Quick answer
Gertrude is a girl name meaning "spear of strength".
Pronunciation: American English /ˈɡɜɹ.tɹud/; British English /ˈɡɜː.tɹuːd/; French /ʒɛʁ.tʁyd/; German /ɡɛʁ.ˈtʁuː.də/.
Meaning and history
The name means "spear of strength", derived from the Old German elements ger "spear" and drud "strength". Saint Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century nun and mystic writer from Thuringia. It was probably introduced to England by settlers from the Low Countries in the 15th century. Shakespeare used the name in his play Hamlet (1600) for the mother of Hamlet. Another famous bearer was the American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).
Notes and context
Usage: english, french, german