← Back to The High and Late Middle Ages
Girl · Germanic
Gertrude
Say it: GER-trood
Meaning
From Germanic ger 'spear' and thrud 'strength'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Very popular in Britain and America around 1880-1910.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1890s
In the United States
- 177,523 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1899, about 1 in 110 girls
- 32 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| German | Gertrud |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Geertruid |
| Italian | Geltrude |
Famous bearers
- Gertrude Stein, American writer
- Gertrude Bell, British explorer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.