Once worn by queens and saints, today she’s oft-cited as the name you’d never give your girl.
Thanks to Jillian for suggesting Gertrude as Name of the Day.
Gertrude’s meaning is fierce. The -ger means spear, like in Garrett and Roger. The second bit means strength. She’s a stalwart Germanic appellation, more warrior queen than fairy princess.
Many a Gertrude was born royal, including the seventh century Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, in what is today Belgium. Doubtless she inspired others to use the name, including the thirteenth century Gertrude of Hackeborn, the abbess of a convent in Helfta. Under her leadership, Helfta became known both for the education provided to nuns, and for mysticism. The future Saint Gertrude the Great studied under Gertrude of Hackeborn at Helfta, and went on to become a famous mystic. Even today, some believe that praying to her will release souls from purgatory.
Between the 1000s and 1400s, there were Gertrudes aplenty amongst the ruling houses of Austria and all of the other states of the Holy Roman Empire. Many of them would become queens, including the ruling houses of Denmark, Germany and Hungary.
I’ll spare you the full list of Margravines and Duchesses; let’s just say that if you were penning a work of historical fiction set in Germanic Europe circa 1200, Gertrude is as good a choice as any for an aristocratic, accomplished woman. Perhaps that’s why Shakespeare chose the name for Hamlet’s mother in his famous tragedy.
In 1910, Herman Hesse named an early novel Gertrud. In the story, Gertrud was a tortured artist, in love with an opera singer. It’s no light romance, but at the time, Gertrude was a stylish name, found in the US Top 100 right through 1930.
Notable Gertrudes from the era include:
- Children’s writer Gertrude Chandler Warner, known for her Boxcar Children series;
- Well-born socialite Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney used her wealth and connection in support of the arts, and was a sculptor herself;
- English archeologist and travel writer Gertrude Lowthian Bell worked with T.E. Lawrence to help develop the modern Middle East;
- Gertrude Stein, perhaps the best known of the bunch, was a writer and leading figure in modern literature.
Here’s a quirky use of Gertrude: the name Gertruda apparently found favor with Russian revolutionaries. Why? The phrase geroinya truda means Hero of Labor – and can be contracted to form Gertruda.
In the US Gertrude has been out of favor since the 1950s, and left the Top 1000 entirely after 1965. Even Drew Barrymore’s cute character Gertie in 1982 blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial couldn’t reverse the trend.
But what about Trudy?
Trudy continued to rank into the US Top 1000 into the 1970s. And Trudie Styler is quite visible, thanks to her high-profile husband Sting. Trudie occupies the middle ground between gemstone Ruby, antique revival Lucy and fashionable diminutives like Sadie. It’s easy to imagine them on the playground together.
But if parents are willing to put diminutives like Millie on their daughter’s birth certificate, it is even easier to imagine them bypassing Gertrude for just Trudie. I can’t say that it is the wrong choice, either. Gertrude is a solid choice – but possibly too heavy to appeal in the 21st century.
Still, if your goal is a strong, regal name less common than Charlotte or Eleanor, Gertrude certainly fits the bill.
Gertrude isn’t as awful as the “worst” thing to call your daughter… I think it is OK but you’d have to be pretty darn confident to use it and I’d hazard that your kid would have to have a bit of a thick skin too. It’s not the easiest name to wear. Still, Trudy is cute, but call me nuts, I prefer Gertie. Greta, Gigi (yes!), Goodie, Tru, and Rudy are all possible nns for Gertrude. It seems doubtful to reach the heights of the early 20th century, but I could see some ultra-cool folks embracing her. And I can embrace at least some of the nicknames, no problem!
I’m with you on the nicknames – I really love Trudy/Trudie!
And Gigi? That’s a fabulous split between the frou-frou French and the solid German!
Hildegard, another ugly on the ears name, is one of my favorite Christian mystics. I must learn more about Gertrude!
Hildegard – also saintly, also leads to the so-cool nickname Hildy!
I’m with the group that lists names like Gertrude,Hilda, Helga, Bertha etc as really, really bad names. To me, the names don’t sound feminine & are dated in an extremely negative way. I think of a person with the personality along the lines of Gertrude the Prude. Some of these names remind me of negative eras & just don’t personally fit the things that I like. Some vintage names are whimsical and romantic, but Gertrude just seems stiff, starchy & overall -highly unappealing. I don’t think it’s the worst name that could ever be given to a person, I just find it a lot to live up to & it doesn’t seem like a name that’s even worth the fight to me. I also don’t like Trudy or even Judy. It’s a sound thing.
I think it’s on par with rising star Matilda as far as ‘fusty battleaxe vibes” go and I greatly prefer it to name nerd favourites such as Adelaide and Charlotte.
In saying that I’d probably accept that any daughter I bestowed it on would likely want to kick my arse later in life for such a moniker and with that in mind I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot barge pole.
I can’t help liking Trudie and Gertie.
I just hate that “trude” sound, whether in the full Gertrude or the shortened Trudy. Just one of those names that I have a physical negative reaction to.
Gertrude is okay but a little too harsh for a little girl I think.
I really like Trudy but would never use her as she is too much of a nickname.
I love Greta though and there is always Gretel as well.
I agree that it fits in with the current Adelaides and Matildas. I like it, it grows on you. Especially with the sweet old fashioned nicknames.
That’s exactly how I think of it, Kathryn – it grows on you.
I really, really love Gertrude.
When I was growing up, we had a neighbor named Gertrude–young, too, about my dad’s age. Plus, my older brother had a classmate named Trudy, which I love–more unique than Stacy or Tracy, but feels younger than Judy. If Gertrude was a family name, I would embrace it!
I am sad that people have such negative reactions to Gertrude. To me she’s my grandmother (still living independently at 95) and one of the most amazing caring people I know. But like my Grandma Mabel, they both think their names are too dated and not pretty enough for use on a girl born today.
Elle, it is sort of sweet that your grandmas find Mabel and Gertrude too dated to insist on a namesake! Tell Grandma Mabel that I know an incredibly cute 2 y.o. Mabel. And if the comments here are any indication, Grandma Gertrude might hear her name on a Park Slope playground sometime soon …
That Park Slope comment might need explaining, especially considering the amount of international readers you have.
To me, Gertrude is forever musty-dusty, as is Mathilda; I don’t care how many hipsters use them.
You’re quite right! UrbanAngel just told me that there aren’t even Pottery Barns in South Africa, so I can only guess that “Park Slope” is lost. I never knew how East Coast, BosWash my perspective was until I started blogging …
That’s one thing I have noticed: geography can play a huge part in how people view names. I’ve often noticed that what seems dull & dated to me is fresh, nouveu or even vintage to someone else.
I would love Gertrude, especially with the nickname Trudie, but my German husband associates it with the Third Reich, especially with Gertrud Scholtz-Klink.
It’s a pity because Trudie is a name that works so well in German and English.
Julie, that’s interesting. I’ve often wondered about the impact of WWII on German names. I remember in high school hearing that the teaching of the German language declined in the 1940s and 50s. (I went to a small school, and if memory serves, my friend Aric campaigned hard to get it back in the curriculum.) I just Google’d Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, and I must say, she wouldn’t inspire me to name a daughter Trudie, either. Shudder.
This is one of those names that I wonder if it isn’t age-related or style related in terms of those who like. I really don’t mean to stereotype, but I often saw on YA that many people didn’t like it – the majority. Those who did, had a strong love for vintage names or were over the age of 40. Out of all the vintage names. I think it won’t be one that would be use a lot. I think you’d have the reaction that Uma Thurman did in the movie Motherhood, where she was getting a birthday cake at the bakery & they misspelled her daughters name to Clarra as opposed to Clara. The people in line said that this is what happens when you give your kid an ‘Edna’ name. Overall, the movie wasn’t that good, but the names in the movie stood out for me for many reasons.The movie absolutely correlated with an article I read at nameberry about names in New York.
I quite like the name Gertrude. I always have, especially with the nn Trudy. This one of those names that I probably would not use myself but would be thrilled to see someone else use it.
I don’t think Gertrude is that bad, it can be sort of pretty-ish if you say it over and over with a smile on your face
. I guess you can shorten it to Gigi (if not the other million and one nicknames, Trudy, Gertie, etc…) I’d use it in the middle spot- Elizabeth or Jane or something like that with Gertrude in the middle? Not so bad… Well, maybe not Elizabeth or Jane 
As a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, I chose the name Giertrud, a Scandinavian form of Gertrude.
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I love Gertrude. It’s one of my favorite names. It has been for a long time. The Gert makes me of gurgle, like a brook or baby laughing.