| Pronunciation | Dutch: [ɣeːrt] |
|---|---|
| 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 Gerard, 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 [χeːrt] or [xeːrt], speakers of southern varieties will generally pronounce it as [ɣeːrt].
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.
People with the first name Geert
- Geert Bakker (1921–1993), Dutch sailor
- Geert Egberts Boer (1832–1904), American college president
- Geert Adriaans Boomgaard (1788–1899), Dutch supercentenarian
- Geert Bourgeois (born 1951), Belgian politician
- Geert Broeckaert (born 1960), Belgian football player
- Geert Brusselers (born 1970), Dutch football player
- Geert Chatrou (born 1969), Dutch musician
- Geert Cirkel (born 1978), Dutch rower
- Geert den Ouden (born 1976), Dutch football player
- Geert De Vlieger (born 1971), Belgian football player
- Geert De Vos (born 1981), Belgian dart player
- Geert Groote (1340–1384), Dutch preacher
- Geert Hammink (born 1969), Dutch basketball player
- Geert Hofstede (born 1928), Dutch psychologist
- Geert Hoste (born 1960), Belgian cabaret performer
- Geert Huinink, Dutch musician
- Geert Jan Jansen (born 1943), Dutch painter and art forger
- Geert R. A. Kliphuis (born 1955), Dutch musician
- Geert Lambert (born 1967), Belgian politician
- Geert Lap (born 1951), Dutch ceramist
- Geert Lotsij (1878–1959), Dutch rower
- Geert Lovink (born 1959), Dutch media theorist
- Geert Mak (born 1946), Dutch journalist and historian
- Geert Meijer (born 1951), Dutch football manager
- Geert Omloop (born 1974), Belgian cyclist
- Geert Pijnenburg (1896–1980), Belgian writer
- Geert Reuten (born 1946), Dutch economist and politician
- Geert Arend Roorda (born 1988), Dutch football player
- Geert Rouwenhorst, Dutch-born American economist
- Geert van Beijeren (1933–2005), Dutch art dealer
- Geert Van Bondt (born 1970), Belgian cyclist
- Geert Van Calster (born 1970), Belgian lawyer
- Geert Van de Walle (1964–1988), Belgian cyclist
- Geert Jan van Gelder (born 1947), Dutch academic
- Geert van Turnhout (1520–1580), Flemish composer
- Geert van Wou (1440–1527), Dutch bell maker
- Geert Versnick (born 1956), Belgian politician
- Geert Wilders (born 1963), Dutch politician
Fiction
- Geert, fictional character in August Bournonville's comic ballet The Kermesse in Bruges