Garris
Likely an Anglicized surname with several possible roots, including a connection to the name Garrison or another Garrison-like form.
The #4,823 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 42,201 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Garris is probably a shortened or altered form of a longer name such as Garrison, though the evidence is not firm. In English surname history, forms like this can also arise from regional spelling change or simplification of an older personal name. Because the available historical excerpt only mentions the name incidentally and does not explain it, the exact root remains uncertain.
History
Garris appears in modern records as a relatively uncommon surname in the United States. Without a direct dictionary entry in the supplied sources, its early history is hard to pin down, but the form fits ordinary English surname patterns of contraction and spelling variation. It may have developed independently in more than one family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The 2010 U.S. Census recorded Garris as a relatively rare surname, with just over 7,000 bearers.
From the historical record
“Federf al), Forg(er), Finan(ce), Frug(al). Gangl(ion), Garris(on), Gerryman(der), Grogger(y), Gin- sen(g). Hosp(ital), Hon(or), Harn(ess). Indig(nation?), Irk(some), Immor(al).”
— A Grammar of American Surnames