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Gardner (surname)

Surname list From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gardner is a surname of English, Scottish and Irish origin.[1][2] Variant spellings include Gardyner, Gardener, Gardenar, Gardinier, Gardiner, and Gardner; the last two are the most common today.[3]

Pronunciation/ˈɡɑːdnə/
LanguageEnglish
Languages1. Old French
2. Old English
Derivation1. gardinier
2. gar + dyn'
Quick facts Pronunciation, Language ...
Gardner
Coat of Arms of Baron Gardner (1800–1883).
Pronunciation/ˈɡɑːdnə/
LanguageEnglish
Origin
Languages1. Old French
2. Old English
Derivation1. gardinier
2. gar + dyn'
Meaning1. "gardener"
2. "weapon" + "sound", "alarm"
Other names
Variant formsGardyner
Gardener
Gardenar
Gardinier
Gardiner
CognatesGairnéir; Gairdner
Related namesGarner
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Some of the earliest recorded uses of the name Gardner are Anger Gardiner (Lincolnshire, pre-1166),[4] William le Gardinier (Rutland, 1199),[5] Geoffrey le Gardiner (Oxfordshire, 1273), Richard le Gardiner (Cambridgeshire, 1273), Ralph le Gardener (Huntingdonshire, 1273),[6] and Walter le Gardiner (London, 1292).[2][7][8] Contemporaneous use of the surname features most prominently in Essex, Lancashire, Warwickshire, and Perthshire.[9]

History

Most sources attest that "Gardner" is an occupational surname from Middle English meaning "gardener", derived from the Old Norman word gardinier (French: jardinier).[7][10] Some onomasticians attest an earlier origin from the Anglo-Saxon period attributed to the Old English word gar-dyn (meaning "warrior" or "one who bears arms"), a term whose roots are shared with the Gaelic word gairden ("enclosed or fortified place").[11][3] In spite of the latter, the Gaelic form of the surname used in Ireland following the Norman Conquest of England was Mac Gairnéir ("gardener").[12]

There is a tradition[11] held by some of the descendants of the Crusader William Gardiner (son of Benoni), son of George of Newport, that William won his crest at Acre in 1191, by chopping through the shoulder of a Saracen who was about to kill Richard Coeur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart, hence the Saracen's head on the coat of arms.

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