Gertrude

German
"strength of a spear"

Gertrude Origin and Meaning

The name Gertrude is a girl's name of German origin meaning "strength of a spear".

Could cute nickname Gertie, remembered as cute five-year-old Drew Barrymore in E.T., revive the long shunned Gertrude?

It's tempting to dismiss Gertrude as a name on its way through the door marked Out Forever, except that its long and honorable pedigree--as a goddess in Norse mythology, as the gentle and mystical Saint Gertrude the Great, and another St. Gertrude who is the patron of cats, and its use by Shakespeare for Hamlet's (not exactly exemplary) mother--earns it a place on the permanent roster. It has also been borne by such varied figures as writer Gertrude Stein, swimming champ Gertrude Ederle, British stage star Gertrude Lawrence, and arts patron Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.

The pinnacle of fashion a century ago, Gertrude reached as high as Number 23 in 1900, but dropped off the list completely in 1966.

# 977 in the US

Gertrude Rank in US Top 1000

# 1066 on Nameberry

Gertrude Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Gertrude Popularity

Famous People Named Gertrude

  • Saint Gertrude the Great
    German Benedictine mystic and theologian
  • Saint Gertrude of Nivelles
    Belgian abbess
  • Gertrude of Hohenburg
    Queen consort of Rudolph I of Germany
  • Gertrude of Merania
    Queen consort of Andrew II of Hungary
  • Gertrude of Bavaria and Saxony
    Queen consort of Canute VI of Denmark
  • Gertrude Stein
    American novelist
  • Gertrude Chandler Warner
    American children's novelist
  • Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
    American novelist
  • Gertrude Jekyll
    English garden designer
  • Gertrude Bambrick
    American silent film actress
  • Gertrude Berg (born Tillie Edelstein)
    American actress
  • Gertrude Belle Elion
    American biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
  • Gertrude Lawrence (born Gertrude Alice Dagmar Klasen)
    English actress and singer
  • Gertrude Mabel Barrows Bennett
    American novelist
  • Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell
    English writer and spy
  • Gertrude Caroline Ederle
    American Olympic swimmer
  • Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney
    American sculptor and art patron
  • Gertrude Modora Bryan
    American actress
  • Gertrude Astor
    American actress
  • Gertrude Abercrombie
    American painter

Gertrude in Pop Culture

  • Gertrude
    Hamlet's mother in Shakespeare's "Hamlet"
  • Gertrude "Gigi" Hollingsworth
    character in TV's "Wizards of Waverly Place"
  • Gertrude Lescot
    character in "Sims" series
  • "Gertrude McFuzz
    " Dr. Seuss book
  • Gertrude "Gert" Yorkes aka Arsenic
    character in Marvel's Runaway comics
  • Gertrude Von Harp
    character in G. A. Henty's, By Pike and Dyke
  • Candace Gertrude Flynn
    character in "Phineas and Ferb"
  • Gertrude "Mama Gertrude" Acachalla
    A character from the YouTube channel VenturianTale
  • Gertrude Trinke
    character in the film Jersey Girl
  • Gertrude "Trudy" Hardy
    Fenton Hardy's sister and The Hardy Boys' aunt from "The Hardy Boys" series
  • Gertrude Robinson
    ex,archivist on "The Magnus Archives"