2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Garboden
A German habitational surname denoting someone from a place named Garboden.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Garboden. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garboden surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Garboden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garboden, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garboden
The surname Garboden has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from a place name such as Garboden or Garborn. The first part of the name, "Gar," may be derived from the Old High German word "garo," meaning "ready" or "prepared."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Garboden can be found in the church records of Saxony-Anhalt, a state in central Germany. In 1587, a man named Hans Garboden was listed as a resident of the town of Halle.
In the 17th century, the Garboden name appeared in various historical documents in the region of Westphalia, located in northwestern Germany. One notable mention is in the town records of Bielefeld, where a Johann Garboden was listed as a landowner in 1642.
During the 18th century, some members of the Garboden family migrated to other parts of Europe. In 1723, a man named Friedrich Garboden was born in the town of Quedlinburg, located in what is now the state of Saxony-Anhalt. He later moved to the Netherlands, where he worked as a merchant.
In the 19th century, the Garboden name began to spread further across Europe and beyond. One notable figure was Karl Garboden (1828-1901), a German-born artist and illustrator who spent much of his career in England.
Another notable individual with the Garboden surname was Wilhelm Garboden (1856-1932), a German engineer and inventor. He is credited with developing several innovations in the field of mining and tunneling technology.
As the 20th century dawned, the Garboden name continued to appear in various parts of the world. One example is Hans Garboden (1901-1983), a German-American engineer who worked on several aerospace projects, including the development of the Saturn V rocket for NASA's Apollo program.
In more recent times, the Garboden surname has been carried by individuals such as Manfred Garboden (born 1938), a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party, and Dieter Garboden (born 1956), a German sports journalist and commentator.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garboden
Among Census respondents with the surname Garboden, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Garboden bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Garboden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.6% · 6
- Two or more races4.6% · 5
- Black or African American3.7% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garboden
Garboden appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-7 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 17,924 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+7 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,777 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 17,924 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 8,777 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Garboden surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #159,712 | #150,935 | 5.5% |
| Count | 101 | 108 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garboden bearers went from 101 to 108 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 8,777 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #150,935.
FAQ
Garboden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garboden?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Garboden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Garboden?
Garboden ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Garboden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Garboden.
Has Garboden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garboden went from 101 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 7 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Garboden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garboden, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Garboden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garboden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Garboden (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Garboden mean?
A German habitational surname denoting someone from a place named Garboden. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Garboden (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Garboden?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.