Gerald

“Ruler with the spear” — Germanic (via Old French) origin

Boy's name · #1206 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Gerald belongs to an older America first — it reached #19 back in 1936 — yet it still appears in today's records at #1206. About 449,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Gerald's short forms are Jerry and Jheri. Earlier generations knew Gerry — the standard of the 1950s.

Around the world: about 1 in 2,800 boys in N. Ireland (2025) · about 1 in 9,900 boys in Canada (2024) · about 1 in 13,000 boys in Austria (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 19 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Geralds

Gerald Ford — president of the United States from 1974 to 1977 (1913–2006)
Gerald Edelman — American biologist (1929–2014)
Gerald Vanenburg — Dutch association football player
Gerald Durrell — British naturalist and writer (1925–1995)
Gerald Asamoah — German association football player

In stories & tradition

Gerald Bostock — fictional human
Gerald Broflovski — South Park
Gerald Robotnik — fictional human

What Geralds become

Among 2,934 notable people named Gerald:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.41× more often than among typical names — e.g. Gerald Edelman, American biologist (1929–2014).

Similar names: Jerry · Billy · Gerard · Roger · Ronald · Harold

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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