How Many People Are Named Cary?
An estimated 22,753 people in the United States have the first name Cary. It is used for both genders, with 82.1% male. The average bearer is 58 years old, and Cary peaked in popularity in 1959 with 906 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Cary as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Cary paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
22,753
About 1 in 15,064 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
82.1% confidence
Average Age
58
years old
Peak Year
1959
906 births
Total Registered
29,795
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Cary
Cary is predominantly male (82.1%), though 5,323 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Cary as a male name
Ranked #3,607 in 2024
31 male births in 2024
Peak: 1957 (788 births)
Cary as a female name
Ranked #15,688 in 2024
5 female births in 2024
Peak: 1975 (204 births)
Cary: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Cary span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 8,100 babies were registered. Cary has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Cary by Decade
How has Cary tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 139 | 127 | 12 | |
| 1890s | 153 | 123 | 30 | |
| 1900s | 181 | 135 | 46 | |
| 1910s | 505 | 382 | 123 | |
| 1920s | 693 | 551 | 142 | |
| 1930s | 806 | 666 | 140 | |
| 1940s | 3,074 | 2,807 | 267 | |
| 1950s | 6,312 | 5,459 | 853 | |
| 1960s | 8,100 | 7,047 | 1,053 | |
| 1970s | 5,211 | 3,599 | 1,612 | |
| 1980s | 2,425 | 1,783 | 642 | |
| 1990s | 1,271 | 1,004 | 267 | |
| 2000s | 447 | 360 | 87 | |
| 2010s | 329 | 285 | 44 | |
| 2020s | 149 | 144 | 5 | |
Cary by State
Birth registrations for Cary span all 47 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Illinois. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Montana, Alaska. On average, about 469 Carys were registered per state.
Cary + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Cary as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Cary
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Cary: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cary?
We estimate approximately 22,753 people named Cary are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 15,064 Americans share this first name.
Is Cary a common name?
Cary is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 29,795 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Cary most popular?
Cary reached peak popularity in 1959, when 906 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Cary is approximately 58 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Cary a male name?
Cary is predominantly male. 82.1% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Cary Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Cary Smith, Cary Johnson, Cary Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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