Gerard

Gerard is a boy's and girl's baby name of German origin, from the Old High German elements ger ('spear') and hard ('brave, strong'), meaning 'brave spearman.' Saint Gerard Majella, an 18th-century Redemptorist brother, is the patron saint of expectant mothers — making this name unexpectedly connected to the world of birth.

Gerard has a solid, European weight to it — it's the name of medieval saints and Gerard Butler (though he prefers Gerry). The French pronunciation (zhuh-RARD) gives it one quality; the English (JER-erd) another. Either way, it's a name with genuine backbone and centuries of use.