Diminutive of Gerald or Gerard, from Germanic elements meaning "spear ruler."
Gerry derives from the Germanic given name Gerald — a compound of *ger* (spear) and *wald* (rule), meaning roughly "ruler of the spear" — though it also serves as a familiar form of Gerard, sharing the same martial first element. The name traveled into English via the Normans, who spread Frankish naming traditions across Britain and Ireland following 1066, and it took firm root particularly in Ireland, where it remains warmly associated with the Irish cultural identity.
Among its notable bearers, jazz saxophonist Gerry Mulligan helped define the cool jazz movement of the 1950s, while Gerry Adams became one of the most consequential (and controversial) political figures in modern Irish history. The name also became famous in a lighter register through Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Liverpool beat group whose 1963 recording of "You'll Never Walk Alone" gave Liverpool FC its anthem. Gerry enjoyed its greatest popularity in the mid-twentieth century, when it sat comfortably alongside Jerry, Terry, and Barry as a generation of short, breezy masculine nicknames-turned-standalone-names.
It has since faded from the upper baby name charts, lending it a vintage, good-natured quality today — the name of a reliable uncle or a cherished grandfather. Its alternate spelling Jerry is more common in American usage, while Gerry skews distinctly British and Irish.