Garrett
Garrett was the 564th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 526 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 74th with 5,840 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 295 places. More babies were named Garrett in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning spear + strong (from Gerard) · Germanic, English, Irish
Say it GAIR-it /ˈɡærɪt/
- Rank in 2025
- #564 boys, down 200 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 526boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20005,840 babies
- Total since 1880
- 136,214babies recorded
What does the name Garrett mean?
Garrett is a medieval English and Irish form of the Germanic names Gerard and Gerald, as Wiktionary notes; the Random House dictionary calls it a form of Gerald. DMNES derives Gerard from gēr, "spear", and hart, "strong, hard", and Gerald from gēr and walt, "power", and notes that Gerard, Gerald and Garet were often confused.
gēr (Old High German, “spear”)hart (Old High German, “strong, hard”)walt (Old High German, “power, rule”)
How sure is this? Probable. From Gerard or Gerald, which share 'spear' but differ in the second element.
Related names: Gerard, Gerald, Garret, Jarrett.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean warrior.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Garrett', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Gerard', DMNES, Durham University
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Gerald', DMNES, Durham University
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Garrett', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Garrett
The usual nicknames for Garrett are Gary and Rhett. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Garrett in the last five years, 362 were named Rhett, against 7 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gary | Traditional | #1,073 | 1,081 |
| Rhett · also for Everett | Modern | #188 | 11,302 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Garretts go by each one.
Garrett popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 452 since 1969.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #564 | 526 |
| 2020 | #364 | 857 |
| 2010 | #188 | 1,959 |
| 2000 | #74 | 5,840 |
| 1990 | #99 | 3,757 |
| 1980 | #189 | 1,288 |
| 1970 | #320 | 600 |
| 1960 | #578 | 182 |
| 1950 | #522 | 164 |
| 1940 | #569 | 109 |
| 1930 | #931 | 52 |
| 1920 | #717 | 83 |
| 1910 | #740 | 17 |
| 1900 | #421 | 29 |
| 1890 | #497 | 15 |
| 1880 | #510 | 13 |
How popular is Garrett, counting every spelling?
Garrett is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #550 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #564 for Garrett on its own. Together these spellings went to 543 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garrett | 526 | #564 | 3,126 |
| Garret | 11 | #7,341 | 102 |
| Garett | 6 | #11,118 | 40 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Garrett?
526 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Garrett (0.15 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Garrett born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 16 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Garrett.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Garrett?
About 127,200 people born in the US named Garrett are alive today, with a median age of 29; half are between 22 and 36. That makes Garrett mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Garrett by state
How common Garrett was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in West Virginia (2.8×), Iowa (2.7×), Nebraska (2.2×), Ohio (2.0×), Indiana (1.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nevada, California, Massachusetts.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Garrett: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Garrett, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Garrett · Sibling names for Garrett
Questions about the name Garrett
What does Garrett mean?
Garrett means “spear + strong (from Gerard)” (Germanic, English, Irish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Garrett?
Garrett was the 564th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 526 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 74th with 5,840 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 295 places. More babies were named Garrett in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Garrett a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Garrett in the US.
Where is Garrett most popular?
In 2021–2025, Garrett was most common in West Virginia (1.01 per 1,000 boys), followed by Iowa and New Hampshire.