Find out how popular the last name Garden is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Garden.

Garden, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Garden surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Garden in America

Garden is the 15309th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Garden surname appeared 1,917 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Garden.

We can also compare 2010 data for Garden to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Garden

The surname Garden originated in England during the medieval period, likely derived from the Old English word "gærden," meaning an enclosed area or yard. This name was initially given to individuals who lived near or worked in a garden or cultivated lands.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Garden surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Gardener" or "Gardenarius." This suggests that the name was initially an occupational surname for those involved in gardening or tending gardens.

In the 13th century, the Garden surname began appearing in various records across England, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed individuals with the spelling "Gardiner" in counties like Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

During the 14th century, the surname Garden and its variants became more widespread across England. Notable individuals from this period include John Garden, a merchant from London who lived around 1330, and William Gardyn, a landowner in Nottinghamshire mentioned in records from 1379.

By the 15th century, the Garden surname had spread to other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland and Ireland. One notable bearer of the name was Alexander Garden, a Scottish theologian and philosopher born in 1685 who served as the Principal of King's College, Aberdeen.

In the 16th century, the Garden surname continued to be prominent in England, with individuals such as Sir Thomas Garden (c. 1520-1587), an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

The 17th century saw the emergence of several notable individuals with the Garden surname, including Alexander Garden (1590-1634), a Scottish minister and scholar who served as the Rector of the University of Aberdeen, and John Garden (1633-1693), a Scottish military officer and colonial administrator in North America.

As the Garden surname spread throughout the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, it gained prominence in various fields. Some notable bearers of the name during this period include Francis Garden (1765-1832), an English politician and member of Parliament, and Alexander Garden (1828-1899), a Scottish-Canadian businessman and politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

Throughout its history, the Garden surname has been associated with various place names across England, such as Gardiner's Green in Hertfordshire and Gardenham in Cambridgeshire, further reflecting its origins as a locational or occupational surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Garden

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Garden.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Garden was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Garden has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Garden was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Garden, please contact us.

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