2000
#31,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 690
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.26
Very Rare Last name
Garant
A French surname derived from the word "garant" meaning a guarantor or surety.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 727 Americans carry the last name Garant. That puts it at #37,718 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 471,464 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garant surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
727
1 in 471,464
Census rank
#37,718
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
634
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 634 bearers of the surname Garant in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 37718th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garant, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garant
The surname GARANT has its origins in France, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old French word "garantir," which means "to guarantee" or "to protect." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone whose occupation involved providing protection or acting as a guarantor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GARANT can be found in the records of the Normandy region of France, where a family by the name of Garant resided in the town of Rouen in the late 1500s. The name is also believed to have been present in the nearby regions of Brittany and Picardy during this time period.
In the 17th century, the name GARANT appeared in various historical documents across France, such as parish records and property deeds. One notable mention is in the "Registre des baptêmes, mariages et sépultures" (Register of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials) of the town of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, where a Pierre GARANT was recorded as having been born in 1624.
As the name spread across France, it underwent slight variations in spelling, including GARAND, GARRAND, and GARRANT. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of local record-keepers.
Several notable historical figures have borne the surname GARANT over the centuries. One such individual was Jean-Baptiste GARANT (1663-1733), a French military officer who served in the War of the Spanish Succession. Another was Marie-Thérèse GARANT (1718-1788), a renowned French painter and engraver known for her portraiture and religious works.
In the 19th century, the name GARANT gained prominence in Canada, where many French immigrants settled. Jacques GARANT (1815-1892), a prominent Quebec businessman and politician, was one of the earliest individuals with this surname to achieve prominence in the region.
Other notable individuals with the surname GARANT include Henri GARANT (1892-1976), a Canadian lawyer and judge who served on the Supreme Court of Canada, and Marie-Claire GARANT (1916-2003), a French Canadian author and educator known for her works on Quebec literature and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garant
Among Census respondents with the surname Garant, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Garant bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Garant surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 593
- Two or more races2.5% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 11
- Black or African American1.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garant
Garant appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#33,990
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 669
-21 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 2,332 places
2020
#37,718
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 634
-35 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Down 3,728 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,658 | 690 | 0.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #33,990 | 669 | 0.23 | -21 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 2,332 places |
| 2020 | #37,718 | 634 | 0.21 | -35 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 3,728 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Garant surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #33,990 | #37,718 | -11.0% |
| Count | 669 | 634 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.23 | 0.21 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garant bearers went from 669 to 634 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 3,728 positions in the national ranking, going from #33,990 to #37,718.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Garant
FAQ
Garant surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garant?
Name Census estimates that about 727 living Americans carry the surname Garant. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 471,464 residents.
How common is Garant?
Garant ranks #37,718 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 634 people with the surname Garant. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (727), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Garant.
Has Garant become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garant went from 669 recorded bearers to 634. That is a decrease of 35 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #33,990 to #37,718.
What does the Census say about the background of Garant?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garant, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Garant in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (593 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garant appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Garant (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Garant mean?
A French surname derived from the word "garant" meaning a guarantor or surety. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Garant (0.21 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Garant?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Garant, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.