Given name & surname
Gervais
“one who is honored; one who serves the spear”
Gervais is a variant of Gervase. One German interpretation is “one who is honored; one who serves the spear.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Gervais is a variant of Gervase. One German interpretation is “one who is honored; one who serves the spear.” Its derivation is not certain.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Gervais is a variant of Gervase. A possible origin is German, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In French usage, Gervais developed from Gervasius.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1926. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Gervais through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11
- 11 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2000
- 6 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 boys is 6 in 2000. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 204 as a first name in 2020; 5,171 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Gervais’s family of names
Gervais shares a linguistic root with Gervaise. In French usage, Gervais has a conventional equivalent in the English form Jervis. In French usage, Gervais has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Gervasio.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Gervais has relatives in 9 languages.
8 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Gervais
- GervinhoIvorian association football player (born 1987)
- Gervais NdirakobucaPrime Minister of Burundiborn 1970
- Gervais BanshimiyubusaBurundian archbishopborn 1952
- Gervase of BazochesPrince of Galilee1100–1108
- Gervais of RethelFrench bishop1056–1124
- Gervais RiouxCanadian bicycle racerborn 1960
- Gervais de La RueFrench historian (1751-1835)
- Gervais RandrianarisoaMalagasy footballerborn 1984
- Gervais RufyikiriBurundian politicianborn 1965
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Gervais, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“one who is mighty with a spear”
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“of the staff of the gods”
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“the determined protector” · “will”
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“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
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“the ruler of the estate”
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“born to royalty; a prince”
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