Gerrad
A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "spear wielder".
Name Census estimates that about 305 living Americans carry the first name Gerrad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gerrad today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gerrad births was 1980 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gerrad. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
305
~ 1 in 1,123,785 Americans
Peak year
1980
25 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2001 SSA rank
#11,151
Tracked since 1968
Census
Gerrad in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 288 people with the first name Gerrad, which placed it at #30,313 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,313
National first-name rank
People counted
288
288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerrad
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gerrad is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Hispanic (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gerrad described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gerrad at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 217
- Black or African American13.2% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 15
- Two or more races3.5% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Gerrad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gerrad from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 142 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gerrad by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gerrad during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gerrads live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gerrad
Gerrad is a masculine given name with origins traced back to the Germanic languages. It is derived from the old Germanic elements "ger" meaning "spear" and "rad" meaning "counsel" or "advice." The name therefore symbolizes a connotation of a "spear advisor" or someone who provides wise counsel in battle.
The name emerged during the Middle Ages, primarily in regions where Germanic tribes settled, such as parts of modern-day Germany, the Netherlands, and England. Variations in spelling include Gerard, Gerrard, and Gerhart, reflecting the linguistic evolution across different regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gerrad can be found in the 8th century, when a Benedictine monk named Gerrad von Toul lived in the region of Lorraine, which is now part of France. He is renowned for his contributions to religious texts and his role in establishing monasteries.
In the 11th century, Gerrad of Cambrai, a French scholar and theologian, gained recognition for his writings on canon law and his service as the Bishop of Cambrai. His works influenced the development of medieval ecclesiastical law.
During the 12th century, Gerrad of Cremona, an Italian translator and scholar, played a significant role in introducing Arabic scientific works to the Western world. His translations of works by prominent Islamic scholars, such as Avicenna and Ptolemy, contributed greatly to the advancement of knowledge in Europe.
In the 13th century, Gerrad Segarelli, an Italian religious leader, founded the Apostolic Brethren, a Christian religious movement that advocated for a life of poverty and simplicity. Although his movement was eventually suppressed, his teachings left a lasting impact on the region.
Another notable figure bearing the name Gerrad was Gerrad Winstanley, an English Protestant reformer who lived during the 17th century. He was a prominent figure in the Diggers movement, which advocated for the redistribution of land and the establishment of egalitarian communities.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who carried the name Gerrad, each leaving their mark in various fields such as religion, scholarship, and social reform.
People
Gerrad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gerrad as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gerrad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gerrad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 305 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gerrad going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,123,785 US residents.
Is Gerrad a common name?
We classify Gerrad as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 321 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gerrad most popular?
The single biggest year for Gerrad was 1980, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gerrad is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gerrad in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 288 people with the name Gerrad, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,313 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gerrad in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gerrad?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gerrad appears almost entirely male. Of the 289 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gerrad?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gerrad is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Hispanic (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gerrad most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gerrad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (217 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gerrad in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gerrad a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gerrad in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gerrad still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gerrad in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gerrad can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Gerrad?
See how many people have the name Gerrad on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.