Gertrude
Gertrude was the 6632nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 17 babies. Its best year was 1906, when it ranked 22nd; the most babies were born in 1917 (6,300). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,446 places. More babies were named Gertrude in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Meaning spear + strength (or maiden) · Germanic
Say it GUR-trood /ˈɡɝtɹud/
- Rank in 2025
- #6,632 girls, down 2,339 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 17girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19176,300 babies
- Total since 1880
- 177,668babies recorded
What does the name Gertrude mean?
Gertrude is a Germanic name with gēr 'spear' as its first element, as DMNES and Wiktionary note; the second is either *þrūþ 'strength' or *trut 'maiden, dear', and sources do not decide between them. Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, a 7th-century Belgian abbess, spread the name. Shakespeare gave it to Hamlet's mother. It was common in the US around 1900.
gēr (Old High German, “spear”)*þrūþ / *trut (Proto-Germanic, “strength / maiden”)
How sure is this? Probable. The second element is uncertain.
Related names: Gertie, Trudy, Gertrud.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean warrior.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Gertrude', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Gertrude', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Gertrude
The usual nicknames for Gertrude are Gertie, Trudy and Gert. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Gertrude in the last five years, 96 were named Trudy, against 166 twenty years earlier.
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Gertrudes go by each one.
Gertrude popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 568 since 1884.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,632 | 17 |
| 2020 | #4,293 | 32 |
| 2010 | #7,312 | 17 |
| 2000 | #6,298 | 17 |
| 1990 | #8,723 | 9 |
| 1980 | #3,086 | 28 |
| 1970 | #1,711 | 54 |
| 1960 | #702 | 211 |
| 1950 | #314 | 613 |
| 1940 | #186 | 1,014 |
| 1930 | #96 | 2,555 |
| 1920 | #42 | 5,797 |
| 1910 | #26 | 2,932 |
| 1900 | #23 | 2,580 |
| 1890 | #26 | 1,713 |
| 1880 | #25 | 787 |
How popular is Gertrude, counting every spelling?
Gertrude has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Gertrude?
17 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Gertrude (0.00 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Gertrude born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 495 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Gertrude.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Gertrude?
About 13,300 people born in the US named Gertrude are alive today, with a median age of 80; half are between 71 and 87. That makes Gertrude a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Gertrude: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Gertrude, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Gertrude · Sibling names for Gertrude
Questions about the name Gertrude
What does Gertrude mean?
Gertrude means “spear + strength (or maiden)” (Germanic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Gertrude?
Gertrude was the 6632nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 17 babies. Its best year was 1906, when it ranked 22nd; the most babies were born in 1917 (6,300). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,446 places. More babies were named Gertrude in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Is Gertrude a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Gertrude in the US.