Gerda

• Dutch:/ɣərdaː/○(machine-generated) model-generated

Readings marked model-generated were transcribed by a model; the others are quoted from the dictionary named.

Attested across 19 languages in the etymology graph.

Gerda is one spelling over 4 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 3 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• German53%

  short form with ger- 'spear'

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• English23%

  from Germanic element meaning 'spear' or 'enclosure'

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

  A female given name from the Germanic languages occasionally used in English, mostly around 1900.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Dutch7.8%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Gerda in Dutch.

• Danish7.2%

  a female given name of Old Norse origin

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Gerda, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Helga
• Ilse
• Elfriede
• Hedda
• Dagny

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Gerda is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, Argentina, Chile

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Gêrda

• Russian surname12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, United States

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish

  Also written Герда, Herda, Г̥ͦе̥ͦр̥ͦд̥ͦа̥ͦ

57 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Gerda is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Origine germanique, signifie « lance précieuse »; forme féminine allemande de Gérard.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Du germanique *ger* « lance » + *-hild* « combat » ou forme courte de noms en Ger-.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Gerda Tarob. 1910DEGerman photographer, best known for her reporting on the Spanish Civil War (1910–1937)
• Gerda Christianb. 1913DEpersonal secretary of Adolf Hitler (1913–1997)
• Gerda Lernerb. 1920USAustrian-American women's history scholar (1920-2013)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

76 registers and reference works attest this spelling, across 38 countries.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Is Gerda a male or female name?

Gerda is a female name. National registers that list it by sex list it as female: Netherlands (Meertens NVB), Denmark (Danmarks Statistik), United States (Census Bureau, 2020) and Finland (DVV), among others.

What does the name Gerda mean, and where does it come from?

from Germanic element meaning 'spear' or 'enclosure' Recorded by Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular….

What are other forms of the name Gerda?

In the etymology graph, Gerdina is a form of the same name in other languages.

How do you pronounce Gerda?

In Dutch /ɣərdaː/. Transcriptions are machine-generated except where a dictionary is named.

Which countries have the most people named Gerda?

In the Netherlands, the national register counted about 20 thousand people named Gerda, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled gerda. After it come Denmark, Sweden, United States and Poland; the country table on this page ranks them.

Where is Gerda most common?

Gerda is densest in the Netherlands, where the national register counts about 1 in 879 people carrying it.

How common is the name Gerda?

In the Netherlands, the national register counted 19,663 people named Gerda, about 1 in 879 residents.