The theatrical agent Nan Collins, who lived in this town, suggested the name Gary to Frank Cooper, one of her clients, who went on to have a successful film career as Gary Cooper.
This name was popularized in the late 1920s the American actor Gary Cooper (1901-1961), who took his stage name from the city of Gary in Indiana where his agent was born.
Meaning, origin and history of the name Gary - Behind the Name
The name’s popularity soared in the late 1920s thanks to the American actor Gary Cooper. Born Frank James Cooper, he adopted the name Gary in 1925 when his casting director Nan Collins said it expressed the robust and rugged nature of her native Gary, Indiana.