Rory

Irish

"red king"

Rory Origin and Meaning

The name Rory is a girl's name of Scottish, Irish origin meaning "red king".

Rory is a buoyant, spirited name for a redhead with Celtic roots. The name Rory is getting more popular overall, but for the past few years has been trending decidedly toward the boys' side -- however, it's been rising to new heights for girls in recent years.

It's worth noting, however, that while Rory is used a third of the time for girls in the US, in Britain it's never used as a girls' name. In London or Liverpool, naming your daughter Rory is like naming her....Roger.

Rory (or Rori) might also be a nickname for Aurora. In the TV series Gilmore Girls, Rory was the nickname of Lorelai Leigh, the daughter character played by Alexis Biedel whose mother, played by Lauren Graham, was also named (and called) Lorelai.

Robert Kennedy's youngest daughter, born after his assassination and now a respected documentary filmmaker, is named Rory. Actress Melora Hardin named her daughter Rory Melora.

Rory Rank in US Top 1000

# 286 in the US

Rory Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 349 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Rory

• 286 US 2024
• 349 Nameberry 2025
• 436 Future 2028

20 Names Similar to Rory

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Rory.

• Noa
• Remi
• Harlow
• Indie
• Lennon
• Finley
• Elliot
• Sawyer
• Fallon
• Shiloh
• Rowan
• Blair
• Marlowe
• Monroe
• Spencer
• Piper
• Marlow
• Sloane
• Holland
• Sutton

Famous People Named Rory

• Aurora 'Rory' Block American blues guitarist
• Ellen "Rory" Flack American figure skater
• Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy American filmmaker, daughter of politician Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel
• Rory Quintos Filipino TV and film director
• Rory Flynn (b. 1947) writer; daughter of actor Errol Flynn and Nora Eddington
• Rory Lerman Green (b. 1969) daughter of novelist Jackie Collins
• Rory Eleanor Taylor (b. 1986) daughter of drummer Roger Taylor of Queen
• Rory Melora Jackson (b. 2001) daughter of actress Melora Hardin
• Rory Lane Huggar (b. 2017) daughter of singer RL of R&B group Next

The name Rory in Pop Culture

• Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore main character on TV's "Gilmore Girls"
• Rory Thayer character in the movie "Accepted"
• Aurora "Rory" Deveaux main character in the "Shades of London" series
• Rory Swenson character in the book "Finally"
• Rory Mercury character on the anime "GATE"

International Variations of the name Rory

• Ruaidri Irish Gaelic
• Ruairí Irish Gaelic
• Ruaraidh Scottish Gaelic