Garrett Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Garrett last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Garrett last name
Meaning of the Garrett last name: spear-hard or spear-rule (from Gerard or Gerald). Garrett comes from the Norman personal names Gerard, "spear-hard", and Gerald, "spear-rule", which were often confused in medieval speech. The name is found across southern England and in Ireland. A curious detail: in Ireland it was a favourite first name of the Fitzgeralds, the Earls of Kildare, which helped spread it as a surname. Garrett families also settled early in Virginia and the Carolinas.
Arms associated with the Garrett name
English heralds once rode round the counties checking who used arms, and families with the Garrett name appear in that long tradition.
Get your full Garrett family history
This is only a glimpse of the Garrett story. The full Garrett history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Garrett coat of arms. Get the full Garrett report.
Garrett name FAQ
What does the Garrett name mean?
Spear-hard or spear-rule (from Gerard or Gerald). Common variants include Garret, Garratt, Garrard.
Where does the Garrett surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Ireland and Australia.
Is there a Garrett coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Garrett coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).