Popularity of the name Gary, 1880–2025
Gary was at its most popular in 1951, when 38,160 boys were given the name: about 1 in 49 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #10. In 2025, 201 boys were named Gary, ranking #1,073. In all, Social Security counts 902,152 boys named Gary since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,286 girls named Gary.
- Peak year
- 1951
- Rank in 1951
- #10
- Babies in 1951
- 38,160
- Rank in 2025
- #1,073
- Total since 1880
- 902,152
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #581 in 2015 to #1,073 in 2025: 479 boys got it in 2015, and 201 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1950s, when 329,933 boys were named Gary, #12 for the decade. It ranked #823 in the 1880s and #981 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 6 in 1880 (#809), 9 in 1900 (#902), 74 in 1920 (#766), 12,573 in 1940 (#19), 21,693 in 1960 (#22), 5,037 in 1980 (#63), 1,168 in 2000 (#275) and 288 in 2020 (#806).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 38,754, in 1952. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 1952 than for 1951, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #9, first reached in 1954.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Gary, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 6 | #809 |
| 1881 | 6 | #781 |
| 1882 | 10 | #611 |
| 1884 | 5 | #971 |
| 1885 | 7 | #765 |
| 1886 | 7 | #758 |
| 1887 | 7 | #752 |
| 1888 | 6 | #917 |
| 1890 | 11 | #603 |
| 1891 | 6 | #841 |
| 1892 | 15 | #525 |
| 1893 | 7 | #836 |
| 1894 | 10 | #668 |
| 1895 | 12 | #609 |
| 1896 | 13 | #592 |
| 1897 | 13 | #584 |
| 1898 | 7 | #885 |
| 1899 | 8 | #786 |
| 1900 | 9 | #902 |
| 1901 | 10 | #683 |
| 1902 | 18 | #507 |
| 1903 | 8 | #846 |
| 1904 | 11 | #723 |
| 1905 | 16 | #592 |
| 1906 | 16 | #590 |
| 1907 | 16 | #634 |
| 1908 | 26 | #489 |
| 1909 | 12 | #840 |
| 1910 | 16 | #755 |
| 1911 | 25 | #605 |
| 1912 | 44 | #622 |
| 1913 | 40 | #734 |
| 1914 | 59 | #658 |
| 1915 | 78 | #657 |
| 1916 | 72 | #698 |
| 1917 | 72 | #723 |
| 1918 | 74 | #748 |
| 1919 | 82 | #686 |
| 1920 | 74 | #766 |
| 1921 | 86 | #698 |
| 1922 | 73 | #780 |
| 1923 | 85 | #701 |
| 1924 | 84 | #722 |
| 1925 | 115 | #585 |
| 1926 | 104 | #614 |
| 1927 | 130 | #541 |
| 1928 | 227 | #395 |
| 1929 | 537 | #234 |
| 1930 | 713 | #194 |
| 1931 | 990 | #153 |
| 1932 | 1,295 | #136 |
| 1933 | 2,254 | #80 |
| 1934 | 3,354 | #60 |
| 1935 | 4,490 | #44 |
| 1936 | 5,192 | #38 |
| 1937 | 6,763 | #29 |
| 1938 | 8,861 | #22 |
| 1939 | 9,684 | #21 |
| 1940 | 12,573 | #19 |
| 1941 | 14,568 | #19 |
| 1942 | 17,068 | #18 |
| 1943 | 17,868 | #16 |
| 1944 | 20,058 | #15 |
| 1945 | 21,345 | #13 |
| 1946 | 26,931 | #12 |
| 1947 | 30,029 | #12 |
| 1948 | 28,397 | #12 |
| 1949 | 28,935 | #12 |
| 1950 | 33,737 | #10 |
| 1951 | 38,160 | #10 |
| 1952 | 38,754 | #10 |
| 1953 | 36,967 | #10 |
| 1954 | 37,920 | #9 |
| 1955 | 34,433 | #12 |
| 1956 | 31,842 | #13 |
| 1957 | 29,530 | #13 |
| 1958 | 25,287 | #17 |
| 1959 | 23,303 | #20 |
| 1960 | 21,693 | #22 |
| 1961 | 22,174 | #21 |
| 1962 | 20,884 | #22 |
| 1963 | 18,929 | #24 |
| 1964 | 17,206 | #26 |
| 1965 | 15,259 | #27 |
| 1966 | 14,155 | #28 |
| 1967 | 12,616 | #32 |
| 1968 | 11,973 | #32 |
| 1969 | 11,142 | #35 |
| 1970 | 10,716 | #35 |
| 1971 | 9,190 | #38 |
| 1972 | 7,758 | #41 |
| 1973 | 6,851 | #44 |
| 1974 | 6,444 | #48 |
| 1975 | 6,114 | #50 |
| 1976 | 5,592 | #52 |
| 1977 | 5,447 | #58 |
| 1978 | 5,111 | #60 |
| 1979 | 5,038 | #59 |
| 1980 | 5,037 | #63 |
| 1981 | 4,946 | #62 |
| 1982 | 4,642 | #64 |
| 1983 | 4,266 | #68 |
| 1984 | 3,951 | #76 |
| 1985 | 3,812 | #82 |
| 1986 | 3,719 | #84 |
| 1987 | 3,486 | #87 |
| 1988 | 3,244 | #100 |
| 1989 | 3,127 | #106 |
| 1990 | 3,069 | #114 |
| 1991 | 2,677 | #124 |
| 1992 | 2,393 | #139 |
| 1993 | 2,064 | #156 |
| 1994 | 1,898 | #167 |
| 1995 | 1,625 | #190 |
| 1996 | 1,543 | #201 |
| 1997 | 1,327 | #232 |
| 1998 | 1,345 | #234 |
| 1999 | 1,253 | #251 |
| 2000 | 1,168 | #275 |
| 2001 | 1,013 | #294 |
| 2002 | 1,043 | #285 |
| 2003 | 912 | #323 |
| 2004 | 925 | #326 |
| 2005 | 879 | #338 |
| 2006 | 870 | #349 |
| 2007 | 779 | #388 |
| 2008 | 679 | #427 |
| 2009 | 611 | #452 |
| 2010 | 547 | #475 |
| 2011 | 527 | #495 |
| 2012 | 492 | #530 |
| 2013 | 446 | #578 |
| 2014 | 493 | #561 |
| 2015 | 479 | #581 |
| 2016 | 444 | #606 |
| 2017 | 407 | #637 |
| 2018 | 374 | #671 |
| 2019 | 303 | #774 |
| 2020 | 288 | #806 |
| 2021 | 253 | #907 |
| 2022 | 237 | #956 |
| 2023 | 203 | #1,066 |
| 2024 | 187 | #1,133 |
| 2025 | 201 | #1,073 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.