Geert

Geert
Pronunciation	Dutch: [ˈxeːrt], [ˈɣeːrt]
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 [xeːrt], speakers of southern varieties will generally pronounce it as [ˈɣeːrt].

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.

Notable people with the name Geert

• Geert Groote (1340–84), Dutch preacher and founder of the Brethren of the Common Life
• Geertgen tot Sint Jans (c. 1465 – c. 1495), Dutch painter
• Geert Wilders (born 1963), Dutch politician