See the results of this poll: Do You Like Gertrude?
Respondents: 19 (This poll is closed)
- Yes: 6 (32%)
- No: 13 (68%)
It’s a family name I adore, I would definitely use it for my kids middle name if I wanted any…just a name addict here!
I think it is a beautiful name, my best friend only yesterday suggested it as the name for my baby (due next summer)! It is very Swedish, but has an international feel too it.
It starts with Grrr! [name]Gert[/name] is just a difficult-to-like old sound right now. [name]Gertie[/name] at least doesn’t sound terrible - like [name]Drew[/name] Barrymore in ET, a movie which is almost 30 years old, but the name didn’t go further than that, not like [name]Madison[/name] from “Splash” a couple years later.
I like [name]Gertie[/name] more than I like [name]Hattie[/name], but not much more - a lot of other people love [name]Hattie[/name] already. I LOOOOOOVE <3 [name]Trudy[/name]. I can’t quite make the step there to get to [name]Trudy[/name], her name will have to be [name]Gertrude[/name]. Names that are more [name]German[/name] and not from Greek or Latin seem to fail the revival test and still sound very creaky and old not in a quaint or adorable way. They usually mean something serious, like [name]Gertrude[/name] means “spear of strength”. No nonsense, nothing uplifting or demure. I like serious, capable meanings, but I have to say, the sound of it is off-putting.
I think people are able to envision their boys with capable “strength” names moreso than girls, not that they can’t grow up to be capable and strong, but that they seem really odd on a bitty baby girly girl. People seem to like a name that’s suitable for a baby as well as an adult, some err on the babyish side. [name]Gertrude[/name] sounds like someone who has never been young. Boys of course, it is sexist, but people complain about girls’ parents stealing all the boy names - while [name]Gertrude[/name] doesn’t sound masculine enough, just hard - I think this avenue of logic ought to appeal to parents using masculine names for girls, but it hasn’t caught on. Boys can be a week old and already everyone is saying how strong his kicks are and how tight he can grab your finger already, and affirm how much a beefy lumberjack (if not also a poet who ponders the moonlight’s reflection on a lake) he’ll be as he grows. Girls can kick and hold things just as strong, but are maybe likened more to a Rockette right from the get-go, this spear of strength is not quite so fitting to this adorable cherub who will take Radio City [name]Music[/name] [name]Hall[/name] by storm. It’s really the sound of it, more than the meaning.
Anyway, people are starting to come around - some names like [name]Agnes[/name] and [name]Agatha[/name] are starting to appeal to people, even [name]Myrtle[/name], it will be some years, but if those (and those are all Latin or Greek, if I’m not mistaken) names start to rise up again, [name]Gertrude[/name] will also sound familiar. I know you tend to like some odd names (odd in the sense that few other people like them yet), I recall [name]Eartha[/name] and [name]Ilma[/name] and possibly it was you that asked about [name]Wilma[/name] recently. I can really see those sounding not as burdened by association in the near future. I have my own [name]German[/name]/Scandi side with a namesake or two, [name]Bertha[/name], and the more I think about it - the more I’m starting to like it. One of them was called [name]Bertie[/name], and for most of my life, I thought it was [name]Birdie[/name] - even my father had this recollection, and it’s his aunt. If [name]Birdie[/name], I think people would be on board with that whimsy. [name]Bertie[/name] is a harder sell ([name]Roberta[/name]? or even for boys, [name]Bert[/name] names just aren’t so hot right now). [name]Gertie[/name] and thus [name]Gertrude[/name] is also still unappealing or less appealing than [name]Tibbie[/name] or [name]Lucy[/name], but I feel it is just a matter of time, really just needs more time to grow on people. [name]Trudy[/name] is such a cute nickname already, so maybe sooner than later.
I also think [name]Trudy[/name] is adorable, but can’t relly get prehind [name]Gertrude[/name]. For some reason, though, I really like [name]Gertrudis[/name]. The emphasis is switched from the first to the econd syllable, taking away from the harshness of [name]Gert[/name], transforming it into a softer ger leading into the main sound: tru (which has a much nicer feel and really emphasizes the connection to nn [name]Trudy[/name]). Then the is on the end again softens the ending sound of the name, taking the emphasis off of ude (rhymes with prude and nude) and leaving it again on tru, before flowing into dis, which is a dainty and quiet ending and gives the name a lovely balance from its ger beginning.
I have to say i strongly dislike [name]Gertrude[/name]. In all honestly its an awkward sounding name, [name]Gert[/name] and [name]Rude[/name]. [name]Gert[/name] reminds me a gertiles (the lower tight tying part of a football uniform (under the uniform its self) and rude is well…rude. And then when you put it all together its a very old lady name.
I like it as a baby name fanatic, not as a sane mother. While its cute in a old lady charm way, I just can’t see my self using it. [name]Gertrude[/name] is cute, but not cute enough for a revival. (yet) [name]Trudy[/name] and [name]Gertie[/name] are lovely nicknames though.
My thoughts exactly. It could be stylish (as in really cutting-edge, definitely not mainstream), but I wouldn’t use it. All the same, I hope it comes back.