Gareth
Gareth was given to 46 boys in 2025, #2,775 among boys’ names; 4,394 Americans have been recorded with it since 1916 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,670 Americans named Gareth and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 29 years old and half are between 15 and 44.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gareth by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gareth mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gareth is “a male given name from Welsh of Welsh origin; name of a knight in the Arthurian romance.” Its etymology gives the senses “old man” (Gerontius) and “old man” (γέρων) and “gentleness” (gwaredd).
Of Old Welsh origin and cognate with the Welsh name Geraint (from Latin Gerontius (“old man”), from Ancient Greek γέρων (gérōn, “old man”)) or perhaps the word gwareddawg, gwaredd (“gentleness”); see gwâr (“gentle”).
/ˈɡæɹ.əθ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gareth?
#2,775 among boys’ names, 2025
Gareth fell from #1,582 in 2015 to #2,775 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 53.2 to 26.9 per million.
104 babies in 2016, the peak
Gareth peaked in 2016, when 104 boys were given it, #1,580 among boys’ names. The 46 births of 2025 are 44% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46 | #2,775 | 26.9 |
| 2024 | 50 | #2,645 | 29.0 |
| 2023 | 47 | #2,745 | 27.5 |
| 2022 | 55 | #2,500 | 31.5 |
| 2021 | 44 | #2,833 | 25.2 |
| 2020 | 47 | #2,669 | 27.2 |
| 2019 | 58 | #2,349 | 32.3 |
| 2018 | 67 | #2,105 | 36.9 |
| 2017 | 88 | #1,751 | 47.5 |
| 2016 | 104 | #1,580 | 54.8 |
Every recorded year (108)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 102 | #1,582 | 53.2 |
| 2014 | 102 | #1,562 | 53.1 |
| 2013 | 53 | #2,375 | 28.0 |
| 2012 | 45 | #2,690 | 23.7 |
| 2011 | 52 | #2,413 | 27.4 |
| 2010 | 49 | #2,524 | 25.5 |
| 2009 | 44 | #2,774 | 22.2 |
| 2008 | 52 | #2,442 | 25.5 |
| 2007 | 54 | #2,387 | 26.0 |
| 2006 | 56 | #2,262 | 27.2 |
| 2005 | 75 | #1,758 | 37.6 |
| 2004 | 66 | #1,858 | 33.2 |
| 2003 | 81 | #1,566 | 41.0 |
| 2002 | 80 | #1,545 | 41.2 |
| 2001 | 71 | #1,646 | 36.5 |
| 2000 | 79 | #1,518 | 40.2 |
| 1999 | 82 | #1,421 | 42.7 |
| 1998 | 73 | #1,502 | 38.2 |
| 1997 | 74 | #1,456 | 39.3 |
| 1996 | 77 | #1,377 | 40.6 |
| 1995 | 75 | #1,358 | 39.4 |
| 1994 | 52 | #1,717 | 26.9 |
| 1993 | 72 | #1,344 | 36.7 |
| 1992 | 78 | #1,277 | 39.1 |
| 1991 | 58 | #1,505 | 28.7 |
| 1990 | 64 | #1,395 | 31.2 |
| 1989 | 53 | #1,535 | 26.5 |
| 1988 | 69 | #1,228 | 36.0 |
| 1987 | 59 | #1,272 | 31.6 |
| 1986 | 65 | #1,174 | 35.3 |
| 1985 | 49 | #1,394 | 26.5 |
| 1984 | 60 | #1,179 | 33.2 |
| 1983 | 53 | #1,266 | 29.6 |
| 1982 | 69 | #1,098 | 38.0 |
| 1981 | 49 | #1,345 | 27.4 |
| 1980 | 51 | #1,318 | 28.6 |
| 1979 | 45 | #1,396 | 26.1 |
| 1978 | 37 | #1,547 | 22.5 |
| 1977 | 36 | #1,551 | 21.9 |
| 1976 | 31 | #1,685 | 19.8 |
| 1975 | 30 | #1,673 | 19.2 |
| 1974 | 28 | #1,717 | 17.8 |
| 1973 | 23 | #1,896 | 14.8 |
| 1972 | 25 | #1,788 | 15.4 |
| 1971 | 29 | #1,646 | 16.4 |
| 1970 | 57 | #1,085 | 30.7 |
| 1969 | 30 | #1,476 | 16.8 |
| 1968 | 25 | #1,593 | 14.4 |
| 1967 | 28 | #1,457 | 16.1 |
| 1966 | 15 | #2,078 | 8.4 |
| 1965 | 24 | #1,605 | 12.9 |
| 1964 | 21 | #1,754 | 10.5 |
| 1963 | 29 | #1,464 | 14.3 |
| 1962 | 23 | #1,683 | 11.1 |
| 1961 | 29 | #1,501 | 13.7 |
| 1960 | 17 | #2,000 | 8.0 |
| 1959 | 18 | #1,931 | 8.4 |
| 1958 | 25 | #1,566 | 11.8 |
| 1957 | 13 | #2,305 | 6.0 |
| 1956 | 17 | #1,963 | 8.0 |
| 1955 | 20 | #1,751 | 9.7 |
| 1954 | 20 | #1,723 | 9.8 |
| 1953 | 19 | #1,784 | 9.6 |
| 1952 | 28 | #1,440 | 14.4 |
| 1951 | 24 | #1,534 | 12.7 |
| 1950 | 28 | #1,375 | 15.6 |
| 1949 | 30 | #1,329 | 16.9 |
| 1948 | 25 | #1,470 | 14.2 |
| 1947 | 33 | #1,281 | 18.0 |
| 1946 | 25 | #1,417 | 15.4 |
| 1945 | 26 | #1,308 | 19.3 |
| 1944 | 28 | #1,267 | 20.5 |
| 1943 | 39 | #1,092 | 27.3 |
| 1942 | 28 | #1,320 | 20.3 |
| 1941 | 25 | #1,346 | 20.4 |
| 1940 | 33 | #1,166 | 28.5 |
| 1939 | 21 | #1,469 | 19.0 |
| 1938 | 30 | #1,204 | 27.0 |
| 1937 | 22 | #1,465 | 20.6 |
| 1936 | 21 | #1,483 | 20.2 |
| 1935 | 25 | #1,372 | 24.0 |
| 1934 | 18 | #1,690 | 17.4 |
| 1933 | 12 | #2,136 | 12.1 |
| 1932 | 14 | #2,037 | 13.4 |
| 1931 | 14 | #2,032 | 13.5 |
| 1930 | 9 | #2,854 | 8.2 |
| 1929 | 10 | #2,659 | 9.3 |
| 1928 | 16 | #1,998 | 14.4 |
| 1927 | 15 | #2,140 | 13.3 |
| 1926 | 16 | #2,018 | 14.4 |
| 1925 | 14 | #2,234 | 12.5 |
| 1924 | 9 | #3,103 | 7.9 |
| 1923 | 17 | #1,972 | 15.5 |
| 1922 | 21 | #1,721 | 19.3 |
| 1921 | 33 | #1,273 | 30.0 |
| 1920 | 5 | #4,546 | 4.7 |
| 1919 | 7 | #3,541 | 7.1 |
| 1916 | 5 | #4,138 | 5.6 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Gareth a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Gareth has been given almost only to boys: 5 girls in 108 years of records.
Girls and boys named Gareth: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gareth, and how old are they?
3,670 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 4,394 Americans ever recorded as Gareth. The median Gareth alive today is 29 years old; half are between 15 and 44.
The 2020 Census counted 4,779 people named Gareth (68 women and girls, 4,711 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,534 born in the U.S. The Census count is 35% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 92 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 293 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 456 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 953 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,020 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 856 |
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 Gareth born?
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 7 | #2,158 | 0.6× |
| California | 5 | #2,586 | 0.8× |
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 Gareth 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 14,491 babies since 1880, Gareth is the second most given (30% of them). In 2025 it was given to 46 of their 54 babies (85%), the most given that year.
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 Gareth
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 Gareth and names like it
- Compare Gareth and GarthBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sGareth peaked in 2016.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gareth since 1910.
- Welsh namesWiktionary’s origin for Gareth: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2016The year the most babies were named Gareth.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Gareth alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with GMost given first.