I agree the "garf" sound by itself is unattractive...but I think that sound's probably part of why I'm fond of the name, as well...
I realized yesterday after posting this, (considering the combo that initially got me thinking about it was
Solomon Garfield), that somewhere in the back of my mind,
Garfield vaguely reminds me of Garfunkel (as in
Simon & Garfunkel).