Contents [hide]

Gerrard History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Gerrard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Germany

The prominent surname Gerrard originated in France, a country which has been a dominant presence in world affairs for centuries. The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in France were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. The patronyms were derived from a variety of given names that were of many different origins. As well as the names of the saints of the Christian Church, many of the most common French surnames are derived from personal names of Germanic origin. The name Gerrard is derived from the Germanic personal name Gerhard, which means "brave spear".

Early Origins of the Gerrard family

The surname Gerrard was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France where this celebrated family held a family seat from ancient times.

The first member of this ancient family is recorded in the ancient archives as Guillaume Girard of la Magdelaine who was the Magistrate for the county of Charollais in 1325. The Girards were well established in the region of Bourgogne where members of this noble family were prominent citizens in the political arenas of the times. By 1370, members of the family held the title of Lord of Charollais, such as Etienne Girard of Perrecy.

As many members of this family held important positions in political and military fields, they were deeply affected by the French Revolution. Some important members at this time were: Jean François Girard, a Deputy for the Clergy at the Estates General in 1789; François Joseph Henri Girard, Secretary General at the Prefecture and a Legislator; Jean-Baptiste Girard, Count, Commander and Officer of the Legion of Honour, promoted to General of the Brigade in November, 1806, and who received the Cross of Saint-Louis from the Emperor; and Jean-Pierre Girard, who became General of the Brigade after being Chief of the 3rd Batallion, and was later made a member of the Legion of Honour and a Baron of the Empire. 1

Early History of the Gerrard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gerrard research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1518, 1528, 1595, 1632, 1641, 1648 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Gerrard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gerrard Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gerrard, Girard, Girarde, Girardeau, Girardin, Girart, Girars, Girardes, Jirard, Jirarde, Jirart, Jirars, Guérard, Guirard, Guirarde, Guirart, Guirars and many more.

Early Notables of the Gerrard family

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gerrard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gerrard Ranking

In the United States, the name Gerrard is the 17,336^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Gerrard migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gerrard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Gerrard, who landed in Maryland in 1634 3
Thomas Gerrard, who arrived in Maryland in 1635 3
John Gerrard, who landed in Maryland in 1640 3
Gilbert Gerrard, who landed in Virginia in 1642 3
Gilbert Gerrard, who settled in Virginia in 1643
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gerrard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Geo Gerrard, who landed in Virginia in 1717 3
Gerrard Gerrard, who arrived in Virginia in 1720 3
Nichols Gerrard, aged 30, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1736 3
Peter Gerrard, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 3
Abraham Gerrard, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gerrard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Gerrard, who settled in Rhode Island in 1812 with his wife and their five children
Samuel Gerrard, aged 35, who landed in Rhode Island in 1812 3

Gerrard migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gerrard Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. William Gerrard U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 4
Mr. William Gerrard U.E. who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 4

Gerrard migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gerrard Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Gerrard, (b. 1781), aged 34, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1819 5
Thomas Gerrard, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. John Gerrard, (b. 1796), aged 37, English convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 27th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. James Gerrard, English convict who was convicted in Lancashire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "David Clarke" on 3rd June 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
David Gerrard, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Anson" on September 23, 1843, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gerrard migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gerrard Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James Gerrard, Cornish settler travelling from Launceston aboard the ship "Thomas Lord" arriving in New Zealand in 1849 10
Miss Mary Gerrard, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Merchantman' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand and Auckland New Zealand on 6th September 1855 11
Mrs. Gerrard, Scottish settler travelling from Greenock aboard the ship "Robert Henderson" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 9th February 1858 10
A. Gerrard, Scottish settler travelling from Greenock aboard the ship "Robert Henderson" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 9th February 1858 10
Mr. Maurice L. Gerrard, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 18th August 1859 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gerrard migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12

Gerrard Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Susan Gerrard, who arrived in Barbados in 1686

Contemporary Notables of the name Gerrard (post 1700) +

Donny Gerrard (1946-2022), Canadian singer, member of the band Skylark in the early 1970s, lead singer on their hit single, "Wildflower"
Steven George Gerrard MBE (b. 1980), English former footballer and now manager. He was the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award in 2005. Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2007. He was nominated in 2005 for BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and came 3rd
Air Commodore Eugene Louis Gerrard CMG, DSO, RAF (1881-1963), English officer in the Royal Marines and Royal Air Force
Matthew Gerrard, Canadian record producer and songwriter
Anthony Gerrard (b. 1986), English-born Irish footballer
Mark Gerrard (b. 1982), Australian rugby player
Wes Paul Gerrard (b. 1943), Liverpool musician who worked at the Liverpool Cavern Club
Lisa Gerrard (b. 1961), the vocalist for the band Dead Can Dance
Paul Gerrard (b. 1973), former English goalkeeper football player
James Gerrard McCue (b. 1975), Scottish former professional footballer

Historic Events for the Gerrard family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Thomas Joseph Gerrard (d. 1914), British Smoke Room Steward from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13

HMS Dorsetshire

Eric Nicholas Gerrard (d. 1945), British Leading Cook (O) aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 14

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-clarke
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anson voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1843 with 499 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anson/1843
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html