Leary

UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Form of Laoghaire

Leary has been given to 210 babies in the U.S. since 1919. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1926, with 11 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 92% boys, 8% girls all-time.

Babies named Leary, 1961

1 in 828,000

Leary over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Leary over time

In 1961, Leary went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19121961

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Leary: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Laoghaire

Irish and surname transfer

What Leary means

Leary is a form of Laoghaire.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Leary is used in Irish (Rare).

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈlɪɹ.i/ and /ˈlɪə.ɹi/ for Leary.

Origin, language, and formation

Leary is used in English. Its origins include Irish and surname transfer.

Leary is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Laoghaire.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 194 boys were recorded with the name Leary between 1919 and 1961. Its highest annual count was 11 in 1926; its best national rank was #2,379 in 1936.

In the United States, 16 girls were recorded with the name Leary between 1912 and 1924. Its highest annual count was 6 in 1912; its best national rank was #2,807 in 1912.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Leary?

Leary had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1961, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1961: 1 in 828,000; 5 of 4,142,426 births
Among boys only: 1 in 425,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1961: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 574,263 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Leary sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1961 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 574,263 children born in 1961 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Leary. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Learys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Leary was born before 1939 — so the typical Leary is around 86 today.

Median birth year: 1939; About 86 years old
Biggest decade: 1940s; 31.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 57.7%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 35; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1940s — 31.4% of all recorded uses (61).

Is Leary rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1926 (11)
Years since peak: 99; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 31.5% average annual change
Best rank ever: #2,379; 1936

Spellings of Leary

Leary is not the most common spelling — Gary is, with 21.1% against Leary's <0.01%.

Gary21.1%902,152
Larry18.9%807,588
Henry18.0%768,945
Jerry14.4%615,102
Terry9.9%424,523
Earl6.8%289,174
Leroy4.7%200,981
Perry1.8%76,044

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Leary by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,379; 1936
Peak year: 1926; 11 that year
First recorded: 1919
Last recorded: 1961
All-time count: 194
Count in 2025: Under 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,807; 1912
Peak year: 1912; 6 that year
First recorded: 1912
Last recorded: 1924
All-time count: 16
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Leary

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Lean Leam Leavy Leart Lealon Bakary Leaman Leaf Clary Leah Lealan Avary Leangelo Lealand Calvary Ary Leanard Leandros Dary Keary Leandre Bary Lear Roary

Sibling names for Leary

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Berta Delma Allene Darline Concepcion Easter Pearline Ima

For a brother

Jewel Napoleon Raymon Domenick Hosea Rollin Wilburn Wilford

Explore around Leary

Top names of 1926, Leary's peak year The 1920s in full Other names that peaked in 1936 Boys' names starting with L