Garrard
A surname usually treated as a spelling variant of Gerard, meaning “spear-hard” or “brave with the spear.”
The #9,683 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 92,080 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Garrard is generally explained as a variant spelling of Gerard, an old personal name made from Germanic elements meaning “spear” and “hard, strong, brave.” In medieval English records, many spellings were fluid, so Garrard, Gerard, Garrad, Garrod, Garrett, and related forms were often used interchangeably or as close variants. Some older writers also connected Garrett and Gerald, though that is a looser historical association than a direct etymology.
History
The name appears in English records from the medieval period, and the sources here treat Garrard chiefly as an English spelling variant of Gerard. 19th-century surname scholars also noted that similar forms were spread across Norman and later English usage, with many local spellings evolving independently. In modern use, Garrard survives as a relatively uncommon surname in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname scholars sometimes remarked that Garrett and Gerald had been treated as the same name in legal usage, even though that is not a strict linguistic equivalence.
From the historical record
“ham, " The garden homestead." GARRARD. GARRAD. Gerard, Gerald. GARRETT. GARRATT. It has been decided legally (!) that Garrett and Gerald are but one name. Jacob, Law Diet., title Mixnomer. But Garrett is a hamlet iu Surrey, famous for its mock-mayor. G ARR rCK. A parish united with Ileck- ington, CO. Lincoln. David…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom