Gerdes or Geerdes (/ˈɡɛərdɪs/ GAIR-diss, German: [ˈɡeːɐ̯dəs]) is a surname of German origin. It is a patronymic name, i.e. it comes from "son of Gerhard". When around 1800 the Prussian government under French occupation decided to fix the surnames, the contemporary "son of Gerhard" had to keep his name. In Ostfriesland, the law was ignored until at least 1811.[1]
Origin
editGe(e)rdes is a patronymic derived from the name "Gerd", short for Gerard, meaning "hard spear", or from the Norse goddess Gerd (meaning "Gerd's protection"), wife of Freyr and protectress of the home yard and garden, from which she also derives her name as a personification of the garden/yard.[2]
People
edit- Herbert Gerdes, German director
- Kristina Geerdes, German model
- Hans-Peter Geerdes (born 1964), lead singer of the German band Scooter
- Eckhard Gerdes (born 1959), American author
- Eduard Gerdes (1821–1898), Dutch lyric writer and author
- Michael Gerdes (born 1960), German politician
- Paulus Gerdes (1952–2014), Dutch ethnomathematician
- Roswitha Gerdes (born 1961), German middle-distance runner
References
edit- ^ History
- ^ "Bartleby on "ger"". Archived from the original on 2005-12-12. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
External links
edit- Distribution in the US Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Distribution in Germany (in numbers)
- Distribution in Germany (relative to population)
- Genealogical research on Gerdes
This page lists people with the surname Gerdes.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.