Gary

Where 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. 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.
— Wiktionary's entry for Gary
  • Germanic
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #809 among boys — 6 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1901
    Gary Cooper born
    American actor
  3. 1954
    Peak, #9
    37,920 babies named Gary — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1958
    Gary Oldman born
    British actor and filmmaker
  5. 1963
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #24.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s; variant form Garry.
Namesakes
  • Gary Oldman · British actor and filmmaker, born 1958
  • Gary Cooper · American actor, 1901–1961
  • Gary Lineker · English football pundit and former player, born 1960
  • Gary Sinise · American actor, born 1955
  • Gary Coleman · American actor, 1968–2010

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.