Given name
Gertrud
“one who is strong with a spear”
In German use, Gertrud is a variant of Gertrude. One German interpretation is “one who is strong with a spear.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Gertrud is a variant of Gertrude. One German interpretation is “one who is strong with a spear.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In German use, Gertrud is a variant of Gertrude. An origin associated with Gertrude is Germanic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Old High German gēr (“spear”), from Proto-Germanic *þrūþiz (“strength”), from Proto-Germanic *trut (“maiden”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1894. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In German use, Gertrud is a variant of Gertrude. The history of Gertrude gives this family its wider story. Gertrude was in use during the 19th century.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Gertrud through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 34
- 0 boys · 34 girls
- Most popular year
- 1916
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1923. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 7 in 1916. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,221 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Gertrud’s family of names
In German usage, Gertrud has a diminutive in Gerd. In Swedish usage, Gertrud shares a linguistic root with the Norwegian Bokmål form Trude. In German usage, Gertrud has a related form in Gertrude.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Gertrud has relatives in 20 languages.
36 related names in 20 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Gertrudevariant · German, French
- Gerdavariant · German
- Gerddiminutive · German
- Gertrudisvariant · German, Spanish
- Gesinediminutive · German
- Gertraudvariant · German
- Gescheshort form · German
- Gertrautvariant · German
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Across languages 32
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Trudyequivalent
- Trudiequivalent
- GertrudesPortuguese
- Trudecognate · Norwegian Bokmål
- Gertaequivalent
- Gertiequivalent
- Ģertrūdeequivalent
- Gertruidaequivalent
Show 24 moreShow fewer
- Gertyequivalent
- Geirtrudcognate · Norwegian Nynorsk
- Jartiborrowing · Greenlandic
- Qituraborrowing · Greenlandic
- Qittooraborrowing · Greenlandic
- GeltrudeItalian
- Kerttuderivative · Finnish
- GertrúdHungarian
- GertrúdaSlovak
- GiertruSwedish
- GertrunSwedish
- GertruSwedish
- GartrudSwedish
- ГертрудаRussian
- JartrudNorwegian
- GjertrudNorwegian
- GeertruidaDutch
- GeirþrúðurIcelandic
- JärttyFinnish
- JerttuFinnish
- JertruFinnish
- GortraFaroese
- GeirtrúðFaroese
- GeirþrúðrOld Norse
People named Gertrud
- Gertrude the GreatRoman Catholic Saint1256–1301
- Gertrud von Le FortGerman writer of novels, poems and essays (1876-1971)
- Gertrud Scholtz-KlinkGerman politician (1902-1999)
- Gertrud AdelborgWomen's rights activist1853–1942
- Gertrud Elisabeth MaraGerman operatic soprano (1749–1833)
- Gertrud KolmarGerman writer and holocaust victim (1894–1943)
- Gertrud WokerSwiss scientist and suffragette (1878-1968)
- Petronilla of LorraineCountess of Holland1082–1144
- Gertrud GablAustrian alpine skier1948–1976
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Gertrud, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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