Garry
Garry was the 5949th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 15 babies. Its best year was 1954, when it ranked 138th with 2,218 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,935 places. More babies were named Garry in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Gary) spear (from names in Gar-/Ger-) · English, Germanic
- Rank in 2025
- #5,949 boys, down 1,193 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 15boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19542,218 babies
- Total since 1880
- 47,849babies recorded
What does the name Garry mean?
Garry is a spelling of Gary, pronounced the same way, so it shares Gary's meaning and origin.
Gary is a medieval short form of Germanic names beginning with gari or geri 'spear', such as Gerard and Garrett, as Wiktionary notes; it can also be short for Gareth. Wiktionary attributes its 20th-century popularity to the American actor Gary Cooper (born Frank Cooper), who took his stage name from Gary, Indiana, a city named after the steel executive Elbert Gary.
gēr / gari (Old High German, “spear”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Garry, Gerard, Garrett, Gareth.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean warrior.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Gary', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Gerald', DMNES (Durham University)
Garry popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 179 since 1934.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,949 | 15 |
| 2020 | #4,756 | 20 |
| 2010 | #3,563 | 30 |
| 2000 | #1,421 | 87 |
| 1990 | #770 | 174 |
| 1980 | #478 | 309 |
| 1970 | #377 | 463 |
| 1960 | #225 | 1,235 |
| 1950 | #164 | 1,534 |
| 1940 | #222 | 557 |
| 1930 | #817 | 63 |
| 1920 | #1,398 | 28 |
| 1910 | #1,681 | 5 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | #856 | 6 |
How popular is Garry, counting every spelling?
Garry is a spelling of Gary, a name family that ranked #983 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #5,949 for Garry on its own. Together these spellings went to 216 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gary | 201 | #1,073 | 1,081 |
| Garry | 15 | #5,949 | 91 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Garry?
15 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Garry (0.00 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Garry born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 554 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Garry.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Garry?
About 31,200 people born in the US named Garry are alive today, with a median age of 68; half are between 56 and 74. That makes Garry a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Garry: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Garry, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Garry
What does Garry mean?
Garry is a spelling of Gary, which means “spear (from names in Gar-/Ger-)” (English, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Garry?
Garry was the 5949th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 15 babies. Its best year was 1954, when it ranked 138th with 2,218 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,935 places. More babies were named Garry in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Garry a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Garry in the US.