2000
#14,158
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,947
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Garden
A habitational surname denoting someone who lived near or by a garden or orchard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,275 Americans carry the last name Garden. That puts it at #14,465 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 150,661 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garden 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Garden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 150,661
Census rank
#14,465
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,984 bearers of the surname Garden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14465th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garden, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.2%) and Hispanic (9.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garden
Among Census respondents with the surname Garden, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.2%) and Hispanic (9.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Garden 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 Garden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.7% · 1,185
- Black or African American25.2% · 500
- Hispanic or Latino9.6% · 190
- Two or more races4.1% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garden
Garden 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
#15,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,917
-30 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 1,151 places
2020
#14,465
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,984
+67 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 844 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,158 | 1,947 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,309 | 1,917 | 0.65 | -30 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 1,151 places |
| 2020 | #14,465 | 1,984 | 0.66 | +67 bearers (+3.5%) | Up 844 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 Garden 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 | #15,309 | #14,465 | 5.5% |
| Count | 1,917 | 1,984 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.65 | 0.66 | 2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garden bearers went from 1,917 to 1,984 (+3.5% change). The surname moved up 844 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,309 to #14,465.
FAQ
Garden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garden?
Name Census estimates that about 2,275 living Americans carry the surname Garden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 150,661 residents.
How common is Garden?
Garden ranks #14,465 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,984 people with the surname Garden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,275), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Garden.
Has Garden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garden went from 1,917 recorded bearers to 1,984. That is an increase of 67 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,309 to #14,465.
What does the Census say about the background of Garden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garden, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.2%) and Hispanic (9.6%). 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 Garden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (1,185 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.7%), Black (25.2%), Hispanic (9.6%). 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 Garden (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 Garden mean?
A habitational surname denoting someone who lived near or by a garden or orchard. 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 Garden (0.66 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 are called Garden?
Want to know how many people have the last name Garden? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.