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Cary
OriginEnglish, Irish
Meaning"black, dark"
About Cary
More popularly spelled as Carey, this succinct unisex option was popular in the 1960s and -70s, predominantly for boys, though it did appear in the charts for girls in the 60s through to the early 90s. Similar in sound (or style) to Carrie, Kerry, and Cassie, it ultimately comes from the Irish element ciar meaning "dare, black".
Pronounced CARE-ee.
As of October 2026, Cary ranked #15688 in US births in 2024 SSA, peaked at #722 in 1975.
AI-written. Reviewed by Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
US popularity — history
US rank, lower is more popular · SSA data 2014–2025
Actual · SSA
20142025
18802025
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
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Cary on lists
Cary in pop culture
- Cary
from "Strike it Rich"
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