Gerald

English and Irish from German

"ruler with the spear"

Gerald Origin and Meaning

The name Gerald is a boy's name of English origin meaning "ruler with the spear".

Both a saint's name and a presidential one via Gerald Ford—who was born Leslie—Gerald is a quintessential 1930s-40s name, when it ranked as high as Number 19. Hence all those nice middle-aged and senior Jerrys we've known and loved. Gerald has always been popular in Ireland, accounting for the prevalence of Fitzgeralds there. Though not considered stylish, Gerald remains on the popularity charts. Cousin Gerard has a similar profile, Geraldo is the well-used Spanish version, and Geraldine is the most promising of the family, in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival.

Gerald Rank in US Top 1000

# 958 in the US

Gerald Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 1473 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Gerald

• 958 US 2020
• 1473 Nameberry 2025
• 22 Unique 2023

20 Names Similar to Gerald

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Gerald.

• Frederik
• Leslie
• Reginald
• Maurice
• Melvin
• Stuart
• Milton
• Arnold
• Howard
• Rudolph
• Roger
• Frederic
• Irwin
• Hubert
• Nigel
• Alvin
• Roy
• Norman
• Leroy
• Marvin

Famous People Named Gerald

• Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III professional baseball catcher for the San Francisco Giants
• Gerald Earl Gillum rapper known as G,Eazy
• Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.), 38th U.S. President
• Gerald Jermaine Wallace American basketball player
• Gerald Green American basketball player
• Gerald Lind Sensabaugh American NFL football player
• Gerald "Gerry" Goffin American songwriter/lyricist
• Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan American jazz saxophonist
• Gerald Lee "Mac" McRaney American actor
• Trevell Gerald Coleman aka G. Dep American rapper
• Gerald Maurice Edelman American biologist; winner of the Nobel Prize
• Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco American pro wrestler
• Gerald of Wales archdeacon of Brecon and chronicler of his times
• Gerald Anthony Scarfe English cartoonist and illustrator
• Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer British,born TV personality, attorney, and former Cincinnati mayor & news anchor
• Gerald William "Jerry" Trainor American actor
• Gerald A. "Jerry" Paulsen founder of Jerry's Enterprises, Inc.

The name Gerald in Pop Culture

• Gerald Winters character from TV series "NYPD Blue"
• Gerald O'Hara Scarlett's father in "Gone with the Wind"
• Gerald Martin Johanssen Arnold's best friend on TV series "Hey Arnold!"
• Gerald Summers character in G. A. Henty's "Under Drake's Flag"
• Gerald Kingsley character on TV's "Grandfathered," played by Josh Peck
• Gerald sea lion in Pixar's "Finding Dory"
• Gerald character from "The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty"
• Gerald Crich character from "Women in Love" by D.H. Lawrence
• Gerald Broflovski Kyle’s dad in “South Park”

International Variations of the name Gerald

• Girlado Italian
• Gerek Polish
• Gearald Irish Gaelic
• Gerhart German
• Gellert Hungarian
• Gérald French
• Gearoid Irish
• Jarel Scandinavian
• Garolds Russian
• Gerrit Dutch
• Géralde French
• Gellart Hungarian
• Giraud French
• Gerhard German
• Garold Russian
• Girauld French
• Jarell Scandinavian
• Garald Russian
• Gearóidin Irish Gaelic
• Herrado Spanish
• Géaud French
• Jeraldo Spanish
• Geraldo Spanish