Gary is likely derived from the
Norman French name Geiree, itself descended from the
Old Frankish[1] name Geiserich, composed of two elements: “*gaizaz” (spear, pike, javelin) plus “*rīkijaz” (kingly, royal).[2][3][4]
A variant form of Gary is Garry, the spelling of which has been influenced by that of Barry. An informal
pet form of Gary is Gaz,[2][3] a variant of which is Gazza.[2]
A given name associated with Gary and Garry is Garrison; the latter is sometimes borne by sons of men bearing the former names.[3][5] The Gaelic Garaidh is also associated with Gary.[3]
Because of the "Gare" sound at the beginning in
American English, Gary is sometimes incorrectly thought to be a diminutive of
Garrett, although the names are unrelated.
History
The usage of Gary as a given name is intertwined with the success of the actor
Gary Cooper (1901–1961). The American industrialist
Elbert Henry Gary left his name to the town of
Gary, Indiana. The theatrical agent Nan Collins, who lived in this town, suggested the name Gary to Frank Cooper, one of her clients, who went on to have a successful film career as Gary Cooper. The name's popularity was assisted in the later 20th century by the prominence of cricketer
Gary Sobers (whose first name was a pet form of Garfield),[2][3] footballer
Gary Lineker,[2] and musician
Gary Glitter (originally Paul Gadd).[3]
According to the
Social Security Administration,[6]Gary was relatively rare as a given name in the 1900–1920s period (e.g., in the 1910s it was the 677th most frequent name, given to less than 0.01% of the babies born in that decade). In the 1930s, 0.38% of the male babies in the United States were named Gary, and in the 1950s as many as 1.54% of them were given this name, making it the 12th most popular given name of that decade. The name reached its record popularity (9th place) in 1954, the year after Cooper received his Best Actor
Academy Award for his leading role in High Noon. Since then, the popularity of Gary as a given name in the United States has been on a slow but steady decline. In the 1990s, the name was the 170th most popular, given to around 0.1% of newborn males.
In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1960s (it was the 16th most popular male name in 1964) and still ranked as high as 26th in 1984, but by the 1990s had fallen out of the top 100.[7] In 2013, only 28 babies born in England and Wales were named Gary, leading Garys to be labeled a "dying breed".[8]
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Gary is likely derived from the
Norman French name Geiree, itself descended from the
Old Frankish[1] name Geiserich, composed of two elements: “*gaizaz” (spear, pike, javelin) plus “*rīkijaz” (kingly, royal).[2][3][4]
A variant form of Gary is Garry, the spelling of which has been influenced by that of Barry. An informal
pet form of Gary is Gaz,[2][3] a variant of which is Gazza.[2]
A given name associated with Gary and Garry is Garrison; the latter is sometimes borne by sons of men bearing the former names.[3][5] The Gaelic Garaidh is also associated with Gary.[3]
Because of the "Gare" sound at the beginning in
American English, Gary is sometimes incorrectly thought to be a diminutive of
Garrett, although the names are unrelated.
History
The usage of Gary as a given name is intertwined with the success of the actor
Gary Cooper (1901–1961). The American industrialist
Elbert Henry Gary left his name to the town of
Gary, Indiana. The theatrical agent Nan Collins, who lived in this town, suggested the name Gary to Frank Cooper, one of her clients, who went on to have a successful film career as Gary Cooper. The name's popularity was assisted in the later 20th century by the prominence of cricketer
Gary Sobers (whose first name was a pet form of Garfield),[2][3] footballer
Gary Lineker,[2] and musician
Gary Glitter (originally Paul Gadd).[3]
According to the
Social Security Administration,[6]Gary was relatively rare as a given name in the 1900–1920s period (e.g., in the 1910s it was the 677th most frequent name, given to less than 0.01% of the babies born in that decade). In the 1930s, 0.38% of the male babies in the United States were named Gary, and in the 1950s as many as 1.54% of them were given this name, making it the 12th most popular given name of that decade. The name reached its record popularity (9th place) in 1954, the year after Cooper received his Best Actor
Academy Award for his leading role in High Noon. Since then, the popularity of Gary as a given name in the United States has been on a slow but steady decline. In the 1990s, the name was the 170th most popular, given to around 0.1% of newborn males.
In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1960s (it was the 16th most popular male name in 1964) and still ranked as high as 26th in 1984, but by the 1990s had fallen out of the top 100.[7] In 2013, only 28 babies born in England and Wales were named Gary, leading Garys to be labeled a "dying breed".[8]
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.