Gardner
Gardner is given to both girls and boys: 5 girls and 19 boys were given it in 2025 (#15,688 among girls’ names and #5,093 among boys’, #9,181 among all names counting both); 3,026 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,330 Americans named Gardner and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (44% of everyone recorded); the median is 54 years old and half are between 26 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gardner by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gardner mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gardner is “a male given name.”
/ˈɡɑɹd.nɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gardner?
#5,093 among boys’ names, 2025
Gardner rose from #7,227 in 2015 to #5,093 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 5.7 to 11.1 per million.
65 babies in 1915, the peak
Gardner peaked in 1915, when 65 boys were given it, #743 among boys’ names. The 24 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 37% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 19 | #5,093 | 11.1 |
| 2024 | 22 | #4,606 | 12.8 |
| 2023 | 17 | #5,529 | 9.9 |
| 2022 | 14 | #6,249 | 8.0 |
| 2021 | 12 | #6,836 | 6.9 |
| 2020 | 11 | #7,173 | 6.4 |
| 2019 | 16 | #5,643 | 8.9 |
| 2018 | 11 | #7,285 | 6.1 |
| 2017 | 15 | #5,886 | 8.1 |
| 2016 | 7 | #9,995 | 3.7 |
Every recorded year (135)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 11 | #7,227 | 5.7 |
| 2014 | 6 | #11,173 | 3.1 |
| 2013 | 10 | #7,704 | 5.3 |
| 2012 | 8 | #9,136 | 4.2 |
| 2011 | 17 | #5,276 | 9.0 |
| 2010 | 14 | #6,145 | 7.3 |
| 2009 | 8 | #9,262 | 4.0 |
| 2008 | 14 | #6,174 | 6.9 |
| 2007 | 13 | #6,377 | 6.3 |
| 2006 | 12 | #6,595 | 5.8 |
| 2005 | 9 | #7,849 | 4.5 |
| 2004 | 12 | #6,253 | 6.0 |
| 2003 | 7 | #8,974 | 3.5 |
| 2002 | 10 | #6,695 | 5.2 |
| 2001 | 17 | #4,547 | 8.7 |
| 2000 | 16 | #4,647 | 8.1 |
| 1999 | 7 | #8,144 | 3.6 |
| 1998 | 11 | #5,589 | 5.8 |
| 1997 | 14 | #4,519 | 7.4 |
| 1996 | 8 | #6,699 | 4.2 |
| 1995 | 12 | #4,890 | 6.3 |
| 1994 | 11 | #5,205 | 5.7 |
| 1993 | 14 | #4,310 | 7.1 |
| 1992 | 9 | #5,794 | 4.5 |
| 1991 | 13 | #4,306 | 6.4 |
| 1990 | 13 | #4,245 | 6.3 |
| 1989 | 14 | #3,873 | 7.0 |
| 1988 | 15 | #3,406 | 7.8 |
| 1987 | 13 | #3,592 | 7.0 |
| 1986 | 8 | #5,017 | 4.3 |
| 1985 | 15 | #3,121 | 8.1 |
| 1984 | 18 | #2,640 | 10.0 |
| 1983 | 17 | #2,705 | 9.5 |
| 1982 | 15 | #3,016 | 8.3 |
| 1981 | 7 | #5,120 | 3.9 |
| 1980 | 13 | #3,316 | 7.3 |
| 1979 | 13 | #3,228 | 7.6 |
| 1978 | 15 | #2,833 | 9.1 |
| 1977 | 11 | #3,460 | 6.7 |
| 1976 | 17 | #2,538 | 10.8 |
| 1975 | 15 | #2,675 | 9.6 |
| 1974 | 13 | #2,858 | 8.3 |
| 1973 | 16 | #2,437 | 10.3 |
| 1972 | 20 | #2,036 | 12.3 |
| 1971 | 25 | #1,802 | 14.1 |
| 1970 | 20 | #2,017 | 10.8 |
| 1969 | 24 | #1,695 | 13.4 |
| 1968 | 24 | #1,621 | 13.8 |
| 1967 | 26 | #1,520 | 14.9 |
| 1966 | 29 | #1,432 | 16.3 |
| 1965 | 33 | #1,341 | 17.7 |
| 1964 | 33 | #1,374 | 16.6 |
| 1963 | 45 | #1,156 | 22.2 |
| 1962 | 53 | #1,050 | 25.6 |
| 1961 | 43 | #1,211 | 20.2 |
| 1960 | 34 | #1,371 | 15.9 |
| 1959 | 26 | #1,568 | 12.2 |
| 1958 | 13 | #2,301 | 6.1 |
| 1957 | 14 | #2,219 | 6.5 |
| 1956 | 29 | #1,459 | 13.7 |
| 1955 | 22 | #1,655 | 10.7 |
| 1954 | 26 | #1,507 | 12.8 |
| 1953 | 32 | #1,343 | 16.2 |
| 1952 | 23 | #1,594 | 11.8 |
| 1951 | 22 | #1,613 | 11.7 |
| 1950 | 27 | #1,406 | 15.1 |
| 1949 | 32 | #1,284 | 18.0 |
| 1948 | 35 | #1,221 | 19.9 |
| 1947 | 33 | #1,280 | 18.0 |
| 1946 | 36 | #1,163 | 22.2 |
| 1945 | 31 | #1,188 | 23.0 |
| 1944 | 40 | #1,044 | 29.3 |
| 1943 | 30 | #1,267 | 21.0 |
| 1942 | 29 | #1,305 | 21.0 |
| 1941 | 28 | #1,261 | 22.8 |
| 1940 | 31 | #1,216 | 26.7 |
| 1939 | 27 | #1,282 | 24.4 |
| 1938 | 30 | #1,203 | 27.0 |
| 1937 | 33 | #1,155 | 30.9 |
| 1936 | 34 | #1,127 | 32.8 |
| 1935 | 30 | #1,231 | 28.8 |
| 1934 | 37 | #1,081 | 35.8 |
| 1933 | 34 | #1,130 | 34.3 |
| 1932 | 35 | #1,146 | 33.5 |
| 1931 | 37 | #1,116 | 35.6 |
| 1930 | 36 | #1,178 | 32.8 |
| 1929 | 45 | #1,017 | 41.8 |
| 1928 | 43 | #1,062 | 38.8 |
| 1927 | 32 | #1,304 | 28.4 |
| 1926 | 50 | #970 | 45.0 |
| 1925 | 41 | #1,094 | 36.7 |
| 1924 | 55 | #948 | 48.6 |
| 1923 | 45 | #1,065 | 41.1 |
| 1922 | 58 | #917 | 53.3 |
| 1921 | 56 | #941 | 50.8 |
| 1920 | 56 | #925 | 52.6 |
| 1919 | 58 | #868 | 59.2 |
| 1918 | 57 | #883 | 56.2 |
| 1917 | 61 | #811 | 65.9 |
| 1916 | 58 | #815 | 65.2 |
| 1915 | 65 | #743 | 76.6 |
| 1914 | 43 | #805 | 65.7 |
| 1913 | 32 | #861 | 62.4 |
| 1912 | 23 | #951 | 53.5 |
| 1911 | 12 | #1,002 | 53.1 |
| 1910 | 17 | #739 | 87.5 |
| 1909 | 12 | #864 | 73.2 |
| 1908 | 10 | #907 | 64.8 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,051 | 52.6 |
| 1905 | 8 | #955 | 60.5 |
| 1904 | 9 | #835 | 70.2 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,060 | 50.3 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,057 | 48.9 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,111 | 47.0 |
| 1900 | 6 | #1,221 | 39.9 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,103 | 47.1 |
| 1898 | 7 | #919 | 57.1 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,017 | 51.1 |
| 1891 | 7 | #800 | 69.2 |
| 1889 | 5 | #1,024 | 45.2 |
| 1888 | 6 | #963 | 49.6 |
| 1887 | 7 | #777 | 69.0 |
| 1886 | 9 | #662 | 81.2 |
| 1884 | 7 | #804 | 61.2 |
| 1880 | 5 | #962 | 45.3 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Gardner a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Gardner has been given almost only to boys: 10 girls in 135 years of records.
Girls and boys named Gardner: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gardner, and how old are they?
1,330 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 44% of the 3,026 Americans ever recorded as Gardner. The median Gardner alive today is 54 years old; half are between 26 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 1,459 people named Gardner (74 women and girls, 1,385 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,400 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 111 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 385 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 274 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 192 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 191 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 175 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Gardner born?
The states with the most babies named Gardner are Massachusetts, New York and California, with 89% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 281 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| New York | 68 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| California | 16 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Kentucky | 7 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Missouri | 6 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Florida | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Illinois | 5 | not ranked | 0.0× |
| New Jersey | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Vermont | 5 | not ranked | 0.6× |
Where Gardner is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gardner is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 3.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Gardner with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 3,221 babies since 1880, Gardner is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 24 of their 24 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Gardner
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Gardner and names like it
- Compare Gardner and GardinerBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sGardner peaked in 1915.
- Massachusetts’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gardner since 1910.
- The top names of 1915The year the most babies were named Gardner.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Gardner alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.