2000
#611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,482
First available Census row
Per 100,000 18.71
Uncommon Last name
Garrison
A surname referring to someone who lived or worked at a military fort or garrison.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 55,378 Americans carry the last name Garrison. That puts it at #689 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,189 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garrison 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 Garrison with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
55K
1 in 6,189
Census rank
#689
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
48K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 48,292 bearers of the surname Garrison in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 689th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garrison, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garrison
The surname Garrison originates from the French language and can be traced back to the 11th century in Normandy, France. The name is derived from the Old French word "garir," meaning "to protect" or "to defend," combined with the word "son," indicating a profession or occupation. It likely referred to a person who guarded or protected a specific location or fortress.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Garrison can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name appears as "Garissun" in this historical document, indicating its presence in England during the Norman period.
In the 13th century, the surname Garrison was associated with various place names in England, such as Garston in Hertfordshire and Garsdon in Wiltshire. These place names often derived from the Old English words "gaer" and "tun," meaning "triangular piece of land" and "settlement," respectively.
Notable individuals with the surname Garrison throughout history include:
1. William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), a prominent American abolitionist and social reformer, known for his unwavering stance against slavery and his publication of the anti-slavery newspaper "The Liberator."
2. Lindley Miller Garrison (1864-1932), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th United States Secretary of War under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1916.
3. Sir William Edmunds Garrison (1837-1909), a British civil servant and colonial administrator who served as the 14th Governor of Bermuda from 1899 to 1904.
4. Fielding Hudson Garrison (1870-1935), an American librarian and historian, known for his contributions to the field of medical history and his book "An Introduction to the History of Medicine."
5. Winifred Garrison (1899-1969), an American children's book author and illustrator, best known for her work "Willow Hill," which won the Newbery Medal in 1950.
The surname Garrison has also been associated with various military installations and forts throughout history, reflecting its origins related to defense and protection. Examples include Fort Garrison in Massachusetts, Garrison Savannah in Jamaica, and the Garrison Church in Bermuda.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garrison
Among Census respondents with the surname Garrison, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Garrison 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 Garrison surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 38,417
- Black or African American10.8% · 5,226
- Two or more races4.5% · 2,193
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,731
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 407
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 318
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garrison
Garrison 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
#677
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,686
+204 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 17.18
Rank movement Down 66 places
2020
#689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,292
-2,394 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 16.16
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #611 | 50,482 | 18.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #677 | 50,686 | 17.18 | +204 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 66 places |
| 2020 | #689 | 48,292 | 16.16 | -2,394 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 12 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 Garrison 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 | #677 | #689 | -1.8% |
| Count | 50,686 | 48,292 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 17.18 | 16.16 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garrison bearers went from 50,686 to 48,292 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #677 to #689.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Garrison
FAQ
Garrison surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garrison?
Name Census estimates that about 55,378 living Americans carry the surname Garrison. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,189 residents.
How common is Garrison?
Garrison ranks #689 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 48,292 people with the surname Garrison. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (55,378), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Garrison.
Has Garrison become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garrison went from 50,686 recorded bearers to 48,292. That is a decrease of 2,394 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #677 to #689.
What does the Census say about the background of Garrison?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garrison, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Garrison in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (38,417 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garrison appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.6%), Black (10.8%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Garrison (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 Garrison mean?
A surname referring to someone who lived or worked at a military fort or garrison. 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 Garrison (16.16 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 common is the surname Garrison?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Garrison, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.