Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, 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. In this case, those constituents are gari > ger- (meaning 'spear') and -hard (meaning 'hard/strong/brave').
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). A few abbreviated forms are Gerry and Jerry (English); Gerd (German) and Gert (Afrikaans and Dutch); Gerrit (Afrikaans and Dutch); Gertjie (Afrikaans); Geert (Dutch) and Жоро (Bulgarian).
The introduction of the name 'Gerard' into the English language took place following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Its original forms in Old French were “Gerard, Gerart” [dʒeʁɑʁ] and “Girart”.
Patronymic surnames derived from a form of Gerard include Garrard, Garritsen, Gerard, Geertsen, Gerardet, Gerardi, Gerdes, Gerrard, Gerretsen, Gerrits(e), Gerritsen, Ghiraldi, and Giraud.
The name Gerald, while phonetically similar to Gerard, derives from a slightly different set of constituents: ger and wald (meaning 'rule/lead').
First name
Academics
Gerard A. Alphonse, Haitian electrical engineer
Gerard Bolland (1854–1922), Dutch philosopher and radical
Gerard Clauson (1891–1974), English Orientalist
Gerard of Cremona (1114–1187), Italian translator of scientific Arabic works
Gerard De Geer (1858–1943), Swedish geologist
Gerard Heymans (1857–1930), Dutch philosopher and psychologist
Gerard Hendrik Hofstede (1928–2020), Dutch social psychologist
Gerard 't Hooft (born 1946), Dutch theoretical physicist
Gerard de Jode (1509–1591), Dutch cartographer, engraver and publisher
Gerard Krefft (1830–1881), Australian zoologist
Gerard de Kremer (1512–1594), Flemish cartographer, geographer and cosmographer
Jack N. Gerard (born 1957), leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Jacques Gérard, French World War I flying ace
James W. Gerard (1867–1951), American lawyer and diplomat
Jim Gerard (born 1936), New Zealand politician
John Gerard (1545–1612), English botanist
John Gerard (Jesuit) (died 1637)
Leo Gerard (born 1947), Canadian labour union leader
Ralph W. Gerard (1900–1974), American neurophysiologist
Red Gerard (born 2000), American snowboarder
Richard Gerard of Hilderstone (1635–1680), English landowner
Robert Gerard (born 1944) South Australian electrical merchant and manufacturer
Sumner Gerard (1916–2005), American businessman, Montana politician, and US Ambassador to Jamaica
Fictional characters
Prince Gerard Himerce, the main hero of Gaiapolis
Brigadier Gerard in the novel Uncle Bernac and the short story anthologies The Adventures of Gerard and "The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Joe Gerard, husband of the title character in the 1970s television series Rhoda
Philip Gerard, pursuer of the title character in the television series The Fugitive
Samuel Gerard, in the films The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals
Gerard DuGalle, in the video game StarCraft: Brood War
Gerard Duval, in the 1929 novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Gérard, in the Chronicles of Amber novel series by Roger Zelazny
Gerard Argent, a werewolf hunter and antagonist in MTV's cult television show Teen Wolf.
Marcel Gerard, a vampire and ruler of the New Orleans supernatural community in The CW network's television series The Originals.
Gerard Valkyrie is a Quincy and a member of the Wandenreich's Sternritter with the designation "M" - The Miracle from the Bleach manga