Garrison

Meaning: (Spear Fortified Town, 'From Garriston; Son of Garret, Son of Gary'. The first name is derived from the surname, itself possibly from a place name from Garriston in North Yorkshire, or else originally bestowed for a son of someone named Garret or Gary. It was popularized in the USA by the fame of the US anti-slavery campaigner William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), This ancient surname is of German and French pre 7th century origins. It derives from either of the popular personal names Gerard or Gerald. "Gerard" comprises the elements "gari" meaning a spear, and "hard" - brave, whilst "Gerald" has the same prefix of "gari", but the suffix is from "wald", meaning to rule. This type of compound name with its echoes of tough living and yet compliance with authority, is very typical of the period in history known as "The dark ages" Later after the 11th century there was a revival in Christian belief, and "names" often became biblical, through association with the crusades. The popularity of Gerard and Gerald was such as to ensure their survival into, and beyond the introduction of surnnames in the 12th century. Nobody is quite sure how many surnames emanate from Gerald and Gerard, but it is known to exceed two hundred, and for examples to be found in almost every European country. These spellings range from Garratt, Gerhard, Garred, and Jarrelt, to Gheraldi, Giraudot, Gilardengo and Gerrelts. Early examples include in England, Henry Jerard in the county of Essex in 1284, and in Germany, Burkhart Gerhart, given as being a burgher of the town of Heilbronn, in the year 1293. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere in the world is believed to be that of John Gerard, which was dated 1230, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Somerset, England. This was during the reign of King Henry 111rd, 1216 - 1272. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.)

Origin: (Old English, Germanic, French)

Pronunciation: (GAR-i-sən, GEHR
-Rih-SahN)

Gender: Male, Possibly Uni-Sex

I saw Garrison as the name of a character on a Disney TV series when I was channel surfing and landed on Disney for a minute. The other character said his name and I was like that’s a cool name and one I haven’t added to my blog before. Though this is another name I tend to see as a last name rather than a first name just as I did with Donovan *see on list of posts*. Garrison has a strong meaning and an interesting long history of use which makes this a name fitted for many different genres and eras. Garrison is a far handsomer name than what it comes from Gary, Garrett, Gerard and Gerald. As someone pointed out and I agree this name would go well as a sibling name with other names such as Donovan *see on list of posts* and Flannigan *see on list of posts in June 2016*. I think Garrison sounds like it would fit a tough handsome take no prisoners like character. But then I can see a nerdy character being names this, so I’m conflicted as to where I could really see this but no matter where it’s put I would like to see it a tad bit more.