NameCensus.

UK surname

Gardner

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

In the 1881 census there were 20,306 people recorded with the Gardner surname, ranking it #184 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 30,420, ranked #179, up from #184 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lancaster Borough, London parishes and Govan Combination. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Lancaster, Wyre and South Lakeland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gardner is 31,574 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 49.8%.

1881 census count

20,306

Ranked #184

Modern count

30,420

2016, ranked #179

Peak year

1999

31,574 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Gardner had 20,306 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #184 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 30,420 in 2016, ranked #179.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 26,160 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Gardner surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Gardner surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Gardner 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 14,083 #166
1861 historical 14,029 #174
1881 historical 20,306 #184
1891 historical 22,440 #170
1901 historical 26,160 #171
1911 historical 25,605 #166
1997 modern 29,920 #176
1998 modern 31,401 #174
1999 modern 31,574 #174
2000 modern 31,288 #174
2001 modern 30,611 #174
2002 modern 31,126 #175
2003 modern 30,289 #175
2004 modern 30,217 #176
2005 modern 29,832 #176
2006 modern 29,965 #176
2007 modern 30,050 #178
2008 modern 30,202 #177
2009 modern 30,839 #177
2010 modern 31,365 #178
2011 modern 30,884 #179
2012 modern 30,218 #179
2013 modern 30,819 #179
2014 modern 30,952 #179
2015 modern 30,620 #179
2016 modern 30,420 #179

Geography

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Where Gardners are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lancaster Borough, London parishes, Govan Combination and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Lancaster, Wyre and South Lakeland. 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 Lancaster Borough Lancashire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Govan Combination Lanark
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Lancaster 019 Lancaster
2 Lancaster 020 Lancaster
3 Wyre 006 Wyre
4 Wyre 007 Wyre
5 South Lakeland 009 South Lakeland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Gardner

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Gardner

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Gardner, 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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Gardner surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Gardner household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Gardner 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

Gardner is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Gardner falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Gardner 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 Gardner, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Gardner

The surname Gardner is an English occupational name derived from the Old French word "gardenier", meaning a gardener or keeper of a garden. It originates from the Late Latin word "viridarius", meaning a garden overseer or fruit gardener.

The name first appeared in England in the 13th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being William le Gardiner, listed in the Feet of Fines records for Essex in 1285. The Domesday Book of 1086 did not include any references to the Gardner surname, indicating it likely emerged later during the Middle Ages.

In the 14th century, the surname was recorded with various spellings such as Gardiner, Gardyner, and Gardenier, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional dialects. One notable example is John de Gardiner, who was a member of the Parliament of England in 1335.

By the 16th century, the spelling Gardner had become more common, as evidenced by the records of William Gardner (1536-1589), a celebrated English botanist and naturalist, best known for his work on the classification of plants.

The Gardner surname has been associated with several notable figures throughout history, including:

1. Thomas Gardner (1592-1638), one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a prominent early settler of Nantucket Island. 2. Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829-1902), an English historian and author of the monumental work "History of England from the Accession of James I to the Outbreak of the Civil War". 3. Percy Gardner (1846-1937), a British classical archaeologist and professor at Oxford University, known for his contributions to the study of ancient Greek sculpture. 4. Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970), an American lawyer and author, best known for creating the popular fictional character Perry Mason. 5. John W. Gardner (1912-2002), an American educator and political figure who served as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Gardner surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Gardiner's Island in New York, named after the early settler Lion Gardiner, and the town of Gardiner in Maine, named after Dr. Sylvester Gardiner, a prominent landowner in the 18th century.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Gardner families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gardner 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. Lancashire leads with 2,665 Gardners recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.13x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 2,665 1.13x
Middlesex 2,254 1.14x
Lanarkshire 1,668 2.60x
Gloucestershire 1,481 3.81x
Warwickshire 1,144 2.29x
Surrey 1,054 1.09x
Durham 826 1.40x
Oxfordshire 758 6.19x
Kent 698 1.03x
Yorkshire 538 0.27x
Hampshire 531 1.31x
Northamptonshire 455 2.44x
Worcestershire 378 1.46x
Renfrewshire 365 2.38x
Essex 351 0.90x
Sussex 341 1.02x
Somerset 340 1.07x
Midlothian 299 1.13x
Staffordshire 283 0.42x
Northumberland 276 0.94x
Stirlingshire 228 3.12x
Berkshire 206 1.38x
Suffolk 201 0.83x
Devon 194 0.47x
West Lothian 169 5.66x
Monmouthshire 148 1.03x
Ayrshire 129 0.87x
Cheshire 124 0.28x
Cumberland 124 0.73x
Glamorgan 120 0.35x
Buckinghamshire 119 0.99x
Dunbartonshire 117 2.20x
Wiltshire 114 0.65x
Herefordshire 111 1.37x
Nottinghamshire 107 0.40x
Hertfordshire 102 0.75x
Leicestershire 101 0.46x
Shropshire 92 0.54x
Angus 87 0.47x
Bedfordshire 86 0.84x
Fife 79 0.67x
Norfolk 73 0.24x
Channel Islands 67 1.14x
Perthshire 64 0.72x
Derbyshire 62 0.20x
Westmorland 53 1.22x
Cambridgeshire 50 0.40x
Lincolnshire 47 0.15x
Clackmannanshire 35 2.14x
Royal Navy 32 1.35x
Montgomeryshire 31 0.68x
Shetland 31 1.53x
Dorset 28 0.22x
Roxburghshire 26 0.72x
Wigtownshire 26 0.99x
Argyllshire 25 0.45x
Cornwall 23 0.10x
East Lothian 21 0.80x
Brecknockshire 19 0.48x
Dumfriesshire 17 0.39x
Peeblesshire 15 1.61x
Berwickshire 14 0.58x
Aberdeenshire 11 0.06x
Banffshire 11 0.27x
Kincardineshire 11 0.46x
Radnorshire 8 0.50x
Anglesey 7 0.20x
Buteshire 7 0.58x
Nairnshire 7 1.16x
Huntingdonshire 6 0.15x
Pembrokeshire 6 0.10x
Flintshire 5 0.09x
Inverness-shire 4 0.07x
Morayshire 4 0.13x
Selkirkshire 4 0.22x
Caernarfonshire 3 0.04x
Merionethshire 3 0.08x
Carmarthenshire 2 0.02x
Kirkcudbrightshire 2 0.07x
Sutherland 2 0.13x
Caithness 1 0.04x
Denbighshire 1 0.01x
Kinross-shire 1 0.20x
Orkney 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Preston in Lancashire leads with 449 Gardners recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.13x.

Place Total Index
Preston 449 7.13x
Barony 429 2.64x
Govan 421 2.65x
Islington London 292 1.52x
Glasgow 252 2.21x
Birmingham 238 1.43x
Aston 237 1.72x
Lancaster 212 15.14x
Lambeth 187 1.08x
St Pancras London 163 1.02x
Portsea 156 1.96x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 139 1.30x
Camberwell 133 1.05x
Hackney London 132 1.19x
Liverpool 131 0.92x
Shoreditch London 125 1.45x
New Monkland 123 6.49x
West Ham 119 1.38x
Brighton 107 1.59x
Paddington London 106 1.45x
Bethnal Green London 99 1.15x
Manchester 99 0.94x
Bisley 97 27.52x
Abbey 92 3.92x
Battersea 92 1.26x
Cheltenham 92 3.07x
Kensington London 92 0.83x
St Marylebone London 89 0.84x
West Derby 88 1.28x
Mile End Old Town London 86 2.04x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 83 2.27x
Old Monkland 83 3.26x
Stroud 83 10.97x
Bermondsey 80 1.36x
Toxteth Park 80 1.00x
Gateshead 75 1.70x
Chelsea London 73 1.22x
Hammersmith London 72 1.47x
Newington 70 0.96x
Stanhope 70 11.49x
Bishopwearmouth 68 1.34x
Bathgate 67 10.33x
Rutherglen 65 6.91x
Deptford St Paul 63 1.21x
Fulham London 61 2.12x
Salford 61 0.88x
Coventry St Michael 60 3.73x
Painswick 60 21.81x
Barrow In Furness 59 1.84x
Leeds 59 0.53x
Croydon 58 1.08x
Ellel 58 47.79x
Falkirk 57 3.33x
St George Hanover Square 56 1.60x
Poulton Barre 55 20.54x
Southwark St George Martyr 55 1.38x
Bothwell 54 3.10x
Kings Norton 53 2.28x
St George In East London 53 2.84x
Stockton On Tees 53 1.86x
Clerkenwell London 52 1.11x
Dundee 52 0.76x
Everton 52 0.69x
Kilrenny 52 23.95x
Bugbrooke 51 83.57x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 51 7.17x
Coventry Holy Trinity 50 3.35x
Dalton In Furness 49 5.39x
Kilbarchan 49 10.50x
St Luke London 48 1.51x
Blackburn 47 0.75x
Leamington Priors 46 3.74x
Neithrop 46 11.18x
Tottenham 46 1.46x
Luton 45 2.53x
Slamannan 45 11.24x
Deddington 44 33.11x
Gloucester St Mary Lode 44 48.26x
St Peter Port 44 4.05x
Towcester 44 22.87x
Hampstead London 43 1.39x
Kirkdale 43 1.09x
Milton In Gravesend 43 4.24x
Gloucester Barton St 42 18.43x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 1,055
Elizabeth 680
Sarah 523
Jane 344
Ann 336
Ellen 282
Alice 258
Eliza 252
Emma 243
Annie 239
Emily 215
Margaret 201
Louisa 138
Martha 125
Hannah 123
Florence 112
Maria 101
Harriet 97
Fanny 96
Edith 94
Caroline 92
Kate 90
Ada 89
Catherine 89
Charlotte 88
Agnes 79
Isabella 78
Amelia 67
Frances 65
Clara 64
Anne 60
Amy 57
Lucy 54
Rose 53
Susan 53
Harriett 51
Jessie 48
Esther 47
Rebecca 44
Sophia 39
Matilda 38
Elizth. 37
Minnie 35
Eleanor 32
Ethel 31
Laura 31
Julia 29
Gertrude 25
Grace 25
Rachel 25

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 1,096
John 958
Thomas 582
James 574
George 568
Henry 403
Charles 352
Joseph 292
Robert 234
Edward 197
Alfred 187
Richard 186
Frederick 166
Arthur 143
Walter 124
Albert 117
Samuel 102
Frank 88
Harry 86
Ernest 71
Francis 71
Herbert 66
Wm. 61
David 60
Edwin 55
Thos. 42
Daniel 39
Stephen 32
Benjamin 26
Matthew 24
Fred 23
Fredrick 21
Alexander 20
Peter 18
Percy 17
Tom 17
Willm. 17
Christopher 16
Edmund 16
Fredk. 16
Geo. 16
Harold 16
Oliver 15
Isaac 14
Martin 14
Robt. 14
Sidney 14
Andrew 13
Anthony 13
Mark 13

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 Gardner households.

FAQ

Gardner surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gardner surname in 1881?

In 1881, 20,306 people were recorded with the Gardner surname. That placed it at #184 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gardner surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 30,420 in 2016. That gives Gardner a modern rank of #179.

What does the Gardner surname mean?

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

What does the Gardner map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Gardner 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.