Meaning not yet researched.
Cary: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 30 in 2025. Its best rank was #264 in 1966.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #264 in 1966; #3,676 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Cary in 2025 was a boy.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#3,676 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1966, at #264.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Cary: US boys and girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 30 boys in 2025. Peak: #264 in 1966 · most boys in one year: 788 (1957).
In 2025, 30 US boys were named Cary, making it the 3,676th most common boys’ name of the year, down 143 places from #3,533 in 2024. That is 2 fewer than the 32 boys named Cary in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #264, reached in 1966. The most boys given the name in a single year was 788, in 1957. For comparison, it was #3,443 in 2015 and #323 in 1950.
Fewer than five US girls were named Cary in 2025, so it does not appear in that year’s SSA list for girls. Its best rank for girls was #722, reached in 1975. That year also had the most girls given the name: 204. For comparison, it was unranked (under five girls) in 2015 and #1,453 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Cary in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 17 babies with the name. In all, 29,827 US babies have been given the name, 18% of them girls and 82% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1960s, with 8,100 babies named Cary.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 304 US boys were named Cary; the busiest of those years was 2019, with 41. In 2025 that was about 1 in 56,936 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Related spellings in the SSA files include Carrie (267,540 babies since 1880), Carey (29,621 babies since 1880), Cari (12,870 babies since 1880) and Kary (3,378 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Cariya and Carya are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Rare spellings summarised here: Cariya (8), Carya (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Cary in the open dataset we use.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| 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 |
| 1999 | 16 | #6,243 | 47 | #2,030 |
| 1998 | 18 | #5,616 | 81 | #1,407 |
| 1997 | 23 | #4,533 | 81 | #1,366 |
| 1996 | 27 | #3,960 | 65 | #1,537 |
| 1995 | 22 | #4,549 | 87 | #1,245 |
| 1994 | 24 | #4,266 | 105 | #1,096 |
| 1993 | 25 | #4,121 | 113 | #1,038 |
| 1992 | 31 | #3,512 | 125 | #962 |
| 1991 | 34 | #3,218 | 143 | #882 |
| 1990 | 47 | #2,530 | 157 | #813 |
| 1989 | 47 | #2,449 | 172 | #751 |
| 1988 | 41 | #2,604 | 161 | #746 |
| 1987 | 40 | #2,536 | 177 | #682 |
| 1986 | 45 | #2,269 | 182 | #666 |
| 1985 | 64 | #1,763 | 197 | #625 |
| 1984 | 65 | #1,686 | 179 | #643 |
| 1983 | 82 | #1,427 | 157 | #682 |
| 1982 | 76 | #1,555 | 177 | #653 |
| 1981 | 97 | #1,304 | 186 | #629 |
| 1980 | 85 | #1,436 | 195 | #626 |
| 1979 | 101 | #1,262 | 198 | #610 |
| 1978 | 131 | #1,037 | 231 | #547 |
| 1977 | 165 | #872 | 270 | #495 |
| 1976 | 183 | #780 | 325 | #430 |
| 1975 | 204 | #722 | 360 | #405 |
| 1974 | 177 | #779 | 306 | #459 |
| 1973 | 154 | #843 | 385 | #396 |
| 1972 | 156 | #837 | 411 | #388 |
| 1971 | 186 | #782 | 543 | #337 |
| 1970 | 155 | #864 | 570 | #331 |
| 1969 | 129 | #937 | 622 | #304 |
| 1968 | 125 | #927 | 663 | #287 |
| 1967 | 110 | #973 | 629 | #290 |
| 1966 | 72 | #1,274 | 763 | #264 |
| 1965 | 78 | #1,218 | 689 | #286 |
| 1964 | 74 | #1,295 | 749 | #282 |
| 1963 | 119 | #973 | 764 | #279 |
| 1962 | 107 | #1,046 | 784 | #275 |
| 1961 | 121 | #984 | 624 | #315 |
| 1960 | 118 | #987 | 760 | #286 |
| 1959 | 127 | #930 | 779 | #283 |
| 1958 | 127 | #911 | 583 | #315 |
| 1957 | 114 | #971 | 788 | #268 |
| 1956 | 125 | #895 | 556 | #315 |
| 1955 | 81 | #1,107 | 490 | #335 |
| 1954 | 72 | #1,181 | 510 | #317 |
| 1953 | 75 | #1,121 | 407 | #342 |
| 1952 | 51 | #1,353 | 462 | #324 |
| 1951 | 41 | #1,464 | 442 | #327 |
| 1950 | 40 | #1,453 | 443 | #323 |
| 1949 | 44 | #1,395 | 447 | #325 |
| 1948 | 34 | #1,604 | 436 | #319 |
| 1947 | 34 | #1,639 | 357 | #362 |
| 1946 | 30 | #1,625 | 305 | #370 |
| 1945 | 21 | #1,833 | 237 | #387 |
| 1944 | 24 | #1,703 | 248 | #382 |
| 1943 | 29 | #1,560 | 261 | #380 |
| 1942 | 19 | #1,988 | 207 | #425 |
| 1941 | 11 | #2,692 | 175 | #443 |
| 1940 | 21 | #1,750 | 134 | #501 |
| 1939 | 20 | #1,749 | 97 | #581 |
| 1938 | 15 | #2,126 | 99 | #591 |
| 1937 | 8 | #3,185 | 73 | #700 |
| 1936 | 22 | #1,599 | 80 | #653 |
| 1935 | 15 | #2,115 | 61 | #792 |
| 1934 | 12 | #2,442 | 58 | #824 |
| 1933 | 14 | #2,175 | 55 | #836 |
| 1932 | 15 | #2,152 | 43 | #1,007 |
| 1931 | 8 | #3,268 | 47 | #961 |
| 1930 | 11 | #2,711 | 53 | #917 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,459 | 44 | #1,028 |
| 1928 | 12 | #2,640 | 44 | #1,042 |
| 1927 | 19 | #2,034 | 55 | #929 |
| 1926 | 9 | #3,296 | 42 | #1,096 |
| 1925 | 19 | #2,038 | 52 | #933 |
| 1924 | 16 | #2,326 | 59 | #907 |
| 1923 | 17 | #2,190 | 59 | #884 |
| 1922 | 13 | #2,633 | 60 | #892 |
| 1921 | 12 | #2,789 | 75 | #773 |
| 1920 | 12 | #2,752 | 61 | #878 |
| 1919 | 21 | #1,810 | 57 | #878 |
| 1918 | 21 | #1,815 | 50 | #946 |
| 1917 | 14 | #2,333 | 56 | #856 |
| 1916 | 14 | #2,271 | 42 | #988 |
| 1915 | 12 | #2,410 | 53 | #847 |
| 1914 | 10 | #2,291 | 32 | #987 |
| 1913 | 11 | #1,908 | 28 | #932 |
| 1912 | 12 | #1,632 | 20 | #1,029 |
| 1911 | — | — | 21 | #694 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,795 | 23 | #602 |
| 1909 | 5 | #2,258 | 24 | #532 |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,162 | 13 | #749 |
| 1907 | 6 | #1,867 | 14 | #706 |
| 1906 | — | — | 16 | #594 |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,438 | 13 | #671 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,930 | 12 | #692 |
| 1903 | 12 | #1,038 | 9 | #797 |
| 1902 | — | — | 12 | #657 |
| 1901 | — | — | 10 | #687 |
| 1900 | 5 | #1,976 | 12 | #752 |
| 1899 | — | — | 8 | #795 |
| 1898 | 5 | #1,742 | 10 | #706 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,407 | 11 | #656 |
| 1896 | — | — | 21 | #426 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,449 | 11 | #644 |
| 1894 | — | — | 18 | #468 |
| 1893 | 6 | #1,303 | 16 | #462 |
| 1892 | — | — | 11 | #648 |
| 1891 | — | — | 8 | #715 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,115 | 9 | #675 |
| 1889 | 5 | #1,313 | 11 | #592 |
| 1888 | — | — | 16 | #486 |
| 1887 | — | — | 9 | #641 |
| 1886 | — | — | 13 | #519 |
| 1885 | — | — | 17 | #443 |
| 1884 | — | — | 9 | #670 |
| 1883 | — | — | 10 | #604 |
| 1882 | 7 | #753 | 13 | #517 |
| 1881 | — | — | 12 | #507 |
| 1880 | — | — | 17 | #429 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).