title: Gherardi
text: # Gherardi
  
  Gherardi is a surname of Northern Italian origin. It is most common in the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Tuscany. The name comes from the Germanic words gari > ger- (meaning 'spear') and -hard (meaning 'hard/strong/brave'). The first family recorded to have this name in 970 AD, were the Gherardinghi family who owned five castles in Tuscany. The name has since been shortened and many variations of the name can be found throughout Italy. According to Italy Gen, about 1800 people with the last name of Gherardi still reside in Northern Italy. Worldwide there are about 2500 people with this last name.
  
  Some examples of known people with the last name:
  
  * Alessandro Gherardi (born 1988), Italian footballer
  * Anna Maria Gherardi (1939–2014), Italian actress and voice actress
  * Antonio Gherardi (1638–1702), Italian painter, architect and sculptor
  * Bancroft Gherardi (1832–1903), U.S. Navy rear admiral
  * Bancroft Gherardi, Jr. (1873–1941), American electrical engineer
  * Cristofano Gherardi (1508–1556), Italian painter
  * Évariste Gherardi (1663-1700), Italian actor and playwright
  * Filippo Gherardi (1643–1704), Italian painter
  * Francesca Gherardi (1955-2013), Italian zoologist, ethologist, and ecologist
  * Giuseppe Gherardi (1750-1828), Italian painter, active in the Neoclassic style
  * Lorenzo Gherardi (1645-1727), Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Recanati e Loreto
  * Maffeo Gherardi (1406–1492), Cardinal of Venice
  * Marcella Gherardi Michelangeli (born 1943), Italian former actress and singer
  * Piero Gherardi (1909–1971), Italian film costume and set designer
  * Gherardi Davis (1858–1941), New York politician
  