Holding steady.
Popularity of Garey since 1931
Babies named Garey per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1952, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Garey's real moment was 1945.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 103 |
| 1940s | 381 |
| 1950s | 397 |
| 1960s | 202 |
| 1970s | 183 |
| 1980s | 115 |
| 1990s | 53 |
| 2000s | 17 |
| 2010s | 6 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Garey is a variant spelling of the classic mid-20th-century favorite Gary. The name first appeared in U.S. records in 1931, but its peak year came in 1945, when it reached its highest recorded usage. Since then, its trajectory has remained stable but low, and it has not ranked in the top 1000 in recent decades. The name's pronunciation and style align with other two-syllable 'y'-ending names like Larry and Terry that were popular for boys born in the 1940s and 1950s. While Gary was a top 20 name for many years, Garey has always remained a much rarer alternate spelling, likely adopted by families who wanted a distinctive twist on a familiar name.
Garey is a variant spelling of Gary, itself a short form of names such as Gerald or Gerard, derived from Old German elements ger ('spear') and walt ('rule') or hard ('brave, hardy'). The name Gary saw a significant rise in popularity in the English-speaking world during the mid-20th century, particularly in the United States, associated with actor Gary Cooper.
Nicknames & variants
Sibling names for Garey
Names that share Garey's style, for a brother or sister.
