Surname Gerds - Meaning and Origin
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Gerds: What does the surname Gerds mean?
The last name Gerds is of German, Dutch, and Frisian origin and is derived from the Germanic given name Gerd or Gerhard and was made as a patronymic name. Gerd or Gerhard is composed of the Germanic elements “gair,” which means “spear,” and “hard,” which means “brave or hardy.” Thus, the name Gerds literally translates to “son of Gerd.” Historically, the name Gerds is believed to have been used as a surname as early as the 15th century in Europe.
Many variations of the surname Gerds exist, such as: Gerdes, Gerdsen, Gerdsin, Gerdt, Gärds, Gaards, Gards, and Gerdesen, to name a few.
Today, the surname Gerds is most commonly found in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and North America. In the United States, the surname Gerds can be found predominantly in states along the east and upper midwest, such as Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan.
In summary, the last name Gerds is of German, Dutch, and Frisian origin and is derived from the Germanic given name Gerd. Historically, the name was used as a surname as early as the 15th century in Europe and today can be found predominantly in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and North America.
Order DNA origin analysisGerds: Where does the name Gerds come from?
The last name Gerds is mainly found today in Germany, where it is most common in the northern and western parts of the country. The name is derived from the German word "gerd" meaning "spear", so it is likely that it was originally an occupational last name given to someone in the medieval ages who worked with spears or arrows.
In the United States, the census of 2000 found that the last name Gerds ranked 12,458 in the most common last names list. By the year 2016, the US Census Bureau reported that the last name was the 8,528th most common last name in the USA. This means it experienced a significant jump of a few thousand spots within the past 16 years.
The last name has also been observed in the Netherlands, with the Central Bureau of Genealogy in the Netherlands recording about 500 people with this last name living here in the year 2013.
Interestingly, records show that the name has spread to other parts of the world such as South Africa, United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden, but in much smaller numbers than in Germany.
Overall, the last name Gerds is most common in Germany where it originated, before spreading to other areas of Europe and the world, albeit in much smaller numbers.
Variations of the surname Gerds
The surname Gerds is a Germanic surname that has various regional spellings throughout Germany. The most common spelling of the surname Gerds is Gerdes. Additionally, the surname is sometimes found as Gerdt, Gerdts, Gierds, and Gerrts, among other lesser known variants. In some areas, the spelling is reported to have become corrupted to the English-language surname Gerty.
Most Gerds families can trace their roots to the Germanic region known as Saxony. Here the name was found primarily in the district of Schluesselburg, where it was derived from the Germanic first name Gerhard, as it is a patronymic form of the name.
The variants of the surname Gerds in its various spellings are still found in Germany today largely and is anecdotally said to have become more common in the coastal regions of the North Sea. When German people emigrated from Germany to the United States and Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the surname Gerds and many of its variants were introduced to the United States. It is now found across the country, although it is more common in the midwest and near to larger cities.
In some cases, other surnames that are of the same origin as Gerds are believed to have derived from corrupted spellings of the surname. These surnames include Garths, Gehrts, Geerds, and Garts.
Finally, some variant spellings of the name have simply been anglicized. For instance, the German name "Gerdes" is sometimes found spelled as Gerdis.
Famous people with the name Gerds
- Kay Gerds: Former German goalkeeper
- Bela Gerds: German footballer who plays for Düsseldorf
- Mike Gerds: American professional road bicycle racer
- Tex Gerds: Retired professional ice hockey player
- Silke Gerds: Member of the German national swimming team
- Johann Gerds: German writer and musician
- Boris Gerds: German professor of mathematics
- Gunther Gerds: German businessman and entrepreneur
- Dietmar Gerds: German theatre and television director
- Barbara Gerds: English actress and fashion model