boy's name
Gerardo
heh-RAR-doh
- Origin Italian
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 55,600
the United States
#678
2025 births
Gerardo means brave with a spear, and both halves are weapons talk — the Germanic joins the word for a spear to one meaning hardy, which is the same ger that hides inside garlic.
- Gerardo is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 2000, when 1,713 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 8,268 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1906.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Gerardo over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 10 |
| 1910s | 111 |
| 1920s | 217 |
| 1930s | 197 |
| 1940s | 344 |
| 1950s | 1,284 |
| 1960s | 2,928 |
| 1970s | 5,725 |
| 1980s | 7,310 |
| 1990s | 13,578 |
| 2000s | 13,599 |
| 2010s | 7,082 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,869 |
What Gerardo means
Gerardo means spear-brave, or hardy with a spear. The Germanic compound joins a weapon to a word for toughness, so both elements describe a fighter.
Where Gerardo comes from
Gerardo is the Italian and Spanish form of Gerard, from the Germanic ger, a spear, joined to hard, hardy or brave. The ger appears across the name stock in Gerald, Gervase and Gertrude, and it survives unexpectedly in garlic — the Old English garleac, spear-leek, named for the shape of its leaves. Saint Gerard Majella is invoked in pregnancy, which has kept the name current in Catholic families.
Gerardo in use
Gerardo peaked in the United States in 2000, when 1,713 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 678th in the United States on 401 births, across 55,600 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1906, and France recorded a small series peaking at 15 births in 1970.
How popular is Gerardo?
In 2025, Gerardo was given to 401 babies in the United States, ranking #678 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Gerardo is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Gerardo
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Gerardo also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Gerardo over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Gerardo
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Gerardo in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Gerardo
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Gerardo — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Gerardo
What does the name Gerardo mean?
Brave with a spear — the Germanic ger, a spear, joined to hard, hardy.
Is garlic related?
Yes — the Old English garleac, spear-leek, named for its leaf shape.
Is Gertrude related?
Through the same ger element, yes.
How popular is Gerardo?
678th in the United States, down from a 2000 peak of 1,713 births.
Is Gerardo a girl's or a boy's name?
Gerardo is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Gerardo?
Gerardo has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Gerardo?
Gerardo is usually shortened to Gerry.
Is Gerardo a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Gerardo currently ranks #678 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.