Geraldine

Meaning: Ruler with the spear
Origin: Variant of Gerald (from Germanic)

Nicknames: Jerry, Jeri, Gerri, Jerri, Jerrie

Girl's name · #2447 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Geraldine is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1931, when it ranked #38. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 211,000 girls since 1880, ranked #2447 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Geraldine is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 7 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Geraldine ranks in other countries and regions.

#221 in Mexico (2024) · #641 in Ecuador (2025) · #2,081 in Switzerland (2025).

Famous Geraldines

Geraldine Page — American actress (1924–1987)
Geraldine Chaplin — British-American actress
Geraldine Ferraro — American politician (1935–2011)
Geraldine Fitzgerald — Irish-American actress (1913–2005)
Geraldine Brooks — Australian-American journalist and author

In stories & tradition

Geraldine Jones — African-American character, the most famous recurring persona of comedian Flip Wilson
Geraldine Granger — The Vicar of Dibley (TV series)
Geraldine — An Artist's Model (musical stage work)

What Geraldines become

Among 509 notable people named Geraldine:

Entertainers appear 1.62× more often than among typical names — e.g. Geraldine Page, American actress (1924–1987).

Spellings & nicknames

Earlier generations knew Gerry and Geri — standards of the 1950s. About 300 boys a year are given Jerry as their full name.

Similar names: Roberta · Pauline · Dianna · Jayne · Joanne · Yvonne

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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