Gerdes

Gerdes, or Geerdes, is a surname of German origin. It is a patronymic name, i.e. it comes from "son of Gerhard". When around 1800 the Prussian government under French occupation decided to fix the surnames, the contemporary "son of Gerhard" had to keep his name. In Ostfriesland, the law was ignored until at least 1811.

Origin
Ge(e)rdes is a patronymic derived from the name "Gerd", short for Gerard, meaning "hard spear", or from the Norse goddess Gerd (meaning "Gerd's protection"), wife of Freyr and protectress of the home yard and garden, from which she also derives her name as a personification of the garden/yard.

People

 * Herbert Gerdes, German director
 * Kristina Geerdes, German model
 * Hans-Peter Geerdes (born 1964), lead singer of the German band Scooter
 * Eckhard Gerdes (born 1959), American author
 * Eduard Gerdes (1821–1898), Dutch lyric writer and author
 * Michael Gerdes (born 1960), German politician
 * Roswitha Gerdes (born 1961), German middle-distance runner