Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic languages prefix ger- ("spear") and suffix -wald ("rule"). Gerald is a Norman French variant of the Germanic name. An Old English equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original name of Gerald of Mayo, a British Roman Catholic monk who established a monastery in Mayo, Ireland in 670. Nearly two centuries later, Gerald of Aurillac, a French count, took a vow of celibacy and later became known as the Roman Catholic patron saint of bachelors. The name was in regular use during the Middle Ages but declined after 1300 in England. It remained a common name in Ireland, where it was a common name among the powerful FitzGerald dynasty. The name was revived in the Anglosphere in the 19th century by writers of historical novels along with other names that had been popular in the medieval era. British novelist Ann Hatton published a novel called Gerald Fitzgerald in 1831. Author Dorothea Grubb published her novel Gerald Fitzgerald in 1845, and Irish author Charles Lever published his novel, also entitled Gerald Fitzgerald, in 1859. The name had strong associations with Ireland in English-speaking countries. In the United States, it increased in use for boys after 1910 and peaked in use in 1939, when it was the 19th most popular name given to American boys. Jerry is the usual short form of the name. Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Irish language Gearalt. Gerald is less common as a surname. The name is also found in French as Gérald. Geraldine is the feminine equivalent.
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Given name
People with the name Gerald include:
Entertainers
Gerald Anderson (born 1989), Filipino-American actor
Gerald Butler (writer) (1907–1988), English writer and screenwriter
Gerald Casale (born 1948), vocalist, bass guitar & synthesizer player, Devo
Gerry Cinnamon (born Gerald Crosbie, 1984), Scottish musician
Gerald Finzi (1901–1956), British composer
Gerald Fried (1928–2023), American composer
Gerald Gillum (born 1989), American rapper known as "G-Eazy"
Gerald Harper (born 1931), English actor
Gerald Haslam (1937–2021), American author The Other California
Gerald Alexander Held (born 1958), German actor
Gerald Levert (1966–2006), American R&B singer and songwriter
Gerald Masters (1955–2007), songwriter and musician
Gerald McRaney (born 1947), American actor
Gérald Neveu (1921–1960), French poet
Gerald Santos (born 1991), Filipino actor and singer
Gerald Rydel Simpson (born 1967), British record producer and musician, better known as A Guy Called Gerald
Gerald Lee Smith (born 1983), American rapper known as "Nekro G"
Politicians
Gerald Boland (1885–1973), Ireland's longest-serving Minister for Justice
Gerald Crosier (1933–2016), American politician
Gerald Ford (1913–2006), 38th President of the United States
Gerald Gardiner, Baron Gardiner (1900–1990), Lord Chancellor from 1964 to 1970
Gerald Häfner (born 1956), German MEP
Gerald Klug (born 1968), Austrian politician
Gerald Nabarro (1913–1973), British Conservative politician
Gerald S. McGowan (born 1946), US Ambassador to Portugal
Gerald Van Woerkom (born 1947), American politician
Gerald Willis (politician) (1940–2015), American businessman and politician
Gerald "Boomer" Wright, American politician
Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington (1885–1972), British diplomat, soldier, and architect
Gerald Michael Gabbard (born 1948), also known as Mike Gabbard
Sportspeople
Gerald Asamoah (born 1978), Ghanaian-born German football player
Gerald Beverly (born 1993), American basketball player
Gerald Brown (American football) (born 1959), American football coach
Gerald Christian (born 1991), American football player
Gerald Davies (born 1945), Welsh rugby player
Gerald Dockery (born 1970), American football player
Gerald Everett (born 1994), American football player
Gerald Green (born 1986), American basketball player
Gerald "Dusty" Hannahs (born 1993), American basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Gerald Humphries (1908–1983), English cricketer
Gerald Laird (born 1979), American baseball player
Gerald Madkins (born 1969), American basketball player and executive
Gerald Melzer (born 1990), Austrian tennis player
Gerald Sensabaugh (born 1983), American football player
Gerald Sherry, American football player
Gerald Tabios (born 1969), Filipino long-distance runner
Gerald Wallace (born 1982), American basketball player
Other fields
Gerald Ash (born 1942), electrical engineer
Gerald Birks (1894–1991), Canadian World War I fighter ace
Gerald Bull (1929–1990), Canadian aerospace/artillery engineer
Gerald Burchard (1911–1931; also known as Jerry), American photographer, educator
Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales), medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times
Gerald Cohen (1941–2009), Canadian professor of social and political theory at Oxford University, known as G. A. Cohen
Gerald Cooper British farmer and tv personality featuring on Clarkson's Farm
Gerald Durrell (1925–1995), British naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author, and television presenter
Lady Gerald Fitzalan-Howard, British aristocrat
Gerald C. Kelleher (1908–2003), American military officer
Gerald Murphy, American heir
Gerald Ratner (born 1949), British retail tycoon
Gerald Ratner (lawyer) (1913–2014), lawyer in Chicago
Gerald Mayo, filed a lawsuit against Satan and his servants in US District Court
Gerald Shur (1933–2020), American lawyer, and the founder of the US Federal Witness Protection Program
Disambiguation pages
Gerald Brown (disambiguation)
Gerald Butler (disambiguation)
Gerald Davis (disambiguation)
Gerald Ford (disambiguation)
Gerald Green (disambiguation)
Gerald Lascelles (disambiguation)
Gerald Thomas (disambiguation)
Fictional characters
Gerald Tippett, a character in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street
Gerald Robotnik, a character from Sonic Adventure 2
Gerald Broflovski, Kyle Broflovski's father from South Park
Gerald Martin Johanssen, a character from Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold!
Surname
Florence Gerald (1858–1942), American writer, stage actress
Matt Gerald (born 1970), American actor and screenwriter