Rory

Irish

"red king"

Updated Wed Nov 29 2023

Rory Origin and Meaning

The name Rory is both a boy's name and a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "red king".

This spirited Gaelic classic, which became popular in Ireland via the illustrious twelfth century king Rory O'Connor, makes a highly energetic choice, now used for either sex. Rory's gender split is still trending boyward; it's one of the coolest boys' names starting with R.

In England and Wales, however, the name is virtually never given to girls. It's seen as thoroughly male (and non-female) as Roger or Richard.

Rory first came to attention in the US in the person of mid-century pin-up boy Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy). The name entered the popularity list in 1947, peaking at Number 280 in 1959.

Young Irish U.S. Open champ Rory Mcllroy makes a worthy namesake. Bill and Melinda Gates chose Rory as the name of their only son.

Rory is a popular choice all throughout the UK. Skip baffling Gaelic spellings like Ruari and Ruaidhri and stick with the more straightforward Rory.

# 280 in the US

Rory Rank in US Top 1000

# 64 on Nameberry

Rory Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Rory Popularity

280US2022
64Nameberry2023
30Unisex2022
223Future2028
39England2021
7Scotland2022
94Ireland2022
191Canada2022

20 Names Similar to Rory

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

Famous People Named Rory

Rory McIlroyNorthern Irish golfer
Rory Storm (born Alan Caldwell)English singer of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes
Rory James O'MalleyAmerican actor
Rory CochraneAmerican actor
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown)American actor
Rory Hugh CulkinAmerican actor; brother of Macaulay and Kieran Culkin
Rory Brian FitzpatrickAmerican hockey player
Rory MarkasAmerican sportscaster
(William) Rory GallagherIrish blues,rock musician
Rory KinnearEnglish actor
Rory BestIrish rugby union player

Rory ByrneSouth African car designer
Rory John DelapEnglish,Irish footballer
Rory Jason ReidAmerican politician; son of former U.S. Speaker of the House Harry Reid
Rory John Gates (b. 1999)son of Microsoft's Bill and Melinda Gates
Rory Dartanyan Blackmore (b. 2012)son of musicians Richie Blackmore and Candice Night of Blackmore's Night
Rory McCannScottish actor (best known for playing Sandor “The Hound” Clegane on Game of Thrones)
Rory Zane RossAmerican actor
Rory DamesAmerican soccer coach

Rory in Pop Culture

Rory HawthorneGale's brother from "The Hunger Games"
Rory Pond (ne Williams)from "Doctor Who"
Rory Flanagancharacter on "Glee"
Rory Hennessycharacter from the sitcom "8 Simple Rules..."
Rory Slipperycharacter from "Fortysomething"
Rory Greenfrom movie "Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang"
Rory Keanercharacter from "My Babysitter's a Vampire"
Rory BrownCharacter from "Mrs Brown Boys"
Rorycharacter from TV's "Little Lunch"
Rory Regan aka Ragmancharacter on TV's "Arrow"
Rory Monahan from TV series "American Horror Story: Roanoke" portrayed by Evan Peters

Rory (spelled Roary) from TV's "Roary the Racing Car"
Rory Swanncharacter from the StarCraft series