Gary (given name)
Gary and Garry are English language masculine given names.
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Germanic language |
| Meaning | "Spear" |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Garry |
| Variant form(s) | Gareth |
| Short form(s) | Gaz |
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]
Gary is also a popular name in India and is often stylized as Garry or गैरी.[5]
Because of the "Gare" sound at the beginning, Gary is sometimes incorrectly thought to be a diminutive of Garrett, even though the two names are not related in any way.
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,[6] 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.[7]
People
Engineers
- Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, microcomputer entrepreneur
- Gary McKinnon, Scottish systems administrator, hacker
- Garry Newman, Maker of Garry's Mod
Entertainers
- Gary Bautell, American military radio broadcaster
- Gary Busey, American actor
- Gary Cole, American television and film actor
- Gary Coleman, American actor
- Gary Collins (actor), American television and film actor
- Gary Cooper, American film actor
- Gary Dell'Abate, American radio producer, television host
- Gary Dourdan, American actor
- Gary Farmer, Canadian actor
- Gary Lucy, British actor
- Garry Marshall, American television producer
- Garry Moore, American actor and television personality
- Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician
- Gary Ross, American writer, director, actor
- Garry Shandling, American actor and comedian
- Gary Sinise, American actor, film director, musician
- Gary Winick, American film director, producer
Musicians
- Gary Barber, English singer songwriter
- Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter
- Gary Brooker, English singer, songwriter, pianist
- Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist
- Gary Cherone, American rock singer-songwriter
- Gary Garcia, American musician, songwriter
- Gary Glitter, English glam rock singer and convicted child molester
- Gary Green (conductor), an American conductor
- Gary Green (musician), English multi-instrumentalist of Gentle Giant, Three Friends
- Gary M. Green, an American musician and entrepreneur
- Gary Holt (musician), Thrash metal guitarist, Exodus, Slayer
- Gary Kemp, British musician
- Garry Koehler, Australian songwriter
- Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish musician, songwriter
- Gary Lux, Austrian singer (Eurovision 1985 and 1987)
- Gary Moore, Northern Irish musician
- Gary Morris country singer
- Gary Numan, English singer, composer, musician
- Gary Puckett, American singer, front man for the 1960s group, The Union Gap
- Gary Richrath, American rock guitarist
- Gary Rossington, Guitarist, Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Gary Thain, New Zealand rock bassist
- Gary Valenciano, Filipino actor, singer-songwriter, and television host
Politicians
- Gary Condit, California congressman who was briefly a murder suspect
- Gary Doer, Canadian diplomat and politician
- Gary Elkins (Texas politician), American politician
- Gary Hart, American politician, lawyer, author, professor, commentator
- Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician
- Gary Locke, American politician
- Garry McCarthy, former superintendent of the Chicago Police Department
- Gary Painter, Texas sheriff
- Gary Smith (politician), American politician
Sports
- Gary Ablett Jr., Australian rules footballer
- Gary Anderson (darts player), Scottish darts player
- Gary Aramist, Israeli Olympic sport shooter
- Gary Bailey, English footballer
- Gary Balough, former NASCAR Cup Series driver
- Gary Barbaro, American football player
- Gary Bettman, American sports commissioner
- Gary Brabham, Australian racing driver and convicted rapist
- Gary Brackett, American football player
- Gary Breen, Irish footballer
- Gary Cahill, English footballer
- Gary Carter, American baseball player
- Gary Cohen, American baseball commentator
- Gary Cunningham (born 1940/1941), American basketball coach and athletic director
- Gary Danielson, American football player
- Gary Dunn, American football player
- Gary Gillespie, Scottish football player
- Garry Gilliam, American football player
- Gary Greaves, American football player
- Gary Green (American football), an American football player
- Gary Green (baseball), an American baseball player
- Gary Green (baseball owner), an American businessman and minor-league baseball team owner
- Gary Green (ice hockey), a Canadian ice hockey player
- Gary Gussman, American football player
- Gary Hall, Jr., American swimmer
- Gary Hocking, Rhodesian motorcycle racer
- Gary Hogeboom, American football player
- Gary Holt (footballer), a Scottish footballer
- Gary Holt (ice hockey), a Canadian ice hockey player
- Gary Hughes, HGV Driver/FA Coach
- Gary Jennings Jr. (born 1997), American football player
- Garry Kasparov, Russian chess grand master and former world champion
- Gary Kelly, Irish footballer
- Gary Lineker, English footballer
- Gary Maloncon, American basketball player
- Gary McSheffrey, English footballer
- Gary Medel, Chilean football player
- Gary Moeller, American football coach
- 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 M. Stevens, English footballer
- Gary Walker (defensive back), American football player
- Gary Walker (defensive end), American football player
- Gary Zimmerman, American football player
Writers
- Gary Gygax, American writer and game designer
- Gary Larson, American cartoonist
- Gary Snyder, American poet
- Garry Trudeau, Artist and creator of Doonesbury comic strip
Others
- Gary Ridgway, prolific American serial killer and necrophile
- Gary Arndt, American travel photographer
- Gary Becker, American economist
- Gary Born, international lawyer and academic
- Gary Brolsma, Internet celebrity
- Gary Fisher, one of the inventors of the modern mountain bike
- Gary L. Francione, American legal scholar
- Gary Gordon, American military sniper
- Gary Heidnik, American rapist and killer
- Gary, Carrie Fisher's dog
- Gary Murphy, Irish Enterprise Support Technician living in Singapore
Fictional characters
- Gary Oak, Pokémon researcher
- Gary the Snail, SpongeBob's pet snail on the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants
- Gary Chalmers, a superintendent in the animated series The Simpsons.
- Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, main protagonist of the Kingsman film series
- Gary Smith, character from the 2006 video game Bully
- Gary "Roach" Sanderson, protagonist of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Lieutenant Gary “Gaz” Bravo 5, side character in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Gary Windass, Coronation Street character
- Gary the Gadget Guy, a character in the shut down Disney video game Club Penguin
- Gary Goodspeed is character from TBS and Adult Swim series Final Space
References
- Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A dictionary of first names (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 106–107, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
- Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (2003), A dictionary of first names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0198606055
- "Gary", Dictionary.com, retrieved 24 July 2013
- Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A dictionary of first names (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 107, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
- "Garry Name Meaning - Garry meaning, Hindu Girls & Boys Names". hamariweb.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- Social Security Administration – Popular Baby Names
- babynames.co.uk