Gary
[ˈɡɛəri]Meaning
from a surname derived from a Norman short form of Old German names with ger, "spear"
Background Story
Gary comes from an English surname, itself from a Norman given name that was a short form of names beginning with the Old German element ger, meaning "spear". The medieval name was also a short form of Germanic compound names such as Gerard, Garrett, Gerald and Gerbert, and sometimes of Gareth. The American actor Gary Cooper, who took his stage name from Gary, Indiana, popularized it in the late 1920s, and it was especially common in the 1940s and 50s, reaching the American top ten in 1950.
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