Garner
An occupational name for a farmer or harvester.
Name Census estimates that about 1,382 living Americans carry the first name Garner. It is a predominantly male name (97.7% of registrations). The average person named Garner today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Garner births was 1932 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Garner. 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 Garner is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 54 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 248,013 Americans
Peak year
1932
82 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,282
Tracked since 1881
Gender
Gender distribution for Garner
Garner leans heavily male at 97.7% of total registrations, but 54 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Garner as a male name
- Ranked #5,282 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1932 (82 births)
Garner as a female name
- Ranked #15,976 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2014 (7 births)
Popularity
Garner: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Garner from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 320 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Garner remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Garner 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 Garner during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Garners live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Garner, while Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Garner
The given name Garner has its origins in the Old English language, deriving from the occupational surname "garnere," which referred to a person whose job was to gather or store grain. This name can be traced back to the 11th century in England and was initially used to denote a profession or trade.
In the Middle Ages, the name Garner was primarily associated with individuals involved in agricultural work, particularly those responsible for overseeing the storage and preservation of grains and other crops. As surnames became more widespread, the occupational title "garnere" evolved into a hereditary surname, and eventually, the name Garner emerged as a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Garner can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This historical document mentions several individuals with the surname "Garnere," suggesting the name's longstanding presence in England.
Throughout history, the name Garner has been borne by various notable individuals, including:
1. Garner Ted Armstrong (1930-2003), an American evangelist and former leader of the Worldwide Church of God.
2. Garner Cleveland Cunningham (1881-1957), an American football coach and athletic director.
3. Garner Erwin (1884-1967), an American educator and administrator who served as the president of Shaw University.
4. Garner Holt (born 1955), an American animator and founder of Garner Holt Productions, a company that designs and builds animatronic figures.
5. Garner Ted Armstrong Jr. (1955-2021), an American evangelist and author, son of Garner Ted Armstrong.
While the name Garner has its roots in an occupational title, over time it has transcended its original meaning and become a given name in its own right, embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures. The name's longevity and endurance throughout the centuries serve as a testament to its historical significance and appeal.
People
Garner + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Garner 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
Garner: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Garner?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,382 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Garner 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 248,013 US residents.
Is Garner a common name?
We classify Garner as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,317 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Garner most popular?
The single biggest year for Garner was 1932, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Garner is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Garner a male name?
Yes, 97.7% of people registered as Garner 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.