Comments for the name Gertrude

St. Gertrude of Nivelles is the patron saint of cats and those who love them. I think Gertrude is a really beautiful name, and parents shouldn't be afraid of its "ugly" reputation.

In the USSR this name could also mean "Hero Of Labour" from the Russian words geroy meaning "hero" and trud meaning "labour".

My grandmother Gertrude saved many lives during WWII by participating in the Dutch underground. Our daughter's middle name is Gertrude in honour of my grandmother who I never met. My daughter, now 8, loves the meaning of her name.

My only reason for disliking this name is that it reminds me of Hamlet, a play which you could say I dislike, but I agree that parents should not be put of by its 'ugly' reputation.

It's actually nice but most people think of it as an ugly "old lady name". I personally like it but I do NOT recommend it because your child might be teased.

My grandma's name was "Gertrud", without the "e" at the end. She once told me it means as much as "the one who carries a spear".

I started tracing my family tree a couple of months ago and have found 5 Gertrudes up to 1891 but none after that. The last one was known by her middle name, according to my family, this is because she thought it was old fashioned even then. I quite like it though.

This is a lovely archaic name that Shakespeare assigned to Hamlet's incestuous mother, the Queen of Denmark.

Sounds like an ancient grandmother to me. Not a very nice name for a child!

That awful movie, Jersey Girl, had a character named Gertrude.

Gertrude is the name of the mother of Actress/Ambassador Shirley Temple.

Dutch pronunciation is kher-TRUY-duh. [noted -ed]

Ludwig van Beethoven had a pupil named Gertrude, for whom he wrote a piece, which he called "For Gertrude." The other piece he wrote for a pupil is more famous: "For Elizabeth," or "Fur Elise."

Gertrude the Bird is a character in the musical Seussical.

This is such a strong, queenly and charming name. I love Gertrude but I like Gertrudis more.

This name is also very rarely a male name. It just barely made the list of top 1000 male names in the United States during the first decade of the 20th century.

I guess it could be nice, but so many people think of it as an old lady name, it just gives out that impression. It's not particularly pretty though.

No offence to any Gertrudes, but I don't like this name. It would be a ridiculous thing to call a child, not recommended.

Awful name, I'm sorry! Lovely meaning, but awful sound.

And "old lady name", maybe, but these older women started out as little girls, did they not? And I think that it has a pretty ring to it, although it is not the nicest name.

And shouldn't it be pronounced "GER-trood" or "GER-trood-a" instead of "GUR-trood"? Why do we English speakers slur our vowels so often?

And if you don't like this name for a little girl, use the pet name "Trudy". That way it's not quite so bad.

I personally love the name Gertrude and I'm hoping that in fifteen or so years it won't be considered such an "old lady" name. However, I would still use it if it is considered such, and as the previous poster said, use the nickname Trudy.

I personally love the name Gertrude and I'm hoping that in fifteen or so years it won't be considered such an "old lady" name. However, I would still use it if it is considered such, and as the previous poster said, use the nickname Trudy.

Gertrude Stein (American writer who spent most of her life in France) was a famous bearer.

Ugh! I can't stand that name! I always think of it as a name to use for an unlikeable character in a story, and it seems comical as well because it sounds so old fashioned and ugly. Sorry but it's my least favourite name and if my parents called me that I would never forgive them.

I love the meaning, but I personally don't like the way the name sounds. I can understand why someone would want this name for their daughter, though. There's so much history behind it.

Well, I personally would never in a million years name my child Gertrude, though I do think the nickname "Gertie" is adorable.

Gertrude Banda was a famous British/Indonesian spy during the first half of the 20th century. She was a double agent between the British and the Japanese in World War II, and also a spy for the USA (through the British) in the Korean Conflict. She was rumored to be the daughter of Mata Hari.

This is definitely an old lady name, no offense to those Gertrudes out there. I just don't think that a child has to be punished with this name. Again, no offense. This name was mostly used in the early 1900s and should stay that way. Face it : Gertrude is no longer in style, if it ever was. So please; don't burden your precious little girl with this name. She deserves better.

This is my grandmother's name, Gertrude May (born 1928) and she likes her name and hates nicknames. I don't see why it isn't a perfectly good name for anyone. At least a daughter of today with this name would not be the fifth Jade or Taylor in her class! It was thought a beautiful name before, it could be, again. The "old ladies" who have this name were once cute little girls, and attractive women! In one hundred years people will be saying that Tiffany sounds like an old lady's name. :) It's just a matter of what we're accustomed to hearing.

I actually really like Gertrude. It has a bit of 1920s classy feel to it, and it has, for some I suppose, the connotations of Gertrude Stein. However, I dislike "Trudy."

Gertrude is the city of Carvahall's healer in Christopher Paolini's books.

A famous bearer was English actress Gertrude Lawrence (July 4, 1898 - September 6, 1952). She won a Tony Award for her role as Anna Leonowens in the first Broadway production of the popular musical "The King and I" in 1952.

One thing I don't understand is why I don't like this name. It means "spear of strength" (I think spears are cool), and it's the name of Hamlet's mum (Hamlet was a cool play). Those assosiations alone ought to make me think it's cool, but I don't. I agree with everyone who's said they think it's an "old lady name". It IS rather dated, in my opinion.

A famous bearer was American children's author Gertrude Chandler War (April 16, 1890 - August 30, 1979). She is best known as the creator of the Boxcar Children book series, first published in 1942. She wrote a total of 19 Boxcar Children stories. Since her death, more than 120 additional titles have been written.

You won't get compliments from me about this name. The name is old-fashioned, of course, but that's not the worst aspect of it. The name just sounds ugly, and the nicknames Gertie and Trudy are bad. Gertie is too childish for a grown-up, and Trudy sounds like Rudy, which is an ugly name as well.

Gertrude is also a French name. It's very rare, however, because many people think it's quite ugly.

I have to say in comparison to the misused Madison and Kennedy, this name is 'prettier'.

Goddamn, this always reminds me of a cat lady's name. Surprisingly, somebody said a St. Gertrude was a patron saint of cats.

Gertrude is a HIDEOUS name.

It's ugly and old-fashioned, but at least it's not Mildred or Bertha.

This name makes me want to puke it's so ugly.

As well as being a hideous old lady name, it also has the word rude in it.

Gertrude Baniszewski was an Indiana divorcee who murdered Sylvia Likens in 1965.

The Italian pronunciation is jehrr-TROO-deh. However it is hardly ever used in Italy.

A bearer of sorts was Hikaru Sulu's Weeper plant in the Enterprise's botanical garden in Star Trek's first season episode The Man Trap. He called the plant Gertrude but yeoman Rand insisted it was a boy plant ("A girl can tell") and called it Beauregard instead.

It does sound like an "old lady's name", but I still really like it. I love the meaning, and for some reason the pronunciation doesn't bother me. I think it's alright to use it as a character's name.

This was the name of the little girl in Jersey Girl.

Gertrude Jekyll (born 29 November 1843 – died 8 December 1932) was a British gardener and a very important horticultural influence of the latter 19th century and early 20th century. :) A great gardener.

Listen to the German pronunciation of Gertrude here:
http://www.nordicnames.de/Aussprache.html

Gertrude has been considered an "old ladies' name" for as long as I've been alive (56 yrs). Of course, the names that were popular when I was a child (Karen, Carol, Linda) are rapidly turning into "old lady names" in their own right. Name trackers have noted that many an old fashioned name has made a comeback in recent decades (Emma, Emily), but the savviest commentators have noted that these are "vowel rich" names whereas "Gertrude" is heavy with consonants. This tendency would likely work against Mildred, say, as well. Someone above pointed out that Gertrude "contains" the word "rude," and therefore has negative connotations. Etymologically, of course, it has nothing to do with "rudeness," but we're talking subjective impressions. Doesn't help that Mildred "contains" the word "dread" either, I suppose.

BTW, Drew Barrymore's character in ET was called "Gertie," but it wasn't clear what her actual given name was. It could have been an "off-the-wall" nickname for all we know.

The German pronunciation is ger-TROO-də. [noted -ed]

I don't like this. Not nice at all on young girls.

Yes, it's hideous. Makes me think of a squawking bird.

I personally love this name and might use it as a middle name for a daughter, if I ever have one. :)

Ewwww, it's seriously ugly! It's a name for a pig not a girl! The 'Gert' in it is so unfeminine and horrible! I feel ill when I hear this name!

A hideous old-woman name. The nickname Gertie only makes it worse. It makes me think of a tall, lanky woman in her seventies with dirty, stringy hair and a bad attitude.

Gertrude Baniszewski, the psychopathic divorcee who mercilessly tortured Sylvia and Jenny Likens and eventually killed Sylvia, has ruined this name for me. A thrice divorced mother who encouraged neighborhood children to participate in the torture of these two sisters in her care. May the Likens family not have suffered in vain.

One of my clients had a pug named Gertrude, so this is what I automatically think about when I hear the name... pugs.

For some reason, I find myself really liking this name. I don't love it enough to give my daughter this name, but my mum did say that she could picture me with a daughter called Gertrude. I can see why some people don't like the name, and I totally respect that. The meaning is strong and cool as well.

I used to despise this name and I thought it was hideous. But now, it has really grown on me and I find it attractive. I hope society changes its mind like I did.

This is not my favorite name. I don't really even know why; I just can't stand the way it looks or sounds. I especially dislike the nickname Gertie.

While I wouldn't use it on a person, I wouldn't mind using Gertrude as a name for a character in a story. My friend has a crocheted octopus named Gertrude Bubbles.

Arrghh! This is the worst name you could possibly give your adorable, sweet baby daughter. If I'd been a girl and my parents had called me that, I'd have illegally changed my name. It sounds like a vomiting noise. Like someone else pointed out, the old-fashioned names make comebacks tend to have lots of vowels, and Gertrude has mostly consonants. To any parent considering this name: Its days are LONG over. It's hard to believe that this name was popular enough back in the day to be considered an old lady name now. Just don't. Name your kid Apple instead, I'm serious.

One of the top funniest names ever. Sounds granny and old fashioned. There are so many ridiculous names out there and they all give me the same impression: UGLINESS.

In recent years, the (Low) German and Frisian short forms Gesa, Gesine and Gesina are slowly being "rediscovered" in Germany.
Especially Gesa is not a stranger anymore in Northern German maternity wards.

I don't really like names that begin with the hard "g" sound. It just sounds weird.

This name reminds me of a parrot.

I really hate this name. It sounds so ugly.

Wow, so much hate for this name. I expected some dislike for it, but not this much. I think it is a nice classic, but will probably never come back into fashion. I do like the nickname Trudy though.

The funniest name ever.

"þruþ/þryþ" strength is merely the OE from of the word (OE y representing /y/, the i-umlaut of u), not the ancient Germanic, which would be closer to "truuitho". The word is an adjectival substantive based on the root of "true" in the earliest sense of "firm, solid, strong", just as "truth" is a later formation from "true" in the derived senses "faithful, honest, reliable). The OE form þruþ is anomalous, perhaps influenced in sense and form by þrym "crowd, host, multitude, force", but corresponds well with High German drude "witch", and Romance forms drudo/druda "sweetheart", where the semantic development seems to be "covenant>marriage>spouse>sweetheart>hussy>(euphemistically?)witch", but sparse documentation of the vernacular on the continent prior the the 13th C makes reliable connection difficult.

In Italy Gertrude is the name of one of Cinderella's half-sister, maybe it's for this reason that in our country is so rare!

This is a strong, lovely name. I'm not sure whether I'd be brave enough to use it for my own child, but I can see it as a name for a little girl today.