| Emery | Gertrude | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Brave, powerful | Spear of strength |
| Origin | Germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | EM-uh-ree | GUR-trood |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1906 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (3,208) | 1917 (6,300) |
| In 2025 | 3,208 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Emery | Gertrude |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 18,408 | 171 |
| 2010s | 20,971 | 236 |
| 2000s | 3,550 | 135 |
| 1990s | 571 | 102 |
| 1980s | 172 | 188 |
| 1970s | 55 | 380 |
| 1960s | 12 | 1,250 |
| 1950s | 14 | 3,936 |
| 1940s | 10 | 7,936 |
| 1930s | 12 | 16,137 |
| 1920s | 46 | 42,459 |
| 1910s | 11 | 49,565 |
| 1900s | 5 | 23,607 |
| 1890s | 0 | 19,898 |
| 1880s | 0 | 11,100 |
From the Germanic Emmerich — amal (work) and ric (power) — “brave, powerful ruler.”
From Germanic 'ger' (spear) and 'thrud' (strength), so 'strong spear'. The 'spear' element is a weapon of war rather than 'warrior' outright, but the martial sense is well established.
Emery is more popular than Gertrude today: about 3,208 US babies were given the name Emery in 2025, compared with 0 named Gertrude.
Emery means Brave, powerful (Germanic origin), while Gertrude means Spear of strength (germanic origin).
In US records, Emery first appears in 1906 and Gertrude in 0, so Gertrude has the longer recorded history.