Geronimo is a biographical name typically associated with Goyathlay Chiricahua (1829-1909) who was a prominent Apache leader. His non-Apache (English) nickname of "Gerónimo generally means psycho. There are conflicting theories regarding the origin of the same. Some are of the belief that his Spanish foes called out to for assistance Saint Jerome while they attacked or in the midst of a brutal defeat. Others are of the belief that it was the result of a transcription of Spanish efforts to pronounce Goyaałé and that he was given the name by friendly Mexican traders. His true Chiricahua name is Goyaałé for 'One Who Yawns'; frequently spelled as Goyathlay in English.

He is best known for fighting for more than 25 years against the encroachment of the people of the United States on tribal lands and people.

Geronimo is also a common an interjection shouted when jumping, particularly from high heights. There are a number of other people, places and things names Geronimo such as Geronimo Pratt, a human rights activist who was a former associate of the Black Panther Party Geronimo, Oklahoma; Geronimo the UK chart hit from The Shadows.

Geronimo is the rarely used Italian form of the famous name Jerome. It is a name given to men in Italy. The name is pronounced as hare-ROH-nee-moh or jer-RAH-nah-moh.  The name means "sacred name or a saint's name." Some of the variants of the name Geronimo are Heronimo, Hierornimo, Jeronimo, Jeronimus and Hieronymus.    The Apache chief Goyathlay was famously known as Geronimo conferred on him by the Mexicans. He was instrumental in resisting the US government policy by leading a series of raids against Mexican and American settlements in the Southwest (1876–1886) in a bid to unite his people on the issue of reservations.  He single-handedly led a revolt of 4,000 odd Apaches who had been forcibly removed by U.S. Authorities to a desolate reservation in east-central Arizona.  After years of struggle, unrest and bloodshed, Geronimo was finally arrested, only to escape with his followers in the year of 1884.  Geronimo was arrested on deceit in the year 1886 and forced to do hard labour. Placed on a reservation at Fort Sill, Okla, he wrote his own autobiography Geronimo: His Own Story. He took to farming towards the last few years of his life.  The book was published three years after his death.