ninan.org

Gary

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~626,700 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,073 among boys
Births in 2025
201 905,438 since 1880
Typical age
68 years, median

Gary popularity over time

Gary rank by birth year, 1880–2025Gary ranked #809 in 1880 and #1,073 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #9, in 1954.#10#100#1,000#1,073best #9 in 195418901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Gary in 1952 than in any other year — 38,839 of them. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Across the record, 56 years put Gary in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #1,073, with 201 births that year. Over ten years the count has fallen 58%. Year on year the rank improved by 60.

Babies named Gary per yearPeaks at 38,839 births in 1952.38,839 in 1952018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Gary?

Roughly 626,700 Garys are alive in the US right now. That is out of 905,438 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Gary?

Half of living Garys are older than 68, half younger. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Gary a mid-century perennial name.

Your Gary

Ages of living people named GaryHalf of living Garys are older than 68 and half younger.median 68020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Gary is most common

Gary is 2.4× as common in Louisiana as it is nationally. Missouri, Georgia and Kentucky follow.

Where Gary is used more than average5 states use the name Gary more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: 1.6× the national rateMOKentucky: 1.6× the national rateKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: 1.6× the national rateTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: 2.4× the national rateLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: 1.6× the national rateGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Gary is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Louisiana 83 2.4×
Missouri 74 1.6×
Georgia 132 1.6×
Kentucky 50 1.6×
Tennessee 88 1.6×

Gary in England and Wales

ONS recorded 6 births named Gary in 2025, ranking it #3,256. That is 40% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Gary comes from

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.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Gary

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Gary Oldman British actor and filmmaker 1958 104
Gary Cooper American actor 1901–1961 96
Gary Lineker English football pundit and former player 1960 89
Gary Sinise American actor 1955 73
Gary Coleman American actor 1968–2010 68
Gary Becker American economist 1930–2014 67
Gary Neville English football pundit and former playe 1975 65
Gary Moore Northern Irish musician 1952–2011 61
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 239 in 1928 to 542 in 1929 — 2.3 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/gary.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).