Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements frith "protection", frið "peace" (PIE *pri "to love, to make peace") or alternatively farð "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic *farthi, abstract noun from root *far- "to fare, travel" (PIE *par, "to lead, pass over"), and nanth "courage" or nand "ready, prepared" related to Old High German nendan "to risk, venture."

The name was adopted in Romance languages from its use in the Visigothic Kingdom. It is reconstructed as either Gothic Ferdinanths or Frithunanths. It became popular in German-speaking Europe only from the 16th century, with Habsburg rule over Spain. Variants of the name include Fernán, Fernando, Hernando, and Hernán in Spanish, Ferran in Catalan, and Fernando and Fernão in Portuguese. The French forms are Ferrand, Fernand, and Fernandel, and it is Ferdinando and Fernando in Italian. In Hungarian both Ferdinánd and Nándor are used equally. The Dutch forms are Ferdinand and Ferry.

There are numerous short forms in many languages, such as the Finnish Veeti.

There is a feminine Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form, Fernanda.