A Welsh and Irish surname, the Fitzgerald family name originally came from the French Normans as ‘fils de Gerald’, which meant son of Gerald. The name Gerald means to rule of the spear. The Gaelic form would be ‘MacGerailt’.

Spelling variations for Fitzgerald include Fitz-Gerald, MacGearailt, Geraldines, Desmond and Geralds.
The earliest use of FitzGeralds in Ireland were in the 12th century in the area of Munster.
Fitzgerald is a popular surname in many regions of Ireland.
The Fitzgerald name is all across Wales and England. The highest percentage of Fitzgerald families live in Lancashire and the city of London. In Scotland the Fitzgerald name is in Angus, Perthshire, Lanarkshire, Midlothian and Renfrewshire regions.

In the United States the Fitzgerald family name is most common in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, California, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

Famous: Barry Fitzgerald (Irish actor of theater, TV and films), Gerald Fitzgerald (15th Earl of Desmond - 16th century leader of the Irish Rebellion), John Fitzgerald (professional baseball player), Michael G. Fitzgerald (film historian), Scott Fitzgerald (English singer), Ella Fitzgerald (jazz singer), Edward Fitzgerald (Olympic ice hockey player in 1920), F. Scott Fitzgerald (novelist and story writer), Brian Fitzgerald (professional baseball player) and Dai Fitzgerald (rugby player – champion of Wales).