Geraldine meaning, origin, history | Meaning of name

Origin and Meaning

Baby name Geraldine is a compound name of the elements 'ger' meaning 'a spear' and 'wald' meaning 'rule'. Thus the name is often associated with the meaning 'spear ruler' or 'to rule with a spear'. It is also said that Geraldine is the feminine form of the name Gerald which was originally derived from the Germanic name Gerward. The name was initially introduced by the Norman-French to England in the Middle Ages. Moniker was first used in the 16th century by the English poet Earl, in his poem for Lady Fitzgerald. After which, in Ireland, the Fitzgeralds were known as Geraldines.

Geraldine was ranked 753 in 1989 list of US boys name and dropped by 4.87% from its previous ranking of 718 in 1988. Geraldine was ranked 841 in 2015 list of US girls name and dropped by 5.13% from its previous ranking of 800 in 2014.

Full form of Geraldine : Good-Natured Enterprising Religious Altruistic Lively Dependent Ingenious Noble Excitable

Geraldine is a rare first name for a girl in England & Wales which is a rare name since 1996 and ranked 4684 in 2014. Only 201 people have Geraldine as their first name. Geraldine is a very consistent name over the past 18 years.

Geraldine is a very very popular first name for a girl in United States which is popular since 1906 and ranked 841 (0.003231% bearer) in 2015 in US. Around 210865 people wear Geraldine as their first name. Geraldine is a rare first name for a boy in United States which is a rare name since 1880 and ranked 841 (0.003231% bearer) in 2015 in US. Only 210865 people have Geraldine as their first name. Geraldine is not a native United States and Geraldine may be came from another language or is a short form of some other name. 0.058986% of people in US have this given name.