Gary
A surname usually linked to the English place-name Cary, and sometimes treated as a variant of Carey.
The #1,612 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,839 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical surname writers connect Gary with Cary/Caray, a place-name from an English manor in Somerset or nearby forms recorded in medieval sources. In that explanation, the surname means someone who came from or belonged to that place. Some older dictionaries also treat Gary simply as a spelling or pronunciation variant of Carey, rather than a wholly separate name.
History
The name appears in older genealogical and surname works as a West Country English surname, especially in connection with the manor of Cary/Kari in Somerset and related landed families. Because spelling was unstable in earlier centuries, Gary, Cary, and Carey were often grouped together or cross-referenced. In later records the form Gary also turns up as an independent surname in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname books explicitly say to look up Gary under Carey, showing how fluid surname spelling could be in older records.
From the historical record
“a castle, and win or gwin} white. GARY. The same as Carey (which see). CASE. (French.) Case. A hut, a hovel ; Gaelic, cass, caise, steep ; quick, hasty, passionate. CASS. (Gaelic.) Cos, a verb, to turn against, to thwart, oppose; a difficulty, a trying situation, a cause. Cos, a castle, the primary sense is to…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names