Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald is an Irish surname of Anglo-Norman formation, meaning son of Gerald. The fitz element expresses son of, while Gerald is an older Germanic personal name. Its structure records a family relationship, giving Fitzgerald a different kind of meaning from a name built directly from a virtue or a natural object.

The surname is familiar in literature through F. Scott Fitzgerald and in American political history through John Fitzgerald Kennedy's middle name. Neither association changes its older patronymic origin. As a first name, Fitzgerald can preserve a family surname in full, including the relationship expressed by its opening element. Its length also gives it a distinctive formal presence beside shorter surname names, without requiring an invented nickname to make its history meaningful.