Geert

Geert
Pronunciation Dutch: [ɣeːrt]
Gender male
Origin
Word/name Germanic
Meaning Strong/Brave with the Spear
Region of origin Most common in The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium)
Other names
Related names Gert, Gerd, Gertje, Geertje, Gerrit, Gerry, Jerry, Gerard, Gerhard, Gerald, Gerardus

‘Geert’ is a Dutch forename of Germanic origin, equivalent to German Gerd and English Gerry. The name is a condensed form of ‘Gerhard’, itself a combination of the Germanic words ‘ger’ (spear) and ‘hard’ (strong or brave) meaning 'Strong or Brave with the Spear'. The name's common female equivalent is 'Geertje'.

The pronunciation of the name varies slightly, depending on whether or not the speaker uses a variety of Dutch which distinguishes between the phonemes /x/ and /ɣ/. While speakers of most northern varieties of Dutch, which do not distinguish between the two phonemes, will pronounce the name as [χeːrt] or [xeːrt], speakers of southern varieties will generally pronounce it as [ɣeːrt].

Although 'Geert' can be used as a name in its own right, it is often the given name of persons who are formally called Gerard or Gerardus. The latter name refers usually to Saint Gerard of Toul or Saint Gerard Majella.

The name Geert may refer to:

People

Other uses

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.