Garfield
Field of spears; small enclosure beside a city gate.
Name Census estimates that about 1,816 living Americans carry the first name Garfield. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Garfield today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Garfield births was 1881 (147 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Garfield. 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
1.8K
~ 1 in 188,741 Americans
Peak year
1881
147 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,752
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Garfield: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Garfield 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 932 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
Garfield 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 Garfield during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Garfields live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia recorded the most babies named Garfield, while Ohio, North Dakota, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 67 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Garfield
The name Garfield is an English given name derived from the Old English words "gar" meaning spear and "feld" meaning field, thus translating to "spear field" or "grassy plain." The name likely originated as a descriptive surname referring to a person who lived near a spear-wielding ground or a grassy area.
The earliest recorded use of the name Garfield dates back to the late 11th century in England. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Garfield de Oudenarde, a Flemish knight who fought in the Third Crusade under King Richard I of England in the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Garfield de Tregoz was a prominent English landowner and Baron of Gower in Wales. He played a role in the Barons' War against King Henry III in the 1260s.
During the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century, Sir Garfield Stanley was a loyal supporter of the House of Lancaster and served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under King Henry VI.
In the 16th century, Garfield Woodall was an English merchant and explorer who traveled to the West Indies and established trade routes with the Spanish colonies.
In more recent history, Garfield Sobers, born in 1936 in Barbados, was a legendary cricketer regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in the sport's history. He captained the West Indies cricket team and was knighted for his contributions to the game.
While the name Garfield has its roots in Old English, it has been used across various cultures and periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and adaptability over time.
People
Garfield + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Garfield 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
Garfield: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Garfield?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,816 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Garfield 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 188,741 US residents.
Is Garfield a common name?
We classify Garfield as "Rare". It ranks above 93.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,561 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Garfield most popular?
The single biggest year for Garfield was 1881, when 147 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Garfield is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Garfield a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Garfield 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.