Garth (name)
A garth is an enclosed quadrangle or yard, especially one surrounded by a cloister (Middle English; Old Norse garþr, garðr; akin to Anglo-Saxon geard). This led to the word being given as a last name to people who worked in or near a garden. [1] Later it came to be used as a first name.
It is also possible that the name Garth comes from the Welsh name 'Gareth', Gareth [ˈɡarɛθ] is a Welsh masculine given name of uncertain meaning. It first appeared in this form in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, in which it belonged to Sir Gareth, a brother of Gawain and one of the Knights of the Round Table. Malory based it on Gahariet, a name found in French Arthurian texts; it may have a Welsh origin, perhaps connected with the name Geraint, or the word gwaredd, meaning "gentleness". It is particularly popular in Wales, and Gary is sometimes taken as a pet form of it.
Given name or nickname
- Garth Brooks, top-selling American country music artist
- Garth Christian, English nature writer
- Garth Crooks, former Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur footballer
- Garth Drabinsky, former Canadian film and theatrical producer and entrepreneur
- Garth Ennis, Irish comics writer
- Garth Hound, San Francisco based electronic musician
- Garth Hudson, Canadian organist for rock group The Band
- Garth Jennings, film director in "Hammer & Tongs" team
- Graham Garth McKenzie (born 1941), former Australian and Western Australian cricketer
- Garth Nix, Australian fantasy author
- Garth Richardson, Music producer
- Garth Saloner (born c. 1955), South African-born American economist
- Garth Snow, retired ice hockey goaltender
- Hon. Garth Turner, Canadian MP for Halton (1988-93 & 2006-08)
- Garth Williams, American children's book illustrator
- Garth Tander, Australian racing driver
Fictional characters
- Garth of Izar, in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy"
- Garth (Shannara), in The Heritage of Shannara series by Terry Brooks
- Garth (comics), a DC Comics superhero known as Aqualad and Tempest
- Garth Algar, a main character from the skit and movie series Wayne's World
- Garth Marenghi, a fictional horror author
- Garth Ranzz, also known as Lightning Lad or Live Wire, in DC Comics' Legion of Superheroes
- Garth (comic strip), hero of long-running British newspaper strip, in the 1970s drawn by Frank Bellamy and Martin Asbury
- Garth, the Hero of Will from Fable (video game series)
- Garth Fitzgerald IV, from the TV series Supernatural
- Garth, an anthropomorphic wolf from the animated film series Alpha and Omega
Surname
- Brian Garth (born 1979), American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, sound engineer and producer
- Charles Garth (c. 1734–1784), British Member of Parliament, British Crown Agent for South Carolina, Georgia and briefly Maryland
- Jennie Garth (born 1972), American Beverly Hills, 90210 actress
- Jimmy Garth (1922–1972), Scottish footballer
- John Garth (1701–1764), British politician
- John Garth (composer) (1721–1810), English composer
- Lakita Garth, African-American advocate of sexual abstinence, public speaker and author
- Leonard I. Garth (1921-2016), American judge
- Richard Garth (1820–1903), Chief Justice of Bengal and Privy Counsellor
- Samuel Garth (1661–1719), British physician
- Thomas Garth (British Army officer) (1744–1829), British Army general, chief equerry to George III
- Thomas Garth (Royal Navy) (died 1841), British Royal Navy captain