Gerald

From a Germanic name meaning “power of the spear,” formed from ger, “spear,” and walt, “power, authority,” Gérald was introduced to Britain by the Normans. Although it disappeared in England during the Middle Ages, it remained common in Ireland and was revived in the English-speaking world in the 19th century. The name was borne by several medieval French and German saints, as well as an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon saint whose name may reflect an Old English cognate of the continental Germanic form.

Gerald moved from #892 to #955 for boys between 2019 and 2020. Its highest annual birth count came in 1942, with 11,484 births.