Garan
Of Celtic origin meaning spear or javelin.
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the first name Garan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Garan today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Garan births was 1982 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Garan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
103
~ 1 in 3,327,712 Americans
Peak year
1982
12 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2009 SSA rank
#13,103
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Garan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Garan from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 66 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Garan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Garan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Garan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Garan
The name Garan has its origins in the ancient Persian language, where it is believed to have derived from the word "garan," meaning "precious" or "valuable." This name dates back to the time of the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over parts of modern-day Iran and neighboring regions between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Garan can be found in the Avestan texts, the sacred scriptures of Zoroastrianism. It is mentioned as the name of a minor character in the Yasna, a collection of hymns and rituals from the Avestan era. This suggests that the name was in use among the ancient Persian population during that time period.
In the 5th century BCE, there is a record of a Persian soldier named Garan who fought in the army of Darius III against Alexander the Great. This historical figure is mentioned in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Arrian, who documented the military campaigns of Alexander.
During the Sassanid Empire, which ruled over Persia from the 3rd to the 7th century CE, the name Garan continued to be used. One notable figure from this period was Garan the Wise, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 5th century CE and was known for his contributions to the fields of astronomy and mathematics.
In the medieval era, the name Garan gained popularity among the Persians who had converted to Islam. One famous bearer of this name was Garan al-Isfahani, a 9th-century Persian poet and literary critic from the city of Isfahan. His works were highly influential in the development of Persian literature during the Islamic Golden Age.
Another notable figure named Garan was a 12th-century Persian architect who designed and oversaw the construction of the Guri Amir Mausoleum in Samarkand, modern-day Uzbekistan. This magnificent structure, completed in 1144 CE, is considered one of the finest examples of Seljuk architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As the name Garan spread beyond its Persian origins, it was also adopted by other cultures and communities. In the 15th century, there is a record of a Garan who was a prominent merchant and trader in the city of Venice, Italy, indicating the name's reach into Europe during that time period.
People
Garan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Garan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Garan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Garan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Garan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,327,712 US residents.
Is Garan a common name?
We classify Garan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 107 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Garan most popular?
The single biggest year for Garan was 1982, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Garan is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Garan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Garan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.