# Carey (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/carey/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “to love”, “descendant of fiachra”, “crow” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɛəɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Cary |
| US babies named this | 29,621 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 16,880 / 12,741 (43% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 127, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

* 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.

## What it means

Carey is grouped under love.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 19 | 6,863 |
| 2010 | 18 | 6,973 |
| 2011 | 7 | 13,637 |
| 2012 | 11 | 9,850 |
| 2013 | 8 | 12,208 |
| 2014 | 15 | 7,737 |
| 2015 | 8 | 12,054 |
| 2016 | 6 | 14,690 |
| 2017 | 11 | 9,442 |
| 2018 | 10 | 9,966 |
| 2019 | 7 | 12,699 |
| 2020 | 9 | 10,434 |
| 2021 | 9 | 10,453 |
| 2022 | 7 | 12,502 |
| 2024 | 5 | 15,736 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 29 | 3,616 |
| 2012 | 28 | 3,728 |
| 2013 | 24 | 4,077 |
| 2014 | 21 | 4,560 |
| 2015 | 23 | 4,312 |
| 2016 | 24 | 4,212 |
| 2017 | 22 | 4,492 |
| 2018 | 23 | 4,384 |
| 2019 | 18 | 5,192 |
| 2020 | 12 | 6,699 |
| 2021 | 7 | 9,899 |
| 2022 | 11 | 7,345 |
| 2023 | 12 | 6,965 |
| 2024 | 18 | 5,275 |
| 2025 | 13 | 6,519 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 12 | 1,434 |
| 1997 | 10 | 1,666 |
| 1998 | 7 | 2,165 |
| 1999 | 4 | 3,225 |
| 2004 | 4 | 3,725 |
| 2005 | 6 | 2,970 |
| 2006 | 4 | 4,157 |
| 2010 | 3 | 5,707 |
| 2012 | 3 | 5,876 |
| 2014 | 5 | 4,003 |
| 2015 | 4 | 4,736 |
| 2016 | 5 | 4,096 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,843 |
| 2023 | 3 | 5,687 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 3 | 2,863 |
| 1997 | 4 | 2,337 |
| 1998 | 5 | 2,074 |
| 2000 | 4 | 2,501 |
| 2003 | 4 | 2,857 |
| 2007 | 3 | 4,333 |
| 2009 | 4 | 3,744 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2,660 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2018 | 3 | 4,749 |
| 2020 | 6 | 2,960 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## People named Carey

- Carey Mulligan, British actress (born 1985)
- Carey Lowell, American actress
- Carey Price, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- Carey Bell, American blues musician (1936–2007)
- Carey Wilson, American screenwriter, voice actor and film producer (1889-1962)
- Carey Loftin, American actor (1914-1997)
- Carey Hart, American freestyle motocross, motorcycle and off-road truck racer
- Carey Harrison, British writer (1944-2025)
- Carey Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player
- Rex Harrison, British actor (1908–1990)
- Joseph Merrick, British man with severe deformities known as the Elephant Man
- Jackson C. Frank, American musician

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.