Geraldine

What does Geraldine mean?

Geraldine is a feminine form of Gerald, a Germanic name meaning “power of the spear.” Gerald combines ger, “spear,” with walt, “power” or “authority.” The longer feminine form has a literary history of its own, reaching back to a sixteenth-century English poem.

The poet Henry Howard praised Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald in a sonnet, calling her “The Geraldine.” The name thus has a connection to her family name as well as to the older masculine Gerald. Its ending gives it a longer, three-syllable shape, while preserving the Gerald family at the beginning.

Gerald itself came to Britain with the Normans. It remained established in Ireland during centuries when it became less common in England, before an English revival in the nineteenth century. Geraldine combines that medieval name family with the literary association of Howard's poem.

Geraldine Ferraro and American politics

Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman nominated for vice president on a major American political party's ticket in 1984. She ran with Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale. They lost the election to Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, but her nomination marked a new point in the history of women seeking national office.

Ferraro had trained as a lawyer and worked as an assistant district attorney in Queens before entering Congress. She served in the House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985. Those earlier roles help place the famous campaign moment in a longer professional story, from legal work in New York to a national election. Her full first name became closely associated with that widely followed candidacy.

Geraldine Page and The Trip to Bountiful

Actor Geraldine Page supplies a major screen connection. She won the Academy Award for best actress at the 1986 ceremony for The Trip to Bountiful, released the previous year. Her character, Carrie Watts, is an elderly woman longing to return to the small Texas town where she grew up.

That wish to revisit home drives the film's journey. Page's performance places Geraldine alongside a story of memory, family, and attachment to a particular landscape.

Pronunciation and nicknames

In English, Geraldine is pronounced JERR-uhl-deen, with the stress on the first syllable. Geri, Gerri, Gerry, Jeri, and Jerrie are established familiar forms. French Géraldine is a corresponding form, with an accent and a French pronunciation. Gerald is the direct masculine relation; Jerald is another spelling within that family.

Geraldine in the United States

Geraldine's largest American girls' count was 5,448 in 1930. Its best rank followed in 1931, at No. 38. In 2025, 73 girls received the name, placing it at No. 2,447. Its American popularity is now much lower than during its early twentieth-century peak, while its literary and public-life connections remain substantial.

How popular is Geraldine?

In 2025, Geraldine ranked #2,447 among girls in the United States, with 73 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 5,448 in 1930. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.