Gardner
An occupational surname meaning “the gardener,” originally for someone who tended gardens or worked with plants.
The #194 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,161 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gardner is an occupational surname from Middle English, referring to a gardener or keeper of a garden. It is a reduced spelling of Gardener, with the middle vowel commonly dropped in English surnames over time. The ultimate root is the Old French/English garden word, from the same general source as modern English "garden."
History
Historical surname dictionaries treat Gardner as a very common medieval occupational name. It is often listed alongside Gardiner and Gardener, with Gardner explained as a later spelling form of the same name. The surname became well established in England and later spread widely in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers sometimes noted that Gardiner was the fuller spelling, while Gardner was a very natural shortened form in everyday use.
From the historical record
“GARDINER. See Gardener. GARDNER. See Gardener. GARDYNE. The 0. Scottish form of Garden. It is asserted that the Gardynes, Jardyncs, Gardens, and Jerdaus are one and the same family. The Gairdynes of that Ilk, CO. Forfar, are described by a writer of IGGO or 1(370, as a very ancient race. B.L.G. GARFORD. A chapelry…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom