Names That Mean Spear

A fabled storybook name via the heroine of Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), which featured a heroine called Rowena of Hargottstanstede, and also a Harry Potter name, as Rowena Ravenclaw, founder of one of the Hogwarts houses..

Though twin brother Gerald is still in baby name limbo, Geraldine is in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival—even though Gerry is not as spunky a nickname as Josie.

Garrett, also spelled with one 't', is an Irish-inflected name that was in the Top 100 in the nineties, but has now slipped in popularity.

This Anglicized form of Bearach or short form of Finbarr was in the Top 200 in the USA for 50 years until the early 80s when it rapidly fell out of favor. Barry has not yet found popularity in the modern era - but that may well change as people rediscover their love of classic figures like musician Barry White, baseballer Barry Bonds or even Barack Obama, whose nickname as a young man was Barry.

Both a saint's name and a presidential one via Gerald Ford—who was born Leslie—Gerald is a quintessential 1930s-40s name, when it ranked as high as Number 19. Hence all those nice middle-aged and senior Jerrys we've known and loved. Gerald has always been popular in Ireland, accounting for the prevalence of Fitzgeralds there. Though not considered stylish, Gerald remains on the popularity charts. Cousin Gerard has a similar profile, Geraldo is the well-used Spanish version, and Geraldine is the most promising of the family, in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival.

Corin was used by Shakespeare in As You Like It, an unusual name that could make a more distinctive alternative to Corey or Colin. It is a name used in the illustrious Redgrave family of actors.

Gerard is currently in style limbo, after reaching peak popularity in the 1950s. With its strong meaning and gentle sound, it may be back in a generation or two. But for now, a boy called Gerard will likely be the only one in his class...unless you live in Catalonia, where it was recently in the Top 10.

Innocent, sincere, and bright-eyed, and as outdated as its mother name, Gertrude.

A child might like to have a name connected to the legendary Quirin stone, which, when placed on a sleeping person's head, prompts him to expose his secret thoughts.

Could cute nickname Gertie, remembered as cute five-year-old Drew Barrymore in E.T., revive the long shunned Gertrude?

More Scandinavian names are making their way into English-speaking homes. If Sven and Freya are useable, why not Svea? With a similar sound to Ava, it is associated with Mother Svea, a national personification of Sweden.

A family of lawyers might be interested in this surname as a tribute to famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow.

While not generally thought of as unisex, this is a male name that, like Perry and Barry, has occasionally been used for girls over the years.

Last-name-first-name with a romantic but dangerous edge.

An old-fashioned Slovene nickname for Gertruda — the Jerca variation is considered more stylish.

Corin is a Shakespearean male name that could easily be adapted for a girl, making a strong update for Corinne or Karen.

The J spelling of this nickname name has always skewed more masculine, perhaps because it relates directly to Jerome but not to Geraldine. But supermodel Jerry Hall, whose full name is Jerry and who has a twin sister named Terry, pulls it off in glamorous style.

Variation of Rowena.

After being one of the hot upscale surnames of the nineties, Garrett has left the Top 100 and this streamlined spelling is dawdling near the bottom of the Top 1000.

Geralt is an antiquated version of the old-fashioned name Gerald, which has been dropping toward the bottom of the US Top 1000 since the early 1940s and finally dropped out in 2021.