Gardner

Gardner is one of those surnames that has occasionally been used as a given name, most often as the middle or second middle name in honor of the mother's maiden name. (Did you get all that?) The meaning of the name is probably, unsurprisingly, "gardener," and denoted the occupation of the bearer. Another possible meaning and origin of the surname however, is that it is derived from the Saxon words "gar," meaning weapon, and "dyn," meaning "sound" or "alarm," but where the "er" on the end came from in that case remains a mystery. In any case, its use as a given name has been rare in the past. With the rise in the use of surnames as first names though, and the continuing search for something that sounds original yet trendy, Gardner is probably a name just waiting to be discovered.