Gardner
One who cultivates and tends to gardens or plant enclosures.
Name Census estimates that about 1,433 living Americans carry the first name Gardner. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gardner today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gardner births was 1915 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gardner. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 239,187 Americans
Peak year
1915
65 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,599
Tracked since 1880
Census
Gardner in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,453 people with the first name Gardner, which placed it at #9,518 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,518
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,453 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gardner
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gardner is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gardner described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gardner at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.8% · 1,145
- Black or African American13.8% · 200
- Two or more races3.0% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Gardner
Out of the 3,002 babies given the name Gardner since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Gardner as a male name
- Ranked #4,599 in 2024
- 22 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1915 (65 births)
Gardner as a female name
- Ranked #17,763 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 2012 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gardner leans strongly male. 1,385 people counted with this name were male (94.9%), compared with 74 female bearers (5.1%).
Popularity
Gardner: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gardner from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 481 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gardner 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 Gardner during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gardners live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Massachusetts, New York, California recorded the most babies named Gardner, while Vermont, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 41 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gardner
The name Gardner is derived from the Old English word "gard" or "garten," which refers to an enclosed garden or yard. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for a gardener or someone who tended and cultivated gardens, particularly during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Gardner dates back to the 13th century in England. It was common for people to adopt surnames based on their occupation, and Gardner became a popular surname for those involved in gardening or horticulture.
While Gardner was primarily used as a surname, it eventually transitioned into a given name as well. One of the earliest recorded instances of Gardner as a first name was in the 16th century, when it appeared in various historical records and documents.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Gardner. One of the most famous was Gardner Howland Shaw (1828-1907), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Shaw's Supermarket chain in New England.
Another prominent individual with the name Gardner was Gardner Rea Colton (1856-1932), an American author and journalist known for his works on the history of the American West. He was born in South Dakota and published several books, including "The Shortgrass Country" and "The Valley of the Arkansas."
In the field of sports, Gardner Dickinson (1880-1960) was an American tennis player who won the men's singles title at the U.S. National Championships (now known as the U.S. Open) in 1919.
The name Gardner also has a connection to the arts. Gardner Moulton (1894-1980) was an American painter and printmaker known for his works depicting the landscapes of New England.
In more recent times, Gardner Dozois (1947-2018) was a renowned American science fiction editor and anthologist, winning numerous awards for his contributions to the genre.
While the name Gardner has its roots in the occupation of gardening, it has evolved over centuries and has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, leaving a lasting impact on various fields throughout history.
People
Gardner + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gardner 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
Gardner: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gardner?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,433 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gardner 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 239,187 US residents.
Is Gardner a common name?
We classify Gardner as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,002 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gardner most popular?
The single biggest year for Gardner was 1915, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gardner is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gardner in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,453 people with the name Gardner, or 0.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,518 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gardner in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gardner?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gardner leans strongly male. 1,385 people counted with this name were male (94.9%), compared with 74 female bearers (5.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gardner?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gardner is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gardner most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gardner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (1,145 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gardner in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gardner a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Gardner 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.
Is Gardner still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gardner in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gardner can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Gardner?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Gardner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.