Garrett surname meaning

Garrett is a surname formed from the medieval personal names Gerald and Gerard. Those names came through Norman and French channels from Germanic forms, traditionally analyzed with elements for spear and strength or spear and rule. Garrett, Garret, Garratt, Gerrard, and Jarrett show the spelling changes that occurred as the personal name became a family name. Because Gerald and Gerard were widely used, unrelated families could acquire the surname independently. Parent’s name is the high-confidence catalog type: Garrett preserves a given-name ancestor, while the older Germanic gloss explains the name behind that ancestor rather than proving a particular family line.