Carey

Did you know?

A few things about Carey you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Carey

Carey Mulligan

British actress (born 1985)

Choose Carey and your child shares a first name with Carey Mulligan, a British actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Carey, like who?” Carey Mulligan's Wikipedia article is available in 69 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Carey Mulligan on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Everwest, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 131,579 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Carey, 13 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Carey would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryCarey has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Careys, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1957, when it ranked #353. Today it's #6,446, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowCarey was 2.7× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 49,020 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 131,579.
• 🚀TrendCarey has climbed 174 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #6,446. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.

About the name Carey

Carey is a boy name of Celtic Gaelic, Irish and Latin origin. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with C and ending in “-rey”. US birth records list Carey for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1957, when it ranked #353 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #6,446, with 13 babies.

Origin:Celtic Gaelic namesIrish namesLatin namesWelsh names