Carey

Derived from the Irish surname Ó Ciardha, meaning descendant of the dark one, or from an English place name. American parents began using it as a masculine given name in the nineteenth century before it shifted into a true unisex crossover in the mid-twentieth century. Peak adoption arrived alongside the 1970s singer-songwriter boom.

The name reads as calm, casual, and distinctly mid-1970s. On paper, it gives away almost nothing about gender, holding one of the most even splits in federal records. It brings to mind warm corduroy, acoustic records, and a person who is comfortable letting someone else speak first. Today it sits firmly in late middle age, having quietly vacated the modern nursery.