Garey

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Garey

Pronounced GAIR-ee /ˈɡɛr.i/High

Meaning: Garey is a spelling variant of Gary, a name that began as an English surname and is usually traced to a Germanic and Old Norse element meaning 'spear'. The -ey ending is a phonetic respelling that keeps the parent name's sound.Medium

In 30 seconds: Garey is a homespun respelling of Gary (said 'GAIR-ee'), the surname-turned-first-name that swept mid-century America. The extra -e- simply spells out the sound.

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Origin MediumEnglish

MeaningGarey is a spelling variant of Gary, a name that began as an English surname and is usually traced to a Germanic and Old Norse element meaning 'spear'. The -ey ending is a phonetic respelling that keeps the parent name's sound.

U.S. rank (2013)#11187 ↘ Falling

2013 U.S. births6 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1952

Total births (all-time)≈ 1,457

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Garey is one of many personalized respellings of Gary that appeared once Gary took off as a first name in the 1930s and 40s. Gary began as a surname — famously borrowed from the industrialist Elbert Gary and the Indiana steel town named for him — and is generally traced back to a Germanic and Norse root meaning 'spear'. Parents who liked the sound but wanted a name of their own reached for spellings like Garey.

Garey peaked around 1952 and then thinned steadily as Gary's whole cohort aged out of fashion; a boy given it at its height is now in his seventies. It reads today as a solidly mid-century masculine name, firmly of the mother-and-father generation rather than the nursery, with no real modern revival.

Did you know? Garey rose and fell in step with Gary itself, cresting in the early 1950s just as Gary was near its nationwide height — the two spellings shared one wave.

Overall data confidence 60%

References — Garey / Gary — variant of Gary; surname origin, Germanic 'spear' root

Variations

GaryGarryGari

Nicknames

Gar

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Garey…

Gary— the parent name Garey respells, same sound and era

Garry— a sibling respelling of the same 1950s favorite

Jerry— another two-syllable -ry boy's name of the same generation

Larry— shares the clipped, friendly mid-century sound

Explore names like Garey

By themevintage variant mid-century

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Garey mean?

Garey is a spelling variant of Gary, an English surname name usually traced to a Germanic and Norse element meaning 'spear'.

How do you pronounce Garey?

It's said GAIR-ee /ˈɡɛr.i/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Garey a boy or girl name?

Garey is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Garey?

Garey was always an uncommon respelling of Gary, most visible around the middle of the twentieth century and rare today.