Gary
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from the Germanic languages, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s; variant form Garry. Medieval short form of Germanic compound names beginning with gari or geri ("spear"), such as Gerard, Garrett, Gerald, or Gerbert. Cognate with the Scottish and Irish name Garaidh. Sometimes also a short form of Gareth. The popularity of the given name in the 20th century is due to the American actor Gary Cooper, whose stage name was invented by his agent, a native of Gary, Indiana.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Gary (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 344 |
| 2000 | 351 |
| 2001 | 356 |
| 2002 | 370 |
| 2003 | 378 |
| 2004 | 383 |
| 2005 | 383 |
| 2006 | 388 |
| 2007 | 392 |
| 2008 | 397 |
| 2009 | 396 |
| 2010 | 408 |
| 2011 | 411 |
| 2012 | 412 |
| 2013 | 411 |
| 2014 | 417 |
| 2015 | 413 |
| 2016 | 420 |
| 2017 | 424 |
| 2018 | 426 |
| 2019 | 426 |
| 2020 | 427 |
Gary in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Gary.Hi! My name is Gary.
- Har du träffat Gary? Han började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Gary? He started working here on Monday.
- Jag ska fika med Gary i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Gary this afternoon.
- Garys mamma är lärare.Gary's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Garys mamma is Gary's mum.
More names
Questions about Gary
How do you pronounce Gary in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Gary in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Gary mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from the Germanic languages, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s; variant form Garry. Medieval short form of Germanic compound names beginning with gari or geri ("spear"), such as Gerard, Garrett, Gerald, or Gerbert. Cognate with the Scottish and Irish name Garaidh. Sometimes also a short form of Gareth. The popularity of the given name in the 20th century is due to the American actor Gary Cooper, whose stage name was invented by his agent, a native of Gary, Indiana.
How popular is Gary in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Gary in 2022. In 2020, 427 people in Sweden had Gary as the first name they go by.
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.