Gary
Gary was given to 201 boys in 2025, #1,073 among boys’ names; 905,438 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 587,000 Americans named Gary and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (65% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 58 and 75.
Gary is the #40 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gary by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gary mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gary is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s; variant form Garry.” Its etymology gives the sense “spear” (geri).
Medieval short form of Germanic compound names beginning with gari or geri (“spear”), such as Gerard, Garrett, Gerald, or Gerbert. Cognate with the Scottish and Irish name Garaidh. Sometimes also a short form of Gareth. The popularity of the given name in the 20th century is due to the American actor Gary Cooper, whose stage name was invented by his agent, a native of Gary, Indiana.
/ˈɡæɹ.ɪ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gary?
#1,073 among boys’ names, 2025
Gary fell from #581 in 2015 to #1,073 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.25 to 0.12 per 1,000.
38,839 babies in 1952, the peak
Gary peaked in 1952, when 38,839 babies were given it (38,754 boys, #10 among boys’ names). The 201 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 201 | #1,073 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 187 | #1,133 | 0.11 |
| 2023 | 203 | #1,067 | 0.12 |
| 2022 | 237 | #956 | 0.14 |
| 2021 | 253 | #908 | 0.14 |
| 2020 | 288 | #807 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 303 | #774 | 0.17 |
| 2018 | 374 | #671 | 0.21 |
| 2017 | 407 | #637 | 0.22 |
| 2016 | 444 | #606 | 0.23 |
Every recorded year (144)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 479 | #581 | 0.25 |
| 2014 | 493 | #561 | 0.26 |
| 2013 | 446 | #580 | 0.24 |
| 2012 | 492 | #532 | 0.26 |
| 2011 | 527 | #495 | 0.28 |
| 2010 | 547 | #475 | 0.29 |
| 2009 | 611 | #452 | 0.31 |
| 2008 | 679 | #427 | 0.33 |
| 2007 | 779 | #388 | 0.38 |
| 2006 | 870 | #349 | 0.42 |
| 2005 | 879 | #338 | 0.44 |
| 2004 | 925 | #326 | 0.47 |
| 2003 | 912 | #324 | 0.46 |
| 2002 | 1,043 | #285 | 0.54 |
| 2001 | 1,013 | #294 | 0.52 |
| 2000 | 1,168 | #275 | 0.59 |
| 1999 | 1,253 | #251 | 0.65 |
| 1998 | 1,345 | #234 | 0.70 |
| 1997 | 1,327 | #232 | 0.70 |
| 1996 | 1,543 | #201 | 0.81 |
| 1995 | 1,625 | #190 | 0.85 |
| 1994 | 1,898 | #167 | 1.0 |
| 1993 | 2,064 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 1992 | 2,393 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1991 | 2,677 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1990 | 3,069 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1989 | 3,127 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1988 | 3,244 | #100 | 1.7 |
| 1987 | 3,486 | #87 | 1.9 |
| 1986 | 3,719 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1985 | 3,812 | #82 | 2.1 |
| 1984 | 3,951 | #76 | 2.2 |
| 1983 | 4,266 | #68 | 2.4 |
| 1982 | 4,642 | #64 | 2.6 |
| 1981 | 4,946 | #62 | 2.8 |
| 1980 | 5,037 | #63 | 2.8 |
| 1979 | 5,038 | #59 | 2.9 |
| 1978 | 5,111 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 1977 | 5,447 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1976 | 5,592 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1975 | 6,114 | #50 | 3.9 |
| 1974 | 6,444 | #48 | 4.1 |
| 1973 | 6,851 | #44 | 4.4 |
| 1972 | 7,758 | #41 | 4.8 |
| 1971 | 9,190 | #38 | 5.2 |
| 1970 | 10,716 | #35 | 5.8 |
| 1969 | 11,142 | #35 | 6.2 |
| 1968 | 11,973 | #32 | 6.9 |
| 1967 | 12,616 | #32 | 7.2 |
| 1966 | 14,155 | #28 | 7.9 |
| 1965 | 15,259 | #27 | 8.2 |
| 1964 | 17,206 | #26 | 8.6 |
| 1963 | 18,929 | #24 | 9.3 |
| 1962 | 20,884 | #22 | 10.1 |
| 1961 | 22,174 | #21 | 10.4 |
| 1960 | 21,693 | #22 | 10.2 |
| 1959 | 23,303 | #20 | 10.9 |
| 1958 | 25,287 | #17 | 11.9 |
| 1957 | 29,530 | #13 | 13.7 |
| 1956 | 31,842 | #13 | 15.1 |
| 1955 | 34,433 | #12 | 16.7 |
| 1954 | 37,920 | #9 | 18.6 |
| 1953 | 36,967 | #10 | 18.7 |
| 1952 | 38,754 | #10 | 19.9 |
| 1951 | 38,160 | #10 | 20.3 |
| 1950 | 33,737 | #10 | 18.8 |
| 1949 | 28,935 | #12 | 16.3 |
| 1948 | 28,397 | #12 | 16.2 |
| 1947 | 30,029 | #12 | 16.4 |
| 1946 | 26,931 | #12 | 16.6 |
| 1945 | 21,345 | #13 | 15.9 |
| 1944 | 20,058 | #15 | 14.7 |
| 1943 | 17,868 | #16 | 12.5 |
| 1942 | 17,068 | #18 | 12.4 |
| 1941 | 14,568 | #19 | 11.9 |
| 1940 | 12,573 | #19 | 10.8 |
| 1939 | 9,684 | #21 | 8.7 |
| 1938 | 8,861 | #22 | 8.0 |
| 1937 | 6,763 | #29 | 6.3 |
| 1936 | 5,192 | #38 | 5.0 |
| 1935 | 4,490 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1934 | 3,354 | #60 | 3.2 |
| 1933 | 2,254 | #80 | 2.3 |
| 1932 | 1,295 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1931 | 990 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1930 | 713 | #194 | 0.65 |
| 1929 | 537 | #234 | 0.50 |
| 1928 | 227 | #395 | 0.20 |
| 1927 | 130 | #542 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 104 | #615 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 115 | #587 | 0.10 |
| 1924 | 84 | #723 | 0.07 |
| 1923 | 85 | #703 | 0.08 |
| 1922 | 73 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 86 | #699 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 74 | #770 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 82 | #686 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 74 | #749 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 72 | #735 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 72 | #704 | 0.08 |
| 1915 | 78 | #660 | 0.09 |
| 1914 | 59 | #660 | 0.09 |
| 1913 | 40 | #738 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 44 | #629 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 25 | #616 | 0.11 |
| 1910 | 16 | #766 | 0.08 |
| 1909 | 12 | #865 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 26 | #491 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 16 | #645 | 0.11 |
| 1906 | 16 | #599 | 0.12 |
| 1905 | 16 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1904 | 11 | #738 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 8 | #867 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 18 | #514 | 0.15 |
| 1901 | 10 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1900 | 9 | #933 | 0.06 |
| 1899 | 8 | #812 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 7 | #920 | 0.06 |
| 1897 | 13 | #592 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 13 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 12 | #617 | 0.10 |
| 1894 | 10 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 7 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 15 | #530 | 0.12 |
| 1891 | 6 | #885 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 11 | #613 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 6 | #965 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 7 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 7 | #792 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 7 | #794 | 0.06 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,030 | 0.04 |
| 1882 | 10 | #620 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 6 | #812 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 6 | #857 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Gary a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Gary has been given almost only to boys: 3,286 girls in 144 years of records.
Girls and boys named Gary: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gary, and how old are they?
587,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 65% of the 905,438 Americans ever recorded as Gary. The median Gary alive today is 68 years old; half are between 58 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 656,593 people named Gary (828 women and girls, 655,765 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 668,271 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 46,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 354,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 121,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 48,100 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 14,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,280 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Gary born?
The states with the most babies named Gary are California, New York and Ohio, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 77,602 | #1,129 | 1.1× |
| New York | 62,945 | #1,236 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 56,956 | #969 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 49,510 | #946 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 49,269 | #864 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 46,769 | #1,184 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 44,677 | #1,062 | 0.9× |
| Missouri | 29,001 | #537 | 1.3× |
| Wisconsin | 25,416 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Indiana | 25,243 | #993 | 1.0× |
Where Gary is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gary is most over-represented in Kansas: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Gary with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 960,743 babies since 1880, Gary is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 201 of their 366 babies (55%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Gary
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Gary and names like it
- Compare Gary and GarryBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sGary peaked in 1952.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gary since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Gary: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1952The year the most babies were named Gary.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Gary alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.