Gerard

For other uses, see Gerard (disambiguation).
Gerard
Pronunciation /ˈɛrəd/, US /əˈrɑːrd/, Old French: [dʒeʁɑʁ]
Gender male
Origin
Word/name Germanic
Meaning strong and brave spear-wearer
Region of origin common in regions where Germanic and/or Romance languages are spoken
Other names
Related names Gerhar(d)t, Geert, Gérard, Gerhardus, Girard, Gerardo, Gertje, Gerrit, Jerry/Gerry, Жоро.
Look up Gerard in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Gerard (/ˈɛrəd/ or US /əˈrɑːrd/; Old French: [dʒerɑrd]) is a male forename of Old Germanic origin,[1] 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 constituents are gari > ger- (meaning 'spear') and -hard (meaning 'hard/strong/brave').

Common forms of the name are Gerard (English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, Polish and Catalan); Gerrard (English, Scottish, Irish); Gerardo (Italian, Portuguese and Spanish); Gherardo (Italian); Gherardi (Northern Italian, now only a surname); Gérard (variant forms Girard and Guérard, now only surnames, French); Gearóid (Irish); Gerhardt and Gerhart/Gerhard/Gerhardus (Afrikaans, Dutch, and German); Gellért (Hungarian); Gerardas (Lithuanian) and Gerards/Ģirts (Latvian). A few abbreviated forms are Gerry and Jerry (English); Gerd (German) and Gert (Afrikaans and Dutch); Gerrit (Afrikaans and Dutch); Gertjie (Afrikaans); Geert (Dutch), Γεράρδης (Greece) and Жоро (Bulgarian).

The introduction of the name 'Gerard' into the English language took place following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Its original forms in Old French were “Gerard, Gerart” [dʒeʁɑʁ] and “Girart”.[1]

The surname Ge(e)rdes is a patronymic form, i.e. "the son of Ger(har)d", that originated in Frisia around 1800.

The name Gerald, while phonetically similar to Gerard, derives from a slightly different set of constituents: ger and wald (meaning 'rule/lead').

First name

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Last name

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See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Origins of our names". Liverpool Echo. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
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