Gareth
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Meaning
gentle (Welsh, popularized by Arthurian legend); famously borne by Gareth Bale
The story
Gareth rides in from Arthurian legend: in Thomas Malory's telling, Sir Gareth was the young nobleman who hid his identity to labor in Camelot's kitchens before proving himself a knight, and the name is traditionally tied to a Welsh word for gentleness. For centuries it remained mostly Welsh, quietly beloved at home and little known beyond. Its most famous modern bearer kept faith with that homeland: Gareth Bale, the Welsh winger whose world-record move to Real Madrid brought five Champions League titles, including an overhead kick in the 2018 final that stands among the competition's most spectacular goals. In American records Gareth has kept a low, steady presence for roughly a century without ever becoming common, showing a modest lift in recent decades. Gentle by meaning and knightly by story, it wears both inheritances lightly.
How popular is Gareth around the world?
In the United States, 289 babies were named Gareth between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 7 registrations of Gareth in 2022.
Gareth is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Chile, Canada, England and Wales, Argentina and Spain.
United States
1 in 75,000
In the United States, 289 babies were named Gareth between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gareth peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 17,000
In Mexico City, there were 7 registrations of Gareth in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 45,000
In Chile, 4 boys were registered as Gareth in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Canada
1 in 52,000
In Canada, 7 boys named Gareth were born in 2024, ranked 2,550th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 98,000
In England and Wales, 6 boys named Gareth were born in 2025, ranked 3,256th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
1 in 170,000
In Argentina, 4 newborns were given the name Gareth in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 440,000
In Spain, 101 residents are named Gareth, ranked 8,197th among men, with a mean age of 29.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 1996
Gareth is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 2021
Gareth is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2002
Gareth is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2023
Gareth is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2015
Gareth is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Gareth
Most people given the name Gareth in the United States were born between 1970 and 2019. The Gareth you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Gareth deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Gareth truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Gareth fits with your family’s names and surname.
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