Given name & surname
Garner
“one who gathers or keeps grain”
Garner is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “one who gathers or keeps grain.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who gathers or keeps grain.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1881. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Garner through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,338
- 2,279 boys · 59 girls
- Most popular year
- 1932
- 82 babies
- 2025
- 20
- #5,948 for boys · #15,693 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 15 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,948 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 1.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 82 in 1932. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,344 as a first name in 2020; 71,498 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.
Garner’s family of names
Garner has a related form in Garnell. Garner has a related form in Gamor. Garner has a related form in Gamur.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Garner
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Garner, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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
Gilbert
“servant of St BRIDGET” · “of the bright promise”
>99% boys
Garland
“decorated with a wreath of flowers” · “one who is crowned”
86% boys · 14% girls
Gene
“a wellborn man” · “a wellborn woman”
98% boys · 2% girls
Delbert
“one who is noble; a bright man”
>99% boys
Sumner
“a legal official; one who serves summons”
82% boys · 18% girls
Garvin
“a friend with a spear”
>99% boys