Is Gerten a German last name?

Question:Gerte means "crop" (riding crop) in German. Gerten would be plural for "crops".

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Gerte means "crop" (riding crop) in German. Gerten would be plural for "crops".

Sounds like it.

It's very German and common to a tiny little town south of Toledo Ohio even today. Famous family in the area.

Gerten

1. German: patronymic from the personal name Gert(h), a short form of Gerhardt.
2. Possibly a respelling of English Girton.

This is what www.ancestry.com has to say about the name,
Gersten Name Meaning and History
German: habitational name from a place near Lingen in East Friesland named Gersten.
German: variant of Gerst.
Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name or metonymic occupational name from German Gersten ‘barley’ (see 2).
hope this helps.

It's most likely German, but it could also be a shortened form of Gertenaar, a surname from the Netherlands. You would need to research your specific family in order to find its true origins.