NameCensus.

UK surname

Gardiner

An occupational surname referring to a person who tended or cultivated gardens.

In the 1881 census there were 8,640 people recorded with the Gardiner surname, ranking it #488 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 15,586, ranked #404, up from #488 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stroud and Douglas, Coalburn and Rigside.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gardiner is 15,857 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 80.4%.

1881 census count

8,640

Ranked #488

Modern count

15,586

2016, ranked #404

Peak year

2014

15,857 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Gardiner had 8,640 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #488 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 15,586 in 2016, ranked #404.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 12,168 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Gardiner surname distribution map

The map shows where the Gardiner surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Gardiner surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Gardiner over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 4,673 #595
1861 historical 4,833 #584
1881 historical 8,640 #488
1891 historical 9,877 #443
1901 historical 12,168 #431
1911 historical 10,361 #471
1997 modern 15,062 #403
1998 modern 15,605 #405
1999 modern 15,718 #406
2000 modern 15,510 #408
2001 modern 15,110 #408
2002 modern 15,493 #408
2003 modern 15,189 #408
2004 modern 15,082 #409
2005 modern 14,870 #408
2006 modern 14,899 #410
2007 modern 14,949 #408
2008 modern 15,052 #410
2009 modern 15,410 #408
2010 modern 15,728 #409
2011 modern 15,584 #408
2012 modern 15,262 #406
2013 modern 15,753 #402
2014 modern 15,857 #402
2015 modern 15,610 #404
2016 modern 15,586 #404

Geography

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Where Gardiners are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, Edinburgh and Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Stroud and Douglas, Coalburn and Rigside. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Stroud 006 Stroud
2 Stroud 004 Stroud
3 Douglas, Coalburn and Rigside South Lanarkshire
4 Stroud 008 Stroud
5 Stroud 005 Stroud

Forenames

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First names often paired with Gardiner

These lists show first names that appear often with the Gardiner surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Gardiner

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Gardiner, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Gardiner surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Gardiner household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Gardiner is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Gardiner is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Gardiner falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Gardiner is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Gardiner, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Gardiner

The surname Gardiner originated in England during the medieval period. It derives from the Old French word "gardin" meaning garden, which in turn comes from the Frankish word "gardo" meaning an enclosed yard or garden. The name was an occupational surname given to those who worked as gardeners or tended gardens.

The earliest recorded instance of the Gardiner surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Gardin". This suggests that the name was already in use in England before the Norman Conquest of 1066. Over time, various spellings emerged, including Gardiner, Gardener, and Gardner.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Richard le Gardiner, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195. Another early record is of William le Gardiner, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.

The Gardiner surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Gardiner's Green in Hampshire and Gardiner's Corner in Worcestershire. These locations likely derived their names from individuals with the Gardiner surname who lived or worked there.

Notable individuals with the Gardiner surname throughout history include:

1. Stephen Gardiner (c. 1493-1555), an English Catholic bishop and Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I.

2. Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829-1902), an English historian best known for his works on the English Civil War and the Commonwealth period.

3. Alan Henderson Gardiner (1879-1963), a British Egyptologist and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of Egyptian language and literature.

4. Amos Gardiner (1801-1882), an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Representative from New York.

5. Vivien Gardiner (1921-2005), an Austrian-born American actress and dancer who appeared in numerous Broadway musicals and films.

The Gardiner surname has a rich history dating back to medieval England and has been borne by notable individuals across various fields, from politics and religion to academia and the arts.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Gardiner families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gardiner surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 949 Gardiners recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.13x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 949 1.13x
Gloucestershire 742 4.51x
Surrey 599 1.46x
Lanarkshire 523 1.93x
Lancashire 479 0.48x
Durham 387 1.55x
Yorkshire 385 0.46x
Suffolk 324 3.17x
Kent 259 0.90x
Perthshire 227 6.02x
Midlothian 223 1.98x
Essex 212 1.28x
Angus 203 2.61x
Somerset 180 1.33x
Hampshire 163 0.95x
Banffshire 158 9.07x
Warwickshire 134 0.63x
Fife 127 2.56x
Ayrshire 123 1.96x
Wiltshire 122 1.64x
Norfolk 120 0.93x
Cheshire 118 0.64x
Sussex 109 0.77x
Staffordshire 107 0.38x
Berkshire 106 1.68x
Oxfordshire 104 2.01x
Devon 98 0.56x
Renfrewshire 98 1.51x
Worcestershire 96 0.88x
Stirlingshire 95 3.07x
Aberdeenshire 76 0.98x
Glamorgan 75 0.51x
Dumfriesshire 73 3.94x
Herefordshire 67 1.95x
Leicestershire 63 0.68x
Northumberland 61 0.49x
Hertfordshire 49 0.85x
Cumberland 45 0.62x
Monmouthshire 42 0.69x
Shropshire 40 0.55x
Dunbartonshire 34 1.51x
Wigtownshire 33 2.96x
Northamptonshire 32 0.41x
Buckinghamshire 23 0.45x
Kirkcudbrightshire 23 1.89x
Cambridgeshire 20 0.38x
Derbyshire 19 0.14x
Clackmannanshire 18 2.60x
Lincolnshire 18 0.13x
Kinross-shire 17 8.01x
Nottinghamshire 17 0.15x
Selkirkshire 17 2.24x
West Lothian 17 1.34x
Peeblesshire 16 4.05x
Argyllshire 13 0.56x
Morayshire 13 1.00x
Bedfordshire 11 0.25x
Berwickshire 10 0.98x
Cornwall 10 0.11x
Cardiganshire 9 0.44x
Royal Navy 9 0.90x
Dorset 8 0.15x
Kincardineshire 7 0.68x
Anglesey 6 0.40x
Caernarfonshire 6 0.18x
Flintshire 6 0.27x
Huntingdonshire 6 0.36x
Roxburghshire 6 0.39x
Buteshire 4 0.79x
Isle of Man 3 0.19x
Westmorland 3 0.16x
Inverness-shire 2 0.08x
Montgomeryshire 2 0.10x
Channel Islands 1 0.04x
Merionethshire 1 0.07x
Radnorshire 1 0.15x
Ross-shire 1 0.04x
Shetland 1 0.12x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bisley in Gloucestershire leads with 350 Gardiners recorded in 1881 and an index of 234.55x.

Place Total Index
Bisley 350 234.55x
Dundee 122 4.20x
Govan 113 1.68x
Cullen 112 173.51x
Lambeth 102 1.39x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 87 1.92x
Barony 86 1.25x
Camberwell 86 1.60x
Hackney London 77 1.64x
Glasgow 74 1.53x
Stanhope 70 27.14x
West Ham 68 1.86x
Islington London 62 0.76x
Kensington London 59 1.26x
Dryfesdale 53 62.01x
Leeds 52 1.11x
Aston 51 0.87x
St Pancras London 51 0.75x
Newington 50 1.61x
St Marylebone London 46 1.03x
Trowbridge 46 14.02x
Bermondsey 43 1.72x
Dunfermline 40 5.23x
New Monkland 40 4.98x
Poplar London 38 2.40x
Bethnal Green London 36 0.99x
Farnham 36 11.32x
Hampstead London 36 2.75x
Reading St Mary 35 6.93x
West Bromwich 35 2.16x
Deptford St Paul 34 1.54x
Westminster St John 34 3.33x
Hillingdon 33 12.33x
Liverpool 33 0.55x
Shoreditch London 33 0.91x
Toxteth Park 33 0.98x
Stroud 32 9.99x
Cambusnethan 31 5.14x
Birmingham 30 0.43x
Old Monkland 30 2.78x
Shildon 30 14.95x
Hadleigh 29 29.23x
Sapperton 29 189.67x
Chelsea London 28 1.11x
Rotherhithe 28 2.70x
Tottenham 28 2.09x
Broughton In Salford 27 2.96x
Chelmsford 27 9.50x
Dalserf 26 9.60x
Perth East Church 26 7.32x
Beith 25 13.33x
Huddersfield 25 2.06x
St George Hanover Square 25 1.69x
East Greenock 24 3.91x
Everton 24 0.76x
Hamilton 24 3.17x
Liff Benvie 24 2.03x
Bedminster 23 1.81x
Kinnoull 23 23.22x
Minchinhampton 23 17.53x
Paddington London 23 0.75x
Portsea 23 0.68x
St Luke London 23 1.71x
Ealing 22 2.93x
Manchester 22 0.49x
Sculcoates 22 1.67x
Shotts 22 6.77x
Battersea 21 0.68x
Cardiff St John 21 4.40x
Cheltenham 21 1.65x
Fordyce 21 16.76x
Great Yarmouth 21 1.96x
Greenwich 21 1.57x
Newchurch 21 2.58x
South Leith 21 1.66x
Abbey 20 2.01x
Bishop Auckland 20 5.97x
Combs 20 58.58x
Falkirk 20 2.76x
Southwark Christchurch 20 5.08x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Gardiner surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 390
Elizabeth 243
Sarah 220
Emma 126
Jane 124
Ellen 116
Alice 113
Annie 108
Ann 100
Emily 98
Eliza 87
Margaret 59
Hannah 53
Charlotte 52
Edith 52
Martha 52
Caroline 51
Louisa 48
Harriet 46
Kate 42
Ada 41
Maria 41
Frances 32
Fanny 31
Florence 31
Clara 29
Susan 29
Agnes 28
Rose 27
Anne 26
Isabella 24
Amelia 23
Catherine 23
Lucy 23
Matilda 22
Esther 21
Sophia 20
Susannah 18
Elizth. 16
Harriett 16
Jessie 16
Rebecca 16
Eleanor 15
Julia 15
Grace 14
Lydia 14
Maud 14
Helen 13
Amy 12
Ethel 12

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Gardiner surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 372
John 306
George 261
James 212
Thomas 198
Henry 139
Charles 138
Joseph 104
Robert 96
Edward 66
Alfred 64
Arthur 62
Walter 60
Albert 55
Frederick 54
Richard 53
Samuel 35
Frank 33
Harry 32
Wm. 25
Alexander 21
Edwin 21
Ernest 21
Herbert 19
Benjamin 18
David 17
Francis 17
Fredk. 14
Fred 11
Sidney 11
Thos. 11
Percy 10
Peter 10
Daniel 9
Fredrick 9
Chas. 7
Edmund 7
Matthew 7
Stephen 7
Andrew 6
Geo. 6
Jno. 6
Ralph 6
Allen 5
Anthony 5
Frederic 5
Jas. 5
Leonard 5
Mark 5
Nathaniel 5

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Gardiner households.

FAQ

Gardiner surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gardiner surname in 1881?

In 1881, 8,640 people were recorded with the Gardiner surname. That placed it at #488 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gardiner surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 15,586 in 2016. That gives Gardiner a modern rank of #404.

What does the Gardiner surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who tended or cultivated gardens.

What does the Gardiner map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Gardiner bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.