Gertrude [ gur-trood ] is a female given name. It comes from Germanic words that mean "spear" and "strength". The short forms of Gertrude are Gertie or Gert. The name Gertrude was used for an Atlantic storm in 1974. Gert has been used for Atlantic tropical storms every six years since 1981. This is a unique name (not in the top 1000 newborn names in the US in 2021). view more...