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Rory

Irish
"red king"
Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Fri Apr 11 2025

Rory Origin and Meaning

The name Rory is a boy'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.

# 242 in the US

Rory Rank in US Top 1000

# 42 on Nameberry

Rory Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Rory

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 McIlroy
    Northern Irish golfer
  • Rory Storm (born Alan Caldwell)
    English singer of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes
  • Rory James O'Malley
    American actor
  • Rory Cochrane
    American actor
  • Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown)
    American actor
  • Rory Hugh Culkin
    American actor; brother of Macaulay and Kieran Culkin
  • Rory Brian Fitzpatrick
    American hockey player
  • Rory Markas
    American sportscaster
  • (William) Rory Gallagher
    Irish blues,rock musician
  • Rory Kinnear
    English actor
  • Rory Best
    Irish rugby union player
  • Rory Byrne
    South African car designer
  • Rory John Delap
    English,Irish footballer
  • Rory Jason Reid
    American 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 McCann
    Scottish actor (best known for playing Sandor “The Hound” Clegane on Game of Thrones)
  • Rory Zane Ross
    American actor
  • Rory Dames
    American soccer coach

The name Rory in Pop Culture

  • Rory Hawthorne
    Gale's brother from "The Hunger Games"
  • Rory Pond (ne Williams)
    from "Doctor Who"
  • Rory Flanagan
    character on "Glee"
  • Rory Hennessy
    character from the sitcom "8 Simple Rules..."
  • Rory Slippery
    character from "Fortysomething"
  • Rory Green
    from movie "Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang"
  • Rory Keaner
    character from "My Babysitter's a Vampire"
  • Rory Brown
    Character from "Mrs Brown Boys"
  • Rory
    character from TV's "Little Lunch"
  • Rory Regan aka Ragman
    character on TV's "Arrow"
  • Rory Swann
    character from the StarCraft series