Garen
Possessing sharpness and determination, derived from the Welsh word "gar".
Name Census estimates that about 1,124 living Americans carry the first name Garen. It is a predominantly male name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Garen today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Garen births was 2014 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Garen. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 304,942 Americans
Peak year
2014
30 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,914
Tracked since 1941
Census
Garen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,304 people with the first name Garen, which placed it at #10,290 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,290
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,304 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Garen is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Garen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Garen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 1,054
- Black or African American5.9% · 77
- Two or more races4.5% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 18
Gender
Gender distribution for Garen
Out of the 1,202 babies given the name Garen since 1880, 99.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Garen as a male name
- Ranked #7,914 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (30 births)
Garen as a female name
- Ranked #8,518 in 1982
- 7 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1982 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Garen leans strongly male. 1,208 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 90 female bearers (6.9%).
Popularity
Garen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Garen from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 245 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Garen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Garen by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Garen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Garens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Garen
The name Garen is of Armenian origin, derived from the Armenian word "garn," meaning "spring." It dates back to ancient times and is believed to have originated in the region now known as modern-day Armenia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Garen can be found in the ancient Armenian epic poem "Daredevils of Sassoun," which dates back to the 8th century. In this epic, Garen is mentioned as the name of one of the heroic figures.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Garen. One of the most famous was Garen Nersessian (1921-2005), an Armenian-American businessman and philanthropist. He founded the Nersessian Construction Company and was a significant contributor to various Armenian cultural and educational organizations.
Another prominent figure was Garen Demirdjian (1897-1982), an Armenian writer and journalist who played a crucial role in preserving and promoting Armenian literature and culture. He was a prolific author and editor, publishing numerous books and articles throughout his lifetime.
In the realm of sports, Garen Nazarian (born 1955) was a professional boxer from Armenia who competed in the light heavyweight division. He had a successful career, winning several championships and representing Armenia in international competitions.
The name Garen has also been associated with religious figures. One notable example is Garen Araqelian (1908-1986), an Armenian Catholic priest and bishop who served as the Apostolic Prefect of Ispahan in Iran from 1962 to 1986.
Additionally, Garen Torossian (1920-2010) was a renowned Armenian painter and artist. His works were widely exhibited and celebrated, and he played a significant role in the Armenian art scene of the 20th century.
While the name Garen has its roots in ancient Armenian culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and has been adopted by individuals of various backgrounds throughout the centuries, making it a name with a rich and diverse history.
People
Garen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Garen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Garen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Garen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,124 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Garen going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 304,942 US residents.
Is Garen a common name?
We classify Garen as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Garen most popular?
The single biggest year for Garen was 2014, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Garen is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Garen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,304 people with the name Garen, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,290 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Garen in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Garen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Garen leans strongly male. 1,208 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 90 female bearers (6.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Garen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Garen is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Garen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Garen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (1,054 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Garen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Garen a male name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Garen in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Garen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Garen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Garen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Garen as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Garen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.