Garrett (name)

Garrett (name)

See also: All pages beginning with "Garrett"

Garrett is a surname and given name of early medieval English origin. It is one of the many baptismal surnames to have been derived from the popular names of Gerard and Gerald in 12th Century England. Both of these names were taken to Britain by the conquering Normans and are the Old French versions of ancient Germanic personal names. The name Gerard (or Germanic: Gerhard) is composed of the Germanic elements gēr or gār (meaning "spear") and hard ("brave", "hard" or "strong"), while Gerald is composed of again gēr or gār ("spear") and wald ("to rule")123 Although Garrett remains predominantly only a surname in England, elsewhere in the Anglosphere it has become a popular masculine first name (e.g. in Ireland, and the United States).

Curiously, in addition to the Old English word gār meaning "spear"; Gār also has a corresponding rune (ᚸ) in the (Old English) Anglo-Saxon futhorc, which again has the meaning "spear" (and is transliterated into the modern letter G).

Other surnames derived from Gerard and Gerald include: Gerrard; Garratt; Garret; Garred; Garrad; Garrard; Garrod; Jarrett; Jarratt; Jarrard and Jerrold.

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