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

Gardner, 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 Gardner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gardner in America

Gardner is the 194th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gardner surname appeared 142,894 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 48 people would have the surname Gardner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gardner 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 Gardner

The surname Gardner is an English occupational name derived from the Old French word "gardenier", meaning a gardener or keeper of a garden. It originates from the Late Latin word "viridarius", meaning a garden overseer or fruit gardener.

The name first appeared in England in the 13th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being William le Gardiner, listed in the Feet of Fines records for Essex in 1285. The Domesday Book of 1086 did not include any references to the Gardner surname, indicating it likely emerged later during the Middle Ages.

In the 14th century, the surname was recorded with various spellings such as Gardiner, Gardyner, and Gardenier, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional dialects. One notable example is John de Gardiner, who was a member of the Parliament of England in 1335.

By the 16th century, the spelling Gardner had become more common, as evidenced by the records of William Gardner (1536-1589), a celebrated English botanist and naturalist, best known for his work on the classification of plants.

The Gardner surname has been associated with several notable figures throughout history, including:

1. Thomas Gardner (1592-1638), one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a prominent early settler of Nantucket Island.
2. Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829-1902), an English historian and author of the monumental work "History of England from the Accession of James I to the Outbreak of the Civil War".
3. Percy Gardner (1846-1937), a British classical archaeologist and professor at Oxford University, known for his contributions to the study of ancient Greek sculpture.
4. Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970), an American lawyer and author, best known for creating the popular fictional character Perry Mason.
5. John W. Gardner (1912-2002), an American educator and political figure who served as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Gardner surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Gardiner's Island in New York, named after the early settler Lion Gardiner, and the town of Gardiner in Maine, named after Dr. Sylvester Gardiner, a prominent landowner in the 18th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gardner

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

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 Gardner 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 Gardner 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 Gardner was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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