Geertruida
Thoughts on Geertruida as opposed to Gertrude?
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain
Replies
I enjoy this - I guess equally.
I honestly don't think it would work outside of a Dutch-speaking country, but at least it's better than the Portuguese form Gertrudes.
Somehow even worse than Gertrude.
I prefer--and adore--Gertrude, but Geertruida is quite enchanting.
It would be really awkward outside of a Dutch speaking context. I don’t care for Gertrude either, to be honest.
I've always loved Gertrude, but considered it unusable since I hate all the nicknames Gert, Gertie, Tru, Trudy, Rudy, Rue, and Gigi.
Geertruida gives the nicknames Gea and Ida, both of which I like.
For that reason alone, I like Geertruida better.
Geertruida gives the nicknames Gea and Ida, both of which I like.
For that reason alone, I like Geertruida better.
Gertrude is old-fashioned, and Geertruida seems even more old-fashioned. Where I live, a lot of people think Gertrude sounds ugly/masculine, and I think those same people would say Geertruida is not as ugly because it seems more feminine. Gertruida would have a similar effect and looks like a more recognizable spelling, but Geertruida seems more distanced from Gertrude than that and also might seem more modern because it vaguely reminds me of Greer.
Since I already like Gertrude, I don't prefer Geertruida, but I think it's okay. I'd probably be happy to see it used.
Since I already like Gertrude, I don't prefer Geertruida, but I think it's okay. I'd probably be happy to see it used.
For me Geertruida is the more common version of the two. Having said that, Geertruida is INCREDIBLY dated/archaic. I'd be highly surprised to find a Geertruida under 50 years old. I don't like Gertrude, but Geertruida doesn't really improve the situation.
Here in South Africa, it's always been an alternative to Gertruida and they were historically used at the same time, with no real difference in usage, though Gertruida was always more popular, probably because it is closer in sound and spelling to the male name Gert, making it an obvious way to honour a male when naming a female.
I haven't seen Geertruida used by or on living women; I suspect that it's been replaced by Gertruida.
I haven't seen Geertruida used by or on living women; I suspect that it's been replaced by Gertruida.