Cary
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Cary
Cary Grant's debonair image has stood the test of time: he is still rated as one of the most handsome and admired men in Hollywood. Charming, succinct, and witty, Cary (also spelled Carey) was a familiar choice throughout most of the 20th-century, peaking in the 50s and 60s when it made the Top 300. Out of favor since the 90s, could Cary be ready for reconsideration, now that Kerry and Carrie aren't as popular for girls?
Cary for boys#3676 US
Usually considered an anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Ciardha, the name ultimately comes from ciar meaning "black". Other sources occasionally link it to the Welsh Carew, meaning "fort on the hill", to the Irish mac Fiachra meaning "descendant of the crow", to the Byronic karɨd meaning "to love", or to the German Gehring, meaning "spear".
Cary for girls
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 #3676 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #264 in 1966.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #4,561 | 21 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #3,442 | 32 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #3,241 | 35 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #3,526 | 31 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #4,499 | 22 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #2,948 | 41 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #3,938 | 26 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #3,925 | 27 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #3,222 | 37 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #4,475 | 23 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #3,607 | 31 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #3,676 | 30 | — | 0 |
Similar names
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Cary on lists
Famous Carys
- Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach)Boy
English,American actor
- (Ivan Simon) Cary ElwesBoy
English actor
- Cary Eric WilliamsBoy
American football player
- Cary BrothersBoy
American singer,songwriter
- Cary BatesBoy
American comics writer
- (Emmett) Cary MiddlecoffBoy
American pro golfer
- Cary Joji FukunagaBoy
American film director
- CaryBoy
Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japanese,American actor
- Cary HuangBoy
co,creator of the Battle For Dream Island series
Cary in pop culture
- CaryBoy
kid in movie "Super 8"
- Cary AgosBoy
character on TV's "The Good Wife"
- CaryGirl
from "Strike it Rich"