2000
#12,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,275
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Garnes
A Middle English occupational surname for a keeper of granaries or storehouses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,215 Americans carry the last name Garnes. That puts it at #14,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,742 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garnes 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 Garnes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 154,742
Census rank
#14,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,932 bearers of the surname Garnes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garnes, the largest self-reported group is Black at 44.4%. The next largest groups are White (43.4%) and Two or More Races (7.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garnes
The surname "GARNES" is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, likely derived from an Old English or Anglo-Norman word related to a profession, location, or personal characteristic. It may have stemmed from the Old English word "garan," meaning "to prepare," or the Norman French "gar," meaning "spear." Alternatively, it could have been a locational surname referring to someone from a place called Garnes or a similar-sounding name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "GARNES" can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named Willelmus Garnes is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already established in parts of England by the 13th century. There is also a reference to a John Garnes in the Yorkshire Poll Tax returns of 1379, indicating the presence of the surname in the northern county during the late 14th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period, variations in spelling were common, and the surname "GARNES" likely appeared in various forms, such as Garns, Garnys, and Garnish, among others. These alternative spellings can be found in various historical records and documents from different regions of England.
Notable individuals bearing the surname "GARNES" include:
1. Thomas Garnes (c. 1530 - 1595), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Morpeth in 1572 and 1586.
2. John Garnes (c. 1575 - 1650), an English clergyman and author who wrote a treatise on the Book of Common Prayer.
3. William Garnes (c. 1610 - 1670), an English landowner and justice of the peace in Warwickshire during the 17th century.
4. Elizabeth Garnes (c. 1645 - 1720), a prominent Quaker author and advocate for women's rights in colonial Pennsylvania.
5. Richard Garnes (c. 1780 - 1858), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a rear admiral in the Royal Navy.
While the surname "GARNES" is not among the most common in England or other parts of the world, it has a long and interesting history dating back to the medieval period, with various potential origins and connections to notable individuals throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garnes
Among Census respondents with the surname Garnes, the largest self-reported group is Black at 44.4%. The next largest groups are White (43.4%) and Two or More Races (7.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Garnes 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 Garnes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.4% · 858
- White43.4% · 839
- Two or more races7.3% · 142
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garnes
Garnes 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
#13,349
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,284
+9 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 852 places
2020
#14,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,932
-352 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 1,408 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,497 | 2,275 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,349 | 2,284 | 0.77 | +9 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 852 places |
| 2020 | #14,757 | 1,932 | 0.65 | -352 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 1,408 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 Garnes 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 | #13,349 | #14,757 | -10.5% |
| Count | 2,284 | 1,932 | -15.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.65 | -16.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garnes bearers went from 2,284 to 1,932 (-15.4% change). The surname moved down 1,408 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,349 to #14,757.
FAQ
Garnes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garnes?
Name Census estimates that about 2,215 living Americans carry the surname Garnes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,742 residents.
How common is Garnes?
Garnes ranks #14,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,932 people with the surname Garnes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,215), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Garnes.
Has Garnes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garnes went from 2,284 recorded bearers to 1,932. That is a decrease of 352 (-15.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,349 to #14,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Garnes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garnes, the largest self-reported group is Black at 44.4%. The next largest groups are White (43.4%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Garnes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.4% (858 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garnes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (44.4%), White (43.4%), Two or More Races (7.3%). 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 Garnes (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 Garnes mean?
A Middle English occupational surname for a keeper of granaries or storehouses. 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 Garnes (0.65 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 Garnes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.