Gary

Meaning

Proper Noun

• city Lake County (county) Indiana (state), and other US places named for persons with the surname Gary.
• city Deuel County (county) South Dakota (state).
• A male given name from surnames, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Origin

• Medieval short form of Germanic compound names beginning with gari/geri, such as Gerard, Gerald, or Gerbert. Cognate with the Scottish and Irish Gaelic name Garaidh.
• The last-century popularity of the given name is due to the American actor Gary Cooper (1901–1961), whose stage name was invented by his agent, a native of Gary, Indiana.
• From Gary Glitter.