Carey

Unisex

Carey has been given to 29,621 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1975.

Meaning & origin /ˈkɛəɹi/

As a German surname, Americanized from Gehrig, Gehring. * As a Welsh surname, variant of Carew. * As an English surname, from placenames derived from Proto-Brythonic *karɨd (“to love”). * As an Irish surname, from mac Fhiachra (“descendant of Fiachra”), from préachán (“crow”). * Also as an Irish surname, from the root of the name Kerry.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

29,621

Peak year

1975 (1,058 babies)

Rank in 2025

Below top 1000

First recorded

1880

10-year trend

▼ -58%

Gender split

43% girls / 57% boys

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Carey.

29,632 babies since 1929

29,995 babies since 1910

30,170 babies since 1915

30,202 babies since 1887

30,325 babies since 1959

28,731 babies since 1907

28,625 babies since 1896

28,372 babies since 1931

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