Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 1959

Cary

Meaning Cary is a given name Gender Unisex · 18% girls Rank 2025 #3,676 Trend → Stable

Cary is a given name. Notable people with the name include:Cary Angeline, American football player Cary Brothers, American singer-songwriter Cary Elwes, English actor…

Rank 2025
#3,676
among boys · ↓143 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
30
named Cary · -19% vs 2024
How common
1 in 56,936
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1959
906 babies
All-time total
29,827
#750 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Cary popularity over time

29,827 babies have been named Cary since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 12 127 139 14 – #429
1890s 30 123 153 15 +10% #426
1900s 46 135 181 18 +18% #532
1910s 123 382 505 51 +179% #602
1920s 142 551 693 69 +37% #773
1930s 140 666 806 81 +16% #581
1940s 267 2,807 3,074 307 +281% #319
1950s 853 5,460 6,313 631 +105% #268
1960s 1,053 7,047 8,100 810 +28% #264
1970s 1,612 3,599 5,211 521 -36% #331
1980s 642 1,783 2,425 243 -53% #625
1990s 267 1,004 1,271 127 -48% #813
2000s 87 360 447 45 -65% #1,945
2010s 44 285 329 33 -26% #2,950
2020s (to 2025) 5 175 180 30 -9% #3,223

Where Cary is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 30 0.02 outside top 500
2027 31 0.02 outside top 500
2028 31 0.02 outside top 500
2029 32 0.02 outside top 500
2030 32 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Cary

Cary is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #3,676 in 2025 with 30 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 29,827 American babies have been named Cary, about 82% boys and 18% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1959, when 906 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Cary stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Cary?

The median living Cary is about 59 years old; half are between 49 and 67. An estimated 23 thousand people named Cary are alive in the United States today.

median 59 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Cary year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 30 #3,676
2024 5 #15,738 32 #3,533
2023 – – 23 #4,479
2022 – – 37 #3,223
2021 – – 27 #3,931
2020 – – 26 #3,940
2019 – – 41 #2,950
2018 5 #16,167 22 #4,501
2017 5 #16,360 31 #3,527
2016 – – 35 #3,241
2015 – – 32 #3,443
2014 7 #13,347 21 #4,562
2013 6 #14,983 22 #4,349
2012 5 #17,401 28 #3,730
2011 9 #11,364 29 #3,617
2010 7 #13,750 24 #4,125
2009 7 #13,982 25 #4,053
2008 7 #14,125 34 #3,296
2007 8 #12,906 35 #3,197
2006 – – 27 #3,693
2005 14 #7,981 30 #3,329
2004 11 #9,374 34 #2,958
2003 – – 39 #2,582
2002 8 #11,321 34 #2,765
2001 13 #7,817 49 #2,122
2000 19 #5,747 53 #1,945
1995 22 #4,549 87 #1,245
1990 47 #2,530 157 #813
1985 64 #1,763 197 #625
1980 85 #1,436 195 #626
1975 204 #722 360 #405
1970 155 #864 570 #331
1965 78 #1,218 689 #286
1960 118 #987 760 #286
1955 81 #1,107 490 #335
1950 40 #1,453 443 #323
1945 21 #1,833 237 #387
1940 21 #1,750 134 #501
1935 15 #2,115 61 #792
1930 11 #2,711 53 #917
1925 19 #2,038 52 #933
1920 12 #2,752 61 #878
1915 12 #2,410 53 #847
1910 8 #1,795 23 #602
1905 8 #1,438 13 #671
1900 5 #1,976 12 #752
1895 6 #1,449 11 #644
1890 7 #1,115 9 #675
1885 – – 17 #443
1880 – – 17 #429

Famous people named Cary

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Cary Grant Cary Grant British-American actor (1904–1986) Contemporary
  2. 2 Cary Elwes Cary Elwes English actor (born 1962) Contemporary
  3. 3 Cary Joji Fukunaga Cary Joji Fukunaga American filmmaker (born 1977) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Cary, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Cary?

The median living Cary is about 59 years old. Half of all living Carys are between 49 and 67 years old.

How many people named Cary are alive today?

An estimated 23 thousand people named Cary are alive in the United States, based on 29,827 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Cary mean?

Cary is a given name. Notable people with the name include:Cary Angeline, American football player Cary Brothers, American singer-songwriter Cary Elwes, English actor and writer Cary Joji Fukunaga, American film director Cary Grant…

How popular is the name Cary in 2025?

Cary ranked #3,676 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 30 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Cary?

29,827 babies have been named Cary in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Cary most popular?

Cary peaked in 1959, when 906 newborns received the name.

Is Cary a boy or girl name?

Cary is used for both: about 18% of babies named Cary have been girls and 82% boys.

Is the name Cary rising or falling?

Cary is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Cary become more popular?

Cary looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 32 boys named Cary in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Cary?

Well-known people named Cary include Cary Grant (actor), Cary Elwes (actor), Cary Joji Fukunaga (film director).

Names like Cary

Names that sound and feel close to Cary: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Cary with similar names → More names starting with C →