The Girard surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,975 people carried this name — #2,778 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,700 people counted. That is up 5% from 12,407 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Girard surname
A surname originating as a patronymic based on the given name Gérard.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Girard» (French), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 30,169 people named Girard.
432 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 103 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
1,280 people named Girard live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 1,213 people named Girard 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.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 75 people named Girard live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Girard in American newspapers,
1858–1926.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 247,340 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Girard,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Albert Girard 1595–1632 · engineer -
Jean-Baptiste Girard 1680–1733 · Catholic priest -
Stephen Girard 1750–1831 · sailor -
Jean-Baptiste Girard 1765–1850 · pedagogue -
Pierre-Simon Girard 1765–1836 · engineer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 174 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Girard.
- Giovannone 229 · U.S. census
- Giovannoni 429 · U.S. census
- Giovinazzo 497 · U.S. census
- Giral 160 · U.S. census
- Giraldi 270 · U.S. census
- Giralt 193 · U.S. census
- Girardeau 259 · U.S. census
- Girardi 2,048 · U.S. census
- Girardier 100 · U.S. census
- Girardin 960 · U.S. census
- Girardo 152 · U.S. census
- Girardot 625 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Girard is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.