Boys' name · peaked in 1939
Gerald name popularity since 1925
413,703 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Gerald. Half of them were born in 1949 or earlier, so the typical Gerald is about 77 years old in 2026. Gerald peaked in 1939 as the #19 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 413,703
- Named Gerald, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,206 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 2,176 girls · 411,527 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 2.47× its national share
Peak year is the year Gerald made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Gerald births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1942. Measured as a share of all babies, Gerald peaked in 1939.
- Fastest rise: Between 1928 and 1933, Gerald became 1.5× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1993 and 1998, its share of baby boys fell by 38%, from 1 in 1,760 to 1 in 2,850.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Gerald's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Gerald.
Decade by decade
Babies named Gerald in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 232 | 26,593 | – |
| 1930s | 454 | 82,821 | #21 |
| 1940s | 396 | 103,342 | #25 |
| 1950s | 349 | 82,626 | #48 |
| 1960s | 354 | 55,305 | #64 |
| 1970s | 231 | 26,147 | #108 |
| 1980s | 137 | 15,507 | #181 |
| 1990s | 23 | 9,797 | #299 |
| 2000s | 0 | 5,146 | #520 |
| 2010s | 0 | 3,031 | #765 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,212 | #1,206 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.2% of babies named Gerald from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Gerald is most popular
The index compares Gerald's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Gerald.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2.47× | 3,233 |
| Wisconsin | 2.18× | 17,823 |
| Michigan | 2.05× | 32,571 |
| Minnesota | 1.94× | 14,654 |
| South Dakota | 1.92× | 2,538 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Gerald and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Gerald (this page) | 411,527 | 1939 |
| Gerold | 2,737 | 1939 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Gerald's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Gerald.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Gerald (1939).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data