boy's name
Gary
GAIR-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 933,290
Northern Ireland
#375
2022 births
Gary is a boy's name that reached the charts by an unusually traceable route: a surname became a steel town in Indiana, the town's name was given to an actor, and the actor made it a first name. It peaked in 1952 with 38,839 births.
- Gary is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1952, when 38,839 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 16,494 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Gary over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 54 |
| 1890s | 102 |
| 1900s | 142 |
| 1910s | 587 |
| 1920s | 1,574 |
| 1930s | 43,816 |
| 1940s | 218,409 |
| 1950s | 330,690 |
| 1960s | 166,727 |
| 1970s | 68,747 |
| 1980s | 40,564 |
| 1990s | 19,266 |
| 2000s | 8,879 |
| 2010s | 4,512 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,369 |
What Gary means
Gary is generally given as spear, from a Germanic element, though it functions as a transferred surname rather than a name chosen for its meaning. The spear reading comes from the surname's own root.
Where Gary comes from
Gary is a surname turned given name, and the chain is documented at every step. The surname derives from a Germanic personal name built on gar, a spear — the same element in Gerald and Gareth. Elbert Henry Gary, a lawyer and the founding chairman of U.S. Steel, gave his surname to Gary, Indiana, the company town founded in 1906. Frank James Cooper, an actor from Montana, was renamed Gary Cooper in 1925 by a casting director who came from that town. Cooper's fame through the 1930s and 40s turned the borrowed town name into one of the most common American boys' names of the mid century, and the curve in our data follows his career closely.
Gary in use
Gary peaked in the United States in 1952, when 38,839 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 671st in Scotland, 1074th in the United States on 201 births, 2039th in France and 3470th in England and Wales, across 933,290 lifetime births. Almost the entire total sits within a forty-year window either side of the peak, which is the signature of a name driven by a single famous bearer rather than by long tradition.
How popular is Gary?
In 2025, Gary was given to 201 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Gary is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Gary
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Gary also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Gary over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Gary in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Gary
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Gary — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Gary
What does the name Gary mean?
Spear, from the Germanic element in the original surname — though it was adopted as a transferred name rather than for its meaning.
Where does the name Gary come from?
From Elbert Gary of U.S. Steel, to the town of Gary, Indiana, to Gary Cooper, who was renamed after it in 1925.
Was Gary Cooper his real name?
No. He was born Frank James Cooper and renamed by a casting director from Gary, Indiana.
How popular is Gary?
1074th in the United States, down from a 1952 peak of 38,839 births.
Is Gary a girl's or a boy's name?
Gary is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Gary?
Gary has 2 syllables.
Is Gary a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Gary currently ranks #671 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.