Gerard
Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, 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- and -hard.
Common forms of the name are Gerard ; Gerrard ; Gerardo ; Geraldo ; Gherardo ; Gherardi ; Gérard ; Gearóid ; Gerhardt and Gerhart/Gerhard/Gerhardus ; Gellért ; Gerardas and Gerards/Ģirts ; Γεράρδης. A few abbreviated forms are Gerry and Jerry ; Gerd and Gert ; Gerrit ; Gertjie ; Geert and Жоро.
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" and "Girart".
Patronymic surnames derived from a form of Gerard include Garrard, Garritsen, Gerard, Geertsen, Gerardet, Gerardi, Gerdes, Gerrard, Gerretsen, Gerrits, Gerritsen, Ghiraldi, and Giraud.
The name Gerald, while phonetically similar to Gerard, derives from a slightly different set of constituents: ger and wald.
First name
Academics
- Gerard A. Alphonse, Haitian electrical engineer
- Gerard Bolland, Dutch philosopher and radical
- Gerard Clauson, English Orientalist
- Gerard of Cremona, Italian translator of scientific Arabic works
- Gerard De Geer, Swedish geologist
- Gerard Heymans, Dutch philosopher and psychologist
- Gerard Hendrik Hofstede, Dutch social psychologist
- Gerard 't Hooft, Dutch theoretical physicist
- Gerard de Jode, Dutch cartographer, engraver and publisher
- Gerard Krefft, Australian zoologist
- Gerard de Kremer, Flemish cartographer, geographer and cosmographer
- Gerard Kuiper, Dutch–American astronomer
- Gerard Labuda, Polish historian
- Gerard van der Leeuw, Dutch historian and philosopher of religion
- Gerard Luttikhuizen, Dutch scholar of religion and early Christianity
- Gerard K. O'Neill, American physicist and space activist
- Gerard Salton, German–born American computer scientist
- Gerard van Swieten, Dutch–Austrian physician
Arts
Music
- Gerardo Emanuel Flores, singer-songwriter and producer
- Gerard Joling, Dutch pop singer
- Gerard Mortier, Belgian opera director and administrator
- Gerard Nolan, American rock drummer
- Gerard Schwarz, American conductor
- Gerard Way, American singer-songwriter and comic book writer
Theater and film
- Gerard Montgomery Bluefeather, American movie actor known as "Monte Blue"
- Gerard Butler, Scottish actor
- Gerard Damiano, American director of adult films
- Gerard Depardieu, French actor, filmmaker, and vineyard owner
- Gerard Kennedy (actor), Australian actor
- Gerard Marenghi, American actor
- Gerard McCarthy, Northern Irish actor
- Gerard McSorley, Irish actor
- Gerard Murphy (Irish actor), Northern Irish actor
- Gerard Kenneth Tierney, American TV and western actor known as Scott Brady
Visual arts
- Gerard Bilders, Dutch painter and art collector
- Gerard ter Borch, Dutch painter
- Gerard David, Dutch painter
- Gerard Dou, Dutch genre painter
- Gerard Douffet, Flemish painter
- Gerard Edelinck, Flemish–born French engraver
- Gerard Hoet, Dutch painter and engraver
- Gerard van Honthorst, Dutch painter
- Gerard Horenbout, Flemish miniaturist a.k.a. the Master of James IV of Scotland
- Gerard Houckgeest, Dutch architectural and church interior painter
- Gerard de Lairesse, Dutch painter and art theorist
- Gerard Moerdijk, South African architect
- Gerard Thomas Rietveld, Dutch furniture designer and architect
- Gerard Seghers, Flemish painter, art collector, and art dealer
- Gerard van Spaendonck, Dutch floral painter
Writing
- Gerard F. Conway, American writer of comic books and television shows
- Gerard Manley Hopkins, British poet
- Gerard Malanga, American poet, photographer, filmmaker, curator and archivist
- Gérard de Nerval, nom-de-plume of French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie
- Gerard Reve, Dutch writer
- Gerard Soeteman, Dutch screenwriter and comics writer
- Gerard Walschap, Belgian writer
Business
- Gerard Adriaan Heineken, Dutch founder of Heineken beer
- Gerard Kleisterlee, Dutch business executive, CEO of Philips
- Gerard Philips, Dutch co–founder of "Philips"
- Gerard Reynst, Dutch merchant and Governor–General of the Dutch East Indies
Crime
- Gerard Conlon, wrongfully imprisoned Northern Irishman, subject of "In the Name of the Father,"
- Gerard John Schaefer, American serial killer
- Gerard Mahon, part of a married Irish couple who with wife was murdered in Twinbrook, Belfast
Medieval rulers
- Gerard I of Paris, count of Paris
- Gerard, Count of Auvergne, son of Pepin I
- Gerhard I of Metz, count of Metz
- Gerard, Duke of Lorraine, Lotharingian nobleman
- Gerard Grenier, Lord of Sidon, Kingdom of Jerusalem
- Gerard I, Count of Guelders
- Gerard II, Count of Guelders
- Gerard, Count of Loon
- Gerard, Count of Rieneck, son of Gerard, Count of Loon
- Gerard III, Count of Guelders
- Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg
Military
- Gerard Bucknall, British army general
- Gerard Pietersz Hulft, Dutch general
- Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake, British general
- Gerard de Ridefort, Flemish Grand Master of the Knights Templar
Politics
- Gerard Adams, Irish politician, leader of the Sinn Feín party
- Gerard Batliner, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
- Gerard Batten, English UKIP politician
- Gerard Anthony Brownlee, New Zealand government minister
- Gerard Collier, 5th Baron Monkswell, British politician
- Gerard Cooreman, Belgian Prime Minister
- Gerard MacBryan, British civil servant and private secretary
- Gerard Wijeyekoon, Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician, first President of the Senate of Ceylon
Religion
- Gerard, Abbot of Brogne, Belgian abbot and saint
- Gerard of Toul, German bishop and saint
- Gerard of Csanád, Hungarian bishop and saint, a.k.a. Gerard Sagredo
- Gerard of Florennes, Bishop of Cambrai
- Gerard of Burgundy, known as Pope Nicholas II
- Gerard (archbishop of York), English archbishop
- Blessed Gerard, Benedictine founder of the Knights Hospitaller
- Gerard Segarelli, Italian founder of the Apostolic Brethren
- Gérard de Dainville, Bishop of Cambrai
- Gerard Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life
- Gerard van Groesbeeck, Flemish bishop and cardinal
- Gerard Majella, Italian lay brother and saint
- Gerard de Korte, Dutch Roman Catholic bishop
Sports
- Gerard Cieślik, Polish football striker
- Gerard Deulofeu, Spanish football forward
- Gerard Kemkers, Dutch speed skater and skating coach
- Gerard Friedrich Knetemann, Dutch racing cyclist
- Gerard López, Spanish football midfielder
- Gerard Moreno, Spanish football striker
- Gerard Nijboer, Dutch long–distance runner
- Gerard Piqué, Spanish football defender
- Gerard Plessers, Belgian football defender
- Gerard de Rooy, Dutch truck racer
- Gerard van Velde, Dutch speed skater and skating coach
Last name
Fictional characters
- Prince Gerard Himerce, the main hero of Gaiapolis
- Brigadier Gerard in the novel Uncle Bernac and the short story anthologies The Adventures of Gerard and The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard, by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Joe Gerard, husband of the title character in the 1970s television series Rhoda
- Philip Gerard, pursuer of the title character in the television series The Fugitive
- Samuel Gerard, in the films The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals
- Gerard DuGalle, in the video game StarCraft: Brood War
- Gerard Duval, in the 1929 novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
- Gérard, in the Chronicles of Amber novel series by Roger Zelazny
- Gerard Argent, a werewolf hunter and antagonist in MTV's cult television show Teen Wolf.
- Marcel Gerard, a vampire and ruler of the New Orleans supernatural community in The CW network's television series The Originals.
- Gerard Valkyrie is a Quincy and a member of the Wandenreich's Sternritter with the designation "M" - The Miracle from the Bleach manga