GERRARD

Gerrard is a patronymic surname of English origin, derived from the given name Gerard. The name Gerard itself originates from the Old Germanic elements ger meaning “spear” and hard meaning “brave” or “strong”, so that the surname may collectively be interpreted as “brave with a spear” or “strong warrior”.

After the Norman Conquest of 1066 the personal name was introduced into Britain in the Old French forms Gerard, Gerart and Girart. These were adapted from the Old Germanic Gerhard or Girhard, and the name was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 in the Latinised forms Gerardus and Girardus. An early instance of the surname appears in 1170 in the “Documents relating to the Danelaw”, Lincolnshire, where a John Gerardus is noted during the reign of King Henry XI.

Although the surname arose in England, it is believed to have had a Gaelic element through the Irish name Gerragh, an adaptation of a Latin word meaning “brave one”. This explains its presence within the greater London area and parts of England such as Manchester and Birmingham, where it is most heavily concentrated today.

In the United Kingdom the surname is common enough to rank as the sixty‑seventh most frequent name. Its distribution is greatest in Northern England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire, but it is also frequent in East Anglia, the West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and the Greater London area. Outside Britain the name is relatively uncommon, though it can be found in small numbers in Germany, France, Italy, Australia, the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Ireland.

The first known trans‑Atlantic migration of a Gerrard family occurred in 1635, when an Edward Garrard left London aboard the ship Ann and Elizabeth bound for St. Christopher and the Barbados. The surname subsequently appears in many colonial records across the New World.

The family coat of arms granted to a Gerrard lineage depicts two silver lions combatant on a blue shield, with a crest of a wyvern whose tail is twisted and pierced through its neck with a gold spear whose head is silver. This heraldic device symbolises the martial heritage implied by the name’s meaning.

Numerous variant spellings have evolved from the original Gerard and are now recognised as distinct surnames. These include Garrett, Garratt, Garred, Garrad, Jarratt and Jarad, as well as Garrard, Gerrard, Jarrard and Jerrard. Related names of the same root include Gerard, Jarrett, Girard and Giroud, all of which share the same Germanic semantic basis.

Typical given names associated with the Gerrard surname

Male

• Andrew
• David
• Ian
• James
• John
• Mark
• Michael
• Paul
• Robert
• Stephen

Female

• Anne
• Caroline
• Catherine
• Claire
• Elizabeth
• Emma
• Karen
• Margaret
• Mary
• Patricia
• Sarah
• Susan

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Gerrard in...

Braille

⠛⠑⠗⠗⠁⠗⠙

Morse

--...-..-..-.-.-..

Semaphore

Surname type: From given name or forename

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

Famous people named Gerrard

• Steven Gerrard - Football player and manager
• Alexandra Gerrard - Model
• Anthony Gerrard - Football player
• Paul Gerrard - Football player
• Neil Gerrard - Politician
• Wester Paul Gerrard - Singer, Guitarist, actor, artist
• Gene Gerrard - Actor (1892 to 1971)
• Jon Gerrard - Canadian politician
• Alfred Horace Gerrard - Sculptor (1899 to 1998)
• Eugene Gerrard - General (1881 to 1963)
• Ronald Gerrard - Rugby union football player and cricketer (1912 to 1943)
• Martin Gerrard - Cricketer

Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.

Your comments on the Gerrard surname