Gary (given name)
Gary and Garry are English language masculine given names.
Contents
Etymology
Gary is likely derived from compound names of Germanic origin, composed of the element gar ("spear").[1][2][3]
Although the names Gary and Gareth are etymologically unrelated, the former being of Germanic origin and the latter of Celtic origin, Gary is sometimes taken as a pet form of Gareth.[1][2] In fact, the popularity of Gareth has been influenced by the popularity of Gary.[2] A variant form of Gary is Garry, the spelling of which has been influenced by that of Barry. An informal pet form of Gary is Gaz,[1][2] a variant of which is Gazza.[1]
A given name associated with Gary and Garry is Garrison; the latter is sometimes borne by sons of men bearing the former names.[2][4] The Gaelic Garaidh is also associated with Gary.[2]
History
The usage of Gary as a given name is intertwined with the success of the actor Gary Cooper (originally Frank Cooper). The American industrialist Elbert Henry Gary left his name to the town of Gary, Indiana. The theatrical agent Nan Collins, who lived in this town, suggested the name Gary to Frank Cooper, one of her clients. Cooper thus adopted the name Gary and enjoyed a successful film career (as Gary Cooper) which caused the name to become popular. The name's popularity was further maintained by the popularity of cricketer Gary Sobers (whose first name was actually a pet form of Garfield),[1][2] footballer Gary Lineker (b. 1960),[1] and musician Gary Glitter (originally Paul Gadd).[2]
According to the Social Security Administration,[5] Gary was relatively rare as a given name in the 1900-1920s period (e.g., in the 1910s it was the 677th most frequent name, given to less than 0.01% of the babies born in that decade). In the 1930s, 0.38% of the male babies in the United States were named Gary, and in the 1950s as many as 1.54% of the male babies were given this name, making it the 12th most popular given name of that decade.
The name Gary reached its record popularity (9th place) in 1954, the year after Gary Cooper received his Best Actor Academy Award for his leading role in High Noon. Since then, the popularity of Gary as a given name in the United States has been on a very slow, but steady decline. In the 1990s, this name was the 170th most popular, given to around 0.1% of newborn males.
In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1960s (it was the 16th most popular male name in 1964) and still ranked as high as 26th in 1984, but by the 1990s had fallen out of the top 100.[6]
People with the given name Gary
Actors
- Gary Cole, American television and film actor
- Gary Busey, American actor
- Gary Coleman, American actor
- Gary Cooper, American film actor
- Gary Dourdan, American actor
- Gary Lucy, British actor
- Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician
- Gary Ross, American writer, director, actor
- Gary Sinise, American actor, film director, musician
- Gary Collins (actor), American television and film actor
Engineers
- Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, microcomputer entrepreneur
- Gary McKinnon, Scottish systems administrator, hacker
Musicians
- Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter
- Gary Brooker, English singer, songwriter, pianist
- Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist
- Gary Cherone, American rock singer-songwriter
- Gary Kemp, British musician
- Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish musician, songwriter
- Gary Lux, Austrian singer (Eurovision 1985 and 1987)
- Gary Moore, Northern Irish musician
- Gary Numan, English singer, composer, musician
- Gary Thain, New Zealand rock bassist
- Gary Richrath, American rock guitarist
- Gary Garcia, American musician, songwriter
- Gary Glitter, English glam rock singer and convicted child molester
- Gary Green, English multi-instrumentalist of Gentle Giant, Three Friends
- Gary Rossington, Guitarist, Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Gary Holt (disambiguation), Thrash metal guitarist, Exodus, Slayer
- Gary Barber, English singer songwriter
Politicians
- Gary Elkins, American politician
- Gary Hart, American politician, lawyer, author, professor, commentator
- Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician
- Gary Locke, American politician
- Gary Painter, Texas sheriff
- Gary M. Polland, American politician, journalist, and talk-show host
- Gary Smith (politician), American politician
Sports
- Gary Anderson (darts player), Scottish darts player
- Gary Bailey, English footballer
- Gary Brackett, American football player
- Gary Bettman, American sports commissioner
- Gary Brabham, Australian racing driver
- Gary Breen, Irish footballer
- Gary Cahill, English footballer
- Gary Carter, American baseball player
- Gary Gillespie, Scottish football player
- Garry Gilliam, American football player
- Gary Greaves, American football player
- Gary Gussman, American football player
- Gary Hall, Jr., American swimmer
- Gary Hocking, Rhodesian motorcycle racer
- Gary Kelly, Irish footballer
- Gary Lineker, English footballer
- Gary McSheffrey, English footballer
- Gary Medel, Chilean football player
- Gary Naysmith, Scottish footballer
- Gary Neville, English footballer
- Gary Paffett, English racing driver
- Gary Payton, American basketball player
- Gary Player, South African golfer
- Garry Ringrose, Irish rugby union player
- Gary Sheffield, American baseball player
- Gary Speed, Welsh footballer and manager
- Gary Stevens, English footballer
- Gary Danielson, American football player
- Gary Moeller, American football coach
Writers
- Gary Gygax, American writer and game designer
- Gary Snyder, American poet
Others
- Gary Arndt, American travel photographer
- Gary Bautell, American military radio broadcaster
- Gary Singh, Pro Rally Driver
- Gary Becker, American economist
- Gary Brolsma, Internet celebrity
- Gary Dell'Abate, American radio producer, television host
- Gary L. Francione, American legal scholar
- Gary Gordon, American military sniper
- Gary Larson, American cartoonist
- Gary Winick, American film director, producer
- Gary Oak, Pokémon researcher
- Gary the Snail, SpongeBob's pet snail on the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants
- Garry Newman, Maker of Garry's Mod
- Gary Hughes,HGV Driver/FA Coach
References
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- ↑ Social Security Administration – Popular Baby Names
- ↑ babynames.co.uk
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