Garland
A lush wreath of flowers or foliage adorning or honoring something.
Name Census estimates that about 10,710 living Americans carry the first name Garland. It is a predominantly male name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Garland today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Garland births was 1922 (499 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Garland. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Garland is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 855 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
11K
~ 1 in 32,003 Americans
Peak year
1922
499 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,722
Tracked since 1880
Census
Garland in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,802 people with the first name Garland, which placed it at #2,496 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
#2,496
National first-name rank
People counted
9.8K
9,802 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garland
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Garland is White at 68.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Garland 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 Garland at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.7% · 6,736
- Black or African American24.6% · 2,413
- Two or more races3.3% · 324
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 129
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 97
Gender
Gender distribution for Garland
Garland leans heavily male at 96.5% of total registrations, but 855 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Garland as a male name
- Ranked #5,722 in 2024
- 16 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1922 (478 births)
Garland as a female name
- Ranked #15,975 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1925 (25 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Garland leans strongly male. 9,372 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 433 female bearers (4.4%).
Popularity
Garland: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Garland 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 4,294 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
Garland 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 Garland during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Garlands live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. Virginia, Texas, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Garland, while Oregon, New Mexico, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 596 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Garland
The name Garland has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "gyrland," which referred to a wreath or a garland made of flowers and plants. This name became popular in medieval England and was often associated with the natural beauty and abundance of the countryside.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Garland dates back to the 13th century, where it appeared in various historical records and literature. In the 14th century, the famous English poet Geoffrey Chaucer mentioned a character named Garland in his work "The Canterbury Tales," further solidifying the name's presence in English culture.
During the Renaissance period, the name Garland gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes, symbolizing a connection to nature and the arts. Several notable individuals bore this name, including the English poet and playwright Garland Langhorne (1609-1657), who was renowned for his pastoral poetry.
In the 18th century, the name Garland became associated with the American colonies, where it was embraced by settlers and pioneers. One notable figure was Garland Carr (1735-1800), a prominent Virginia planter and political figure who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses.
As the name spread across different regions and cultures, it took on various spellings and variations, such as Garlande, Garlond, and Garlant. However, the core meaning of the name remained tied to its botanical origins and the symbolism of natural beauty and abundance.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have carried the name Garland, including the American artist Garland Woodbury Hibbard (1886-1972), known for his landscape paintings, and the American actress Garland Greene (1939-2020), who appeared in numerous television shows and films.
The name Garland has endured for centuries, carrying with it a rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance, from its origins in medieval England to its widespread adoption across different regions and eras. Its botanical roots and association with natural beauty have contributed to its enduring appeal and its place in the annals of human history.
People
Garland + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Garland 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
Garland: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Garland?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,710 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Garland 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 32,003 US residents.
Is Garland a common name?
We classify Garland as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24,699 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Garland most popular?
The single biggest year for Garland was 1922, when 499 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Garland is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Garland in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,802 people with the name Garland, or 3.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,496 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 Garland 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 Garland?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Garland leans strongly male. 9,372 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 433 female bearers (4.4%). 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 Garland?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Garland is White at 68.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Garland most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Garland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.7% (6,736 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 Garland in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Garland a male name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Garland 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 Garland still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Garland 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 Garland 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 Garland?
Want to know how many people share the name Garland? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.