we had a family discussion about names recently and esther questioned whether ‘Gertie’ could be a boys name as well as a girls name. Jane said “no, it’s short for Gertrude so it can’ t be a boys name”.
So i added that i though it could be a boy’s name as it’s also short for ‘Gertrand’. Jane looked at me puzzled and asked for an example.
“Gertrand Russell” i replied, very pleased with myself. Esther even went to get the book of names to see if i was right.
about 10 minutes later i realised it was Bertrand and not Gertrand and i felt a bit silly (for a change).
and then, a day or two later, i walked back Gertrand’s old house.
Worse, an oogle of the google suggests that Gertrand *is* a name, but a girl’s name!
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