Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin,[1] variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages.
Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together.
Common forms of the name are Gerard (English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, Polish and Catalan); Gerrard (English, Scottish, Irish); Gerardo (Italian, and Spanish); Geraldo (Portuguese); Gherardo (Italian); Gherardi (Northern Italian, now only a surname); Gérard (variant forms Girard and Guérard, now only surnames, French); Gearóid (Irish); Gerhardt and Gerhart/Gerhard/Gerhardus (German, Dutch, and Afrikaans); Gellért (Hungarian); Gerardas (Lithuanian) and Gerards/Ģirts (Latvian); Γεράρδης (Greece).
The introduction of the name 'Gerard' into the English language took place following the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
The name Gerald, while phonetically similar to Gerard, derives from a slightly different set of constituents: ger and wald (meaning 'rule/lead').