One of my cats is named
Gertrude, Gerta for short. I named her after a character in
Gormenghast.
Although I do have a soft spot for the name, I'm not sure I could see
Gertrude on a human being. It's one of those names that's so widely despised by so many people that I think it would be difficult to bear. On the other hand,
Trudy is a pretty nickname and does soften the name quite a bit. It also has a kind of retro feel to it that I really like.