The Garrett surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 110,697 people carried this name — #279 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,660 people counted. That is up 3% from 107,777 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Garrett surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

A medieval English and Irish form of the Germanic given names Gerard and Gerald. Of Old High German origin.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Garrett» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Gerard’.

An early record he cites: Johannes Gerard, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Garrard, Gerard, Garratt, Garrett, Garrad, Garritt, Garrod, Garrood, Garrud and Garret.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 309 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 24 births for the Garrett name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Down, Antrim, and Dublin.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 13
Leinster 7
Munster 3
Connacht 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 84 people named Garrett live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 84

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

26 people named Garrett live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 12
Geneva 6
Basel-Landschaft 4
Vaud 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 22 people named Garrett.

Most of them — 14 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 14
Paris 3
Nord 2
Cher 1
Nièvre 1
Pas-de-Calais 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

46 people named Garrett is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 46

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Garrett was found among the farmers of 9 counties.

It was most frequent in Buckinghamshire: 20 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 500. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Garratt and Garrett.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Buckinghamshire 20
Warwickshire 20
Essex 18
Derbyshire 17
Leicestershire and Rutland 17
Hertfordshire 15
Northamptonshire 15
Gloucestershire 14

And 1 more county.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Garrett was recorded 18 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1248th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 24. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

163 families named Garrett, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 912 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 10 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 48
Pennsylvania 38
South Carolina 23
Virginia 18
New York 13
Connecticut 9
Maryland 8
Vermont 4
Massachusetts 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 241 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Garrett in American newspapers,
1897–1918.

Newspaper page from The Canton Times carrying the name Garrett
The Canton Times 1897-09-17
Newspaper page from The Colfax Chronicle carrying the name Garrett
The Colfax Chronicle 1918-12-14
Newspaper page from The Colfax Chronicle carrying the name Garrett
The Colfax Chronicle 1918-12-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 485,200 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Garrett in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

84,511 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Garrett. The most, 16,590, date from the 1880s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 45,218
Victoria 11,879
South Australia 10,009
Queensland 7,522
Tasmania 5,828
Western Australia 3,450
ACT (Canberra) 370
Northern Territory 119

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Garrett.

Who carried it

People named Garrett,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lady Isabella Garrett d. 1928 · aristocrat
  • George Garrett d. 1648 · politician
  • Elizabeth Garrett d. 1705
  • Elizabeth Garrett d. 1817
  • Ann Christian d. 1734
  • Margaret Garrett d. 1915

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Garrett,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States6,729 records

6,729 records of the Garrett name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 3,565
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,404
  • Other U.S. records 1,760
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Eugene Garrett

    Born 1941; from Houston, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Clarence W. Garrett

    Born 1907 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1943 at Cincinnati, Ohio; porter from Montgomery County, Ohio. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1962, buried at Dayton National Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sarah Garrett

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool, aged 25; housekeeper. From Yeovil, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 6,729 records for Garrett in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,833 records

1,833 records of the Garrett name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 737
  • Tasmanian Names Index 521
  • Other Australian records 575
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Sarah Garrett

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Westmoreland, sailing from Woolwich in 1836. Native of Norfolk. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1839.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Samuel Garrett

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Bengal Merchant, sailing from Plymouth in 1828. Native of Bath, Somerset. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1839. Married 1839 in Green Ponds, Tasmania, aged 25.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sarah Garrett

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Grand Trianon, as an infant; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,833 records for Garrett in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada202 records

202 records of the Garrett name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 77
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 27
  • Other Canadian records 98
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Rose Garrett

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Ranger, bound for Port Mattoon, aged 20.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sam'l Garrett

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Mississippi, landing at Quebec, bound for Merritton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Edward Garrett

    Died 1987, aged 67; buried at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 202 records for Garrett in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom56 records

56 records of the Garrett name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 42
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 9
  • Other British records 5
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Margaret Garrett

    Will proved in 1929; of Llanelly.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizth Garrett

    Buried in 1835 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 84.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. E. Garrett

    Gunner, Household Battalion. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 56 records for Garrett in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand26 records

26 records of the Garrett name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 16
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 10
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edith Garrett

    Buried in 1975 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 84.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph George Garrett

    Died 1950, aged 84; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Harold Edgar Garrett

    Died 1990, aged 79; buried at Whangamata Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Garrett in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France7 records

7 records of the Garrett name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Christy Garrett

    Born 1904 in Paris; died 1976 in La Valette-du-Var (Var).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Raymonde Yvonne Huguette Garrett

    Born 1918 in Paris; died 1973 in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Garrett in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands6 records

6 records of the Garrett name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 5
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Stephen Joseph Garrett

    Married in 1947 in Heemstede; mechanic.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Kathleen Lillian May Garrett

    Died 1949 in Breskens, aged 28.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Garrett in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Ireland2 records

2 records of the Garrett name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Garrett

    Died 1971; buried at Lackagh (Old), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Garrett in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Garrett.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Garrett is.
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