Garek
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "watchful" or "observant".
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the first name Garek. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Garek today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Garek births was 2007 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Garek. 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
115
~ 1 in 2,980,473 Americans
Peak year
2007
13 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2010 SSA rank
#9,067
Tracked since 1989
Census
Garek in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 172 people with the first name Garek, which placed it at #42,074 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
#42,074
National first-name rank
People counted
172
172 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garek
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Garek is White at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.0%) and Two or More Races (7.6%). 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 Garek 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 Garek at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.5% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino14.0% · 24
- Two or more races7.6% · 13
- Black or African American2.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Popularity
Garek: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Garek from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 62 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Garek 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 Garek 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 Garek
The name Garek is of Vulcan origin, tracing its roots back to the ancient language spoken on the planet Vulcan in the Alpha Quadrant. The name is derived from the Vulcan word "gar'ek," which means "one who seeks knowledge." This name was first recorded in use during the 3rd century AD on Vulcan, a time when the pursuit of logic and reason was highly valued in that society.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Garek was a prominent Vulcan philosopher who lived in the 4th century AD. His writings on the principles of logic and emotional control were highly influential and helped shape the Vulcan way of life for centuries to come. Another notable figure was Garek of Raal, a renowned scientist from the 7th century AD who made significant contributions to the field of astrophysics.
In the later centuries, the name Garek was associated with several Vulcan ambassadors and diplomats who played crucial roles in establishing peaceful relations between Vulcan and other planetary civilizations. One such ambassador was Garek of Shi'Kahr, who represented Vulcan in the first diplomatic mission to Earth in the late 21st century, paving the way for the eventual formation of the United Federation of Planets.
Moving into more recent history, Garek became a popular name among Vulcan families in the 23rd and 24th centuries. One prominent individual was Garek, a Starfleet officer who served as the chief science officer aboard the USS Intrepid during the late 24th century. His contributions to the study of subspace phenomena and the development of new sensor technologies were widely recognized within the scientific community.
Another notable figure was Garek, a Vulcan elder and respected leader who played a pivotal role in the Vulcan reunification efforts after the devastating Hobus supernova in the late 24th century. His wisdom and diplomacy helped bring together the scattered Vulcan colonies and lay the groundwork for the rebuilding of their civilization.
Throughout its long history, the name Garek has been associated with individuals who embodied the Vulcan values of logic, knowledge, and peaceful coexistence. It continues to hold significance within Vulcan culture as a name that represents the pursuit of wisdom and the betterment of oneself and society.
People
Garek + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Garek 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
Garek: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Garek?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 115 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Garek 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 2,980,473 US residents.
Is Garek a common name?
We classify Garek as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Garek most popular?
The single biggest year for Garek was 2007, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Garek is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Garek in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 172 people with the name Garek, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,074 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 Garek 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 Garek?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Garek appears almost entirely male. Of the 163 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Garek?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Garek is White at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.0%) and Two or More Races (7.6%). 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 Garek most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Garek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.5% (123 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 Garek in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Garek a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Garek 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 Garek still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Garek 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 Garek 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 many Americans are named Garek?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.