# Gerda (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/gerda/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “protection” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,099 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 1,099 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 58, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Latinate variant of Scandinavian Gerd, from Old Norse Gerðr, garðr (“protection”). The name occurs in nineteenth century Swedish poetry and in Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen (1844).

## What it means

Gerda is grouped under protector.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 8 | 4,404 |
| 1955 | 8 | 4,515 |
| 1956 | 7 | 5,005 |
| 1957 | 6 | 5,641 |
| 1958 | 5 | 6,412 |
| 1959 | 9 | 4,418 |
| 1960 | 5 | 6,691 |
| 1961 | 11 | 4,097 |
| 1962 | 7 | 5,482 |
| 1963 | 8 | 5,014 |
| 1964 | 5 | 7,114 |
| 1966 | 5 | 6,908 |
| 1967 | 5 | 7,132 |
| 1968 | 5 | 7,382 |
| 1972 | 7 | 6,782 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3 | 3,848 |
| 2005 | 3 | 4,798 |
| 2006 | 6 | 3,116 |
| 2007 | 3 | 5,201 |
| 2008 | 3 | 5,545 |
| 2009 | 6 | 3,422 |
| 2010 | 4 | 4,688 |
| 2011 | 4 | 4,764 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4,838 |
| 2013 | 5 | 4,050 |
| 2014 | 7 | 3,160 |
| 2015 | 6 | 3,615 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4,763 |

## People named Gerda

- Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American women's history scholar (1920-2013)
- Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs, Dutch athlete (1923–2015)
- Gerda Maurus, Austrian actress (1903–1968)
- Gerda Kraan, Dutch middle distance runner
- Gerda Neumann, Danish actress
- Gerda Alexander, German / Danish teacher (1908-1994)
- Gerda Paumgarten, Austrian alpine skier (1907–2000)
- Gerda Holmes, actress (1891-1943)
- Gerda Madsen, Danish actress
- Gerda Christophersen, Danish actress, singer, theater director and autobiographer (1870-1947)
- Gerda Verburg, Dutch diplomat, politician and trade union leader
- Gerda-Maria Jürgens, German actress (1917–1998)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.