing over the past decade, so we anticipate roughly 192 male births in 2024, a decrease of -5.19%.