How popular is the baby name Gary in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Gary.

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Popularity of the baby name Gary


Posts that mention the name Gary

Baby names from Pullman cars?

train engine

Years ago I posted about Livonia, a baby both born on and named after a Pullman car. Recently I wondered: What other Pullman car names would have made good baby names?

So I downloaded a big spreadsheet of over 12,000 Pullman car names from The Pullman Project and was slightly surprised to see that thousands of them could have been baby names, if we allow for the splitting of compound car names (like Fort Miley, Glen Norman, Meredith College, and West Willow).

Here are a handful of examples. On the left are relatively common/familiar names, and on the right are some unexpected choices.

Alana, Archer, ArnoldAdriatha, Arundel, Arvonia
Baxter, Becket, BradleyBantry, Bellonia, Besco
Calvin, Catalina, ClydeCadesia, Clarnie, Clymer
Dana, Deborah, DwightDarlow, Dathema, Dodona
Edith, Eileen, ElmoEdminster, Emalinda, Etherley
Finley, Flavia, FloydFithian, Flaxton, Florilla
Gary, Georgette, GraysonGavarnie, Gilia, Gloxinia
Harper, Harriet, HectorHarista, Humela, Hythe
Iona, Isabella, IvanIrvona, Isleta, Ixion
Jessica, Jordan, JuliaJacelia, Jathniel, Justitia
Kara, Keith, KennethKeinath, Kenia, Kittson
Laurel, Lewis, LindenLauveta, Leolyn, Lysander
Madison, Marco, MaudeMardonia, Mayence, Morganza
Nicola, Noel, NoraNarinda, Nasby, Norlina
Olivia, Omar, OtisOaklyn, Olanda, Oxus
Parker, Perry, PhilippaPenlyn, Pipila, Pixley
QuincyQuarren
Rebecca, Riley, RonaldRexis, Risley, Ruxton
Sarah, Scott, SusanneSalphrona, Sarver, Sibley
Thora, Tracy, TylerTascott, Tilden, Tisonia
Vanessa, Vernon, VictoriaVarick, Vinora, Vivita
Wesley, Wilson, WrenWelby, Wescott, Wexford

Which of the names above do you like best?

Image: Adapted from O&W Engine #143 (public domain)

Five-name Friday: Boy name in honor of Gary

You’re at the supermarket, in the chocolate aisle, picking out some Valentine’s Day goodies to give to your co-workers next week. You’re also chatting with a fellow shopper who’s looking for a big box of chocolates for his wife. He seems pretty excited about something. He says:

We just found out we are having a boy and would love to name him after my dad, but we don’t like the name Gary! What are good alternatives?

You congratulate him, and though you could potentially give him dozens of ideas on the spot, you decide to stay focused and stick to a total of five baby name suggestions.

But here’s the fun part: Instead of blurting out the first five names you come up with (which is what you’d be forced to do in real life) you get to press a magical “pause” button, brainstorm for a bit, and then “unpause” the scenario to offer her the best five names you can think of.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you brainstorm:

  • Be independent. Decide on your five names before looking at anyone else’s five names.
  • Be sincere. Would you honestly suggest these particular baby names out loud to a stranger in a supermarket?
  • Five names only! All names beyond the first five in your comment will be either deleted or replaced with nonsense words.

Finally, here’s the request again:

We just found out we are having a boy and would love to name him after my dad, but we don’t like the name Gary! What are good alternatives?

Which five baby names are you going to suggest?

Baby born in England, named after entire soccer team (1992)

soccer game

In 1992, Leeds United F.C. superfans Jeanne and Andrew Cazaux welcomed a baby boy. They named him “Dominic Andrew Lukic Newsome Fairclough Whyte Dorigo McAllister Batty Strachan Speed Chapman Cantona Cazaux” after the following Leeds players:

  • John Lukic
  • Jon Newsome
  • Chris Fairclough
  • Chris Whyte
  • Tony Dorigo
  • Gary McAllister
  • David Batty
  • Gordon Strachan
  • Gary Speed
  • Lee Chapman
  • Eric Cantona

So which team does Dominic root for these days? Arsenal. “I think I chose Arsenal mainly to rebel,” he said. “I was only about eight years old and it was just one of those things you do to go against your parents. They were disappointed but said that it was my choice.”

Dominic isn’t the only person out there named after a soccer team, believe it or not. There are several others, including Jensen Jay Alexander Bikey Carlisle Duff Elliot Fox Iwelumo Marney Mears Paterson Thompson Wallace Preston, who was named after 14 Burnley F.C. players.

Source: So what would you do if your parents named you after the entire Leeds United team?

Image: Adapted from Portugal 2-3 Denmark, Football by José Goulão under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Does the name Gary need saving?

Back in September, Garry Snow of Canada was in the news. Why? Because he opened the twitter account @SaveNameGary. (Yes, really.)

He launched it “because he says his name is on the verge of extinction.”

Then, in mid-October, a couple in the UK were in the news. Why? Because they decided to name their baby Gary. (Again: Yes, really.)

The father said that one “reason we picked the name is because it’s going extinct.” Something tells me this isn’t the main reason, though, as the baby’s late maternal grandfather was also named Gary.

All of this extinction-talk is ridiculous, of course. There’s no such thing as “extinction” when it comes to baby names. Names that have died out can be resurrected at any time. This isn’t the case for living species. (Not yet, anyway.)

That said…what do you think of the name Gary? Would you like to see it make a comeback? In the U.S., it’s currently ranked 560th (between Vihaan and Bowen).

Sources: Save the name Gary campaign started by Calgary man, Does this look like a Gary to you?