How common is the surname Gerald?

5,244 people in the United States had the surname Gerald in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 58,876 Americans. It ranked 6,476th of 162,253 surnames.

Where is the surname Gerald most common?

Wikidata records people named Gerald in the United States.

How do you pronounce Gerald?

Gerald is /ˈd͡ʒɛɹəld/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Gerald getting more or less common?

More common. 4,994 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,244 in 2010, up 5.0%.

Is Gerald also a first name?

Yes. Gerald is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Gerald

A surname, carried by 5,244 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛɹəld/ 2 syllables Soundex G643 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gerald is more common than 96% of them.

Origin

From Old French, ultimately from Frankish *gaiʀ (“spear”) + *wald (“might, power”). The name was brought to England by the Normans. It survived in Ireland, and was revived in the 19th century.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 5,244 people named Gerald in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 58,876 Americans. That is up 5.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 4,994.

#6,476

rank among US surnames

5,244

people in 2010

1.8

per 100,000 Americans

+5%

change since 2000 (was #6,281)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#6,469	Escoto	5,249	58,820
#6,470	Aronson	5,247	58,842
#6,474	Grow	5,246	58,854
#6,476	Uhl	5,244	58,876
#6,479	Flory	5,243	58,887

Who is named Gerald

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

46% of people named Gerald identified as Black (not Hispanic), 46% as white (not Hispanic) and 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Black (not Hispanic) 46%
White (not Hispanic) 46%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.5%
Two or more races 2.2%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

Famous Geralds

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Matt Gerald
American actor, born 1970

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Gerald

Gerald has the Soundex code G643, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G643.

Questions

Where does the surname Gerald come from?: From Old French, ultimately from Frankish *gaiʀ (“spear”) + *wald (“might, power”). The name was brought to England by the Normans. It survived in Ireland, and was revived in the 19th century.
How common is the surname Gerald?: 5,244 people in the United States had the surname Gerald in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 58,876 Americans. It ranked 6,476th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gerald?: In the 2010 Census, 46% of people named Gerald identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 46% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gerald?: Matt Gerald, American actor.
Where is the surname Gerald most common?: Wikidata records people named Gerald in the United States.
How do you pronounce Gerald?: Gerald is /ˈd͡ʒɛɹəld/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Gerald getting more or less common?: More common. 4,994 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,244 in 2010, up 5.0%.
Is Gerald also a first name?: Yes. Gerald is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.