Gertrude (also spelled Gertrud) is a feminine given name which is derived from Germanic roots that meant "spear" and "strength". "Trudy", originally a diminutive of "Gertrude", has developed into a name in its own right.
In German-speaking countries, (pronounced Ger-trowt) is a familiar variation of the name.
"Gartred" is a rare variation (attested in Daphne du Maurier's novel The King's General, set in 17th-century Cornwall, England).
"Gertruda" is a rare variation used in the Soviet Union as an abbreviation of Geroy truda (the Hero of Labour).
People
Medieval women without surnames
- Gertrude of Aldenberg (1227âÂÂ1297), daughter of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia and abbess near Trier
- Gertrude of Austria (1226âÂÂ1288), Duchess of Austria and Styria
- Gertrude of Babenberg, Duchess of Bohemia (c. 1118âÂÂ1150)
- Gertrude of Baden (c. 1160âÂÂ1225), Margravine of Baden
- Gertrude of Bavaria (died 1197), daughter of Henry the Lion, Queen consort of Denmark
- Gertrude of Brunswick (c. 1060âÂÂ1117), Margravine of Frisia and Meissen
- Gertrude of Comburg (died 1130), Queen consort of Germany
- Gertrude of Dagsburg (died 1225), Duchess of Lorraine
- Gertrude of Delft (died 1358), Dutch Beguine and mystic
- Gertrude of Flanders, Countess of Savoy (1135âÂÂ1186)
- Gertrude of Flanders, Duchess of Lorraine (c. 1070âÂÂ1117)
- Gertrude the Great (1256âÂÂc. 1302), also known as Gertrude of Helfta, German Benedictine nun, mystic and theologian, considered a Roman Catholic saint though never officially canonized
- Gertrude of Hackeborn (1223âÂÂ1292), Abbess of Helfta
- Gertrude of Hamage (died 649), saint, founder of the convent Hamage
- Gertrude of Hohenberg (c. 1225âÂÂ1281), Queen consort of Germany
- Gertrude of Merania (1185âÂÂ1213), Queen consort and regent of Hungary
- Gertrude of Nivelles (c. 628âÂÂ659), Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint, abbess and co-founder of the Abbey of Nivelles
- Gertrude of Poland ( 1025âÂÂ1108), Grand Princess Consort of Kiev
- Gertrude of Saxony or Gertrude of Holland (ca.1030-1113), wife of Robert I of Flanders, regent of Holland
- Gertrude of Sulzbach (c. 1110âÂÂ1146), Queen consort of Germany
- Gertrude of Süpplingenburg (1115âÂÂ1143), Duchess of Bavaria and Saxony
A
- Gertrude Abercrombie (1909âÂÂ1977), American painter based in Chicago
- Gertrud Adelborg (1853âÂÂ1942), Swedish suffragist
- Gertrud Ahlgren (1782âÂÂ1874), Swedish folk healer
- Gertrude Alderfer (1931âÂÂ2018), American baseball player
- Gertrude Ansell (1861âÂÂ1932), British suffragette, animal rights activist and businesswoman
- Gertrude Appleyard (1865âÂÂ1917), British archer
- Gertrude Aretz (1889âÂÂ1938), German historian and publisher
- Gertrude Astor (1887âÂÂ1977), American motion-picture character actress
- Gertrude Atherton (1857âÂÂ1948), American writer
- Gertrude Aubauer (born 1951), Austrian journalist and politician
- Gertraud Auinger-Oberzaucher (born 1971), Austrian politician
B
- Gertrud Bacher (born 1971), retired Italian heptathlete
- Gertrude Bacon (1874âÂÂ1948), aeronautical pioneer and writer with contributions in astronomy and botany
- Gertrud Baer (1890âÂÂ1981), one of the founders of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
- Gertrude Bambrick (1897âÂÂ1974), American silent-film actress
- Gertrude Baniszewski (1929âÂÂ1990), American murderer
- Gertrud Bäumer (1873âÂÂ1954), German politician and feminist
- Gertrude Bell, (1868âÂÂ1926), archaeologist and spy
- Gertrude Barrows Bennett (1883âÂÂ1948), American writer of fantasy and science fiction
- Gertrude Berg (1894âÂÂ1966), American actress and screenwriter
- Gertrude Bernard (1906âÂÂ1986), Mohawk woman and companion of Grey Owl
- Gertrud Bing (1892âÂÂ1964), German scholar and director of the Warburg Institute
- Gertrude Blanch (1897âÂÂ1996), American mathematician
- Gertrude Bloede (1845âÂÂ1905), American poet
- Gertrude Blom (1901âÂÂ1993), Swiss journalist, social anthropologist and documentary photographer
- Gertrude Elizabeth Blood (1857âÂÂ1911), Irish-born journalist, author, playwright, and editor
- Gertrude Bonnin (1876âÂÂ1938), Sioux writer, editor, musician, teacher and political activist
- Gertrud Bürgers-Laurenz (1874- 959), German flower and portrait painter
- Gertrude Bryan (1888âÂÂ1976), stage actress on Broadway
C
- Gertrude Caton Thompson (1888âÂÂ1985), English archaeologist
- Gertrude Chataway (1866âÂÂ1951), child-friend of English author Lewis Carroll
- Gertrude Chibagu, Zimbabwean politician
- Gertrude Claire (1852âÂÂ1928), American stage and silent-film actress
- Gertrud Cohn (1876âÂÂ1942), German victim of the Nazi regime
- Gertrude Colburn (1886âÂÂ1968), American dancer and sculptor
- Gertrude Cosgrove (1882âÂÂ1962), wife of Sir Robert Cosgrove, twice elected as Premier of Tasmania
- Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter (before 1504âÂÂ1558), a lady at the court of Henry VIII of England
- Gertrude Mary Cox (1900âÂÂ1978), American statistician
- Gertrude Crain (1911âÂÂ1996), American publishing executive
- Gertrude Crampton (1909âÂÂ1996), American children's writer and teacher
- Gertrude Crocker (1884âÂÂ1969), American suffragist
D
E
F
G
H
J
- Gertrude Jekyll (1843âÂÂ1932), British horticulturist, garden designer, artist, and writer
- Gertraud Junge (1920âÂÂ2002), Adolf Hitler's last private secretary
K
L
- Gertrude Lane (died 1953), American trade unionist
- Gertrude Battles Lane (1874âÂÂ1941), American magazine editor
- Gertrude Lawrence (1898âÂÂ1952), born Gertrude Alice Dagmar Klasen, English actress, singer, dancer and performer
- Gertrud Leutenegger (1948âÂÂ2025), German-speaking Swiss writer
- Gertrude Rachel Levy (1884âÂÂ1966), author and cultural historian
- Gertrude Golda Lowy (1887âÂÂ1982), English suffragette
- Gertrud Luckner (1900âÂÂ1995), German Christian resister against Nazism
M
N
- Gertrude Nafe (1883âÂÂ1971), American teacher, essayist, and communist short-story writer
- Gertrude Neumark (1927âÂÂ2010), American physicist
O
- Gertrud Orff (1914âÂÂ2000), one of the first German music therapists
- Gertrud Otto (1895âÂÂ1970), German art historian
- Gertrude Clare Owens (1887âÂÂ1963), Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
P
R
- Gertrude Pridgett Rainey (1882âÂÂ1939), better known as Ma Rainey, blues singer
- Gertrud Rask (1673âÂÂ1735), first wife of the Danish-Norwegian missionary to Greenland, Hans Egede
- Gertrud Rittmann (1908âÂÂ2005), German composer and music arranger in the United States
S
- Gertrude Sawyer (1895âÂÂ1996), American architect
- Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber (1911âÂÂ1998), German-born Jewish-American nuclear physicist
- Gertrud Schoenberg (1898âÂÂ1967), second wife of Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg
- Gertrud Scholtz-Klink (1902âÂÂ1999), fervent Nazi Party (NSDAP) member in Nazi Germany
- Gertrud Schüpbach (born 1950), Swiss-American molecular biologist
- Gertrud Seidmann (1919âÂÂ2013), Austrian-British linguist and jewelry historian
- Gertrud Skomagers (died 1556), Danish alleged witch
- Gertrude Stanton (1863-1931), American optometrist
- Gertrúd Stefanek (born 1959), Hungarian Olympic fencer
- Gertrude Stein (1874âÂÂ1946), American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector
- Gertrude Story (1929âÂÂ2014), Canadian writer and radio broadcaster
- Gertrude Strohm (1843âÂÂ1927), American author, compiler, game designer
- Gertrud Szabolcsi (1923âÂÂ1993), Hungarian biochemist
T
U
V
- Gertrude Vachon (1962âÂÂ2010), better known as Luna Vachon, American professional wrestler
- Gertrude Vaile (1878âÂÂ1954), American social worker
W
Fictional characters
See also
References