NamesBoyG › Gary
Boy name

Gary

/ˈɡɛɹi/ · 100% boys · 201 born in 2025

Gary has been given to about 905,438 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1952, which makes it a midcentury name.

Meaning
Origin
Syllables2
Pronunciation/ˈɡɛɹi/
Nicknames
Living in the US≈ 692,195
Median age today70 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Gary per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandIrelandFranceeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1952 · 38,839
  • Born in 2025201
  • All time905,438
  • England & Wales, 20256

How popular is Gary?

Its best year was 1952, when 38,839 babies were given the name, ranking 10th. The typical living American called Gary is about 70 years old today. It is relatively most common in Missouri, where it accounts for 0.02% of births.

Names that sound like Gary

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Garry0.96
  2. Cary0.81
  3. Larry0.78
  4. Harry0.78
  5. Barry0.78
  6. Grady0.64
  7. Gerry0.63
  8. Landry0.62

Middle names for Gary

Ranked by flow score
  1. Gary John0.77
  2. Gary Lee0.77
  3. Gary Dean0.76
  4. Gary Bryce0.76
  5. Gary Ross0.76
  6. Gary Quinn0.76

Sibling names for Gary

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Dennisbrother · 0.98
  2. Ronaldbrother · 0.96
  3. Brucebrother · 0.94
  4. Bonniesister · 0.91
  5. Dianasister · 0.89
  6. Janesister · 0.87

Where Gary is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state
  1. Missouri0.02%
  2. Minnesota0.01%
  3. Michigan0.01%
  4. Tennessee0.01%
  5. Indiana0.01%

With a common surname

Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
  1. Gary Anderson0.74
  2. Gary White0.72
  3. Gary Reyes0.72
  4. Gary Nguyen0.72
  5. Gary Moore0.72
  6. Gary Lee0.72

How to read these numbers

Every score on this page is explained
  1. Phonetic similarity0–1
  2. Middle-name flow0–1
  3. Sibling fit0–1
  4. Living population estimatemethod
  5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Sources for Gary

Every figure on this page is public record
  1. United States1880–2025
  2. England & Wales1996–2025
  3. Scotland1974–2020
  4. Ireland1998–2019
  5. France1900–2025
  6. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Gary across America

Share of 2025 births in each state. Darker means more common.
ME
WA
VT
NH
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
CA
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
DC
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
SC
AK
TX
GA
FL
HI
raremost common

Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.