# Gerard (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/gerard/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 9,075 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,914 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 34,022 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.0% (8,646 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒəˈɹɑɹd/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Gerrard |

## Etymology

From Middle English Gerard, from Old French Gerart, from Frankish *Gaiʀahard, from *gaiʀ (“spear”) + *hard(ī) (“hard, brave”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Gerard in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 84% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 8.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.0% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Gerard in the United States, Spanish Empire, Belgium and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Gerard

- Gil Gerard, American actor (1943–2025)
- Balthasar Gérard, assassin of William I of Orange
- Red Gerard, American snowboarder
- Caitlin Gerard, American actress
- James Watson Gerard, American judge and diplomat (1867-1951)
- Gus Gerard, American basketball player (born 1953)
- Joachim Gérard, Belgian wheelchair tennis player
- Emily Gerard, British-Austrian writer  (1849–1905)

## Similar surnames

Girard, Girouard, Gerardi, Gerardo, Girardi, Gerrard, Gerhardt, Gerhart, Gerhard, Gearhart, Garrard, Gearheart.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.