Gary

Did you know?

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

⭐ Famous Gary

Gary Oldman

British actor and filmmaker (born 1958)

Choose Gary and your child shares a first name with Gary Oldman, a British actor and filmmaker. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Gary, like who?” Gary Oldman's Wikipedia article is available in 104 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Gary Oldman on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 8,496 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Gary, 201 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Gary would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryGary has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Garys, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1954, when it ranked #9. Today it's #1,073, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowGary was 5.1× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 1,682 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 8,496.
• 🍂TrendGary has slipped 267 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,073. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedGary is most popular in Missouri, where it ranks #518, followed by Minnesota (#807) and Michigan (#829). It's in the top 1,000 in 9 states.

About the name Gary

Gary is a boy name of English and German origin. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with G and ending in “-ary”. US birth records list Gary for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 144 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1954, when it ranked #9 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,073, with 201 babies.

Origin:English namesGerman names