Given name & surname · also Old English
Garfield
“from the spear field”
Garfield is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the spear field.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the spear field.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Garfield through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5,566
- 5,566 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1881
- 147 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,651 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,651 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 147 in 1881. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,967 as a first name in 2020; 4,119 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Garfield’s family of names
In English usage, Garfield has a diminutive in Gal. Garfield has a related form in Garfeld. In English usage, Garfield as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the Lithuanian form Garfildas.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Garfield has relatives in 11 languages. Lines run from its Old English roots to each of them.
11 related names in 11 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Garequivalent
- גארפילדborrowing · Hebrew
- ガーフィールドborrowing · Japanese
- 가필드Korean
- गारफ़ील्डHindi
- گارفیلدPersian
- GarfildasLithuanian
- QarfildAzerbaijani
Show 3 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Garfield
- Garfield SobersBarbadian cricketer (1936–2026)
- Garfield DarienFrench hurdling athleteborn 1987
- Garfield ToddPrime Minister of South Rhodesia (1908-2002)
- Garfield WoodAmerican motorboat racer (1880-1971)
- Garfield MorganBritish actor (1931–2009)
- Garfield SmithAmerican basketball playerborn 1945
- Garfield AkersAmerican blues musician1902–1953
- Garfield ReidJamaican footballerborn 1981
- Garfield Barwick7th Chief Justice of Australia and politician (1903-1997)
Characters named Garfield: Beast Boy (fictional superhero), Firefly (DC Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Garfield, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Grover
“from the grove of trees”
>99% boys
Arch
“one who is bold, brave, and genuine”
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Ole
“one who is alert; watchful”
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Gardner
“one who works the earth” · “the keeper of the garden”
97% boys · 3% girls
Garnett
“resembling the dark-red gem” · “one who wields a spear”
>99% boys
Garland
“decorated with a wreath of flowers” · “one who is crowned”
86% boys · 14% girls
Garvin
“a friend with a spear”
>99% boys
Garner
“one who gathers or keeps grain”
83% boys · 17% girls