first name
GARY
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 656,593 people named Gary, 87.5% reported their origin as White, 6.1% as Black and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are male (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Gary peaked in 1952, when 38,839 babies got the name.
At least 905,438 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Gary by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #20. The largest share of babies named Gary, 60.4%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Gary is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Gary has been most common in Montana (1.7×), Iowa (1.7×), and Wyoming (1.7×), and least common in South Carolina (0.52×).
900,306 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Gary
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Gary, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Gary ranks #1,710 of 156,621, with 20,528 people. See Gary as a last name
Compare
🔎 GARY 🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 460 Americans More common than 77.3% of us Peaked in 1952 with 38,839 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/gary/