MEANING & HISTORY
What does Rory mean?
Rory is an Anglicized form of Irish Ruaidhrí, from Old Irish Ruaidrí. The compound joins red and king.
This is a documented colour-and-title formation rather than an inference from a modern bearer’s hair or status. Later English-language use has also included familiar naming for other bases, particularly in fiction. The Irish account supplies the historical root, while a specific family may choose the spelling for independent cultural or personal reasons.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Synthetic voice reading
Wiktionary / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Irish
Dictionary accounts by language
English
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh and Irish Ruairí (“red-haired king”), from Old Irish Ruaidrí (“red king”).
A unisex given name.
A male given name from Irish.
A diminutive of the male given name Roderick.
A female given name from Irish.
A diminutive of the female given name Aurora.
Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract; common glosses translated for Filipino.
People with the name Rory
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Rory Quintos
Filipino film director
Descriptions: Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Similar names to Rory
Explore names with a similar opening or ending.
Names in this collection
- Cory♀Variant of Corey, a surname-derived name
- Jory♂Cornish form of George; earth-worker
- Rody♂Familiar form of Rodelio, Rodolfo or Rodrigo
- Romy♂♀Familiar form of Rosemarie, Rosemary or Rom- names
- Rony♂Variant of the familiar name Roni
- Roy♂King in one tradition; red-haired in another
- Glory♀English glory, ultimately Latin gloria
- Ivory♂♀Ivory; English material and color word
What rhymes with Rory?
Dictionary rhyme matches for the readings shown.
Explore Rory further
Records & sources
Recorded use
- Wikidata
- 1 person records with this given name · Q2166362 · CC0
These records document use of the spelling; they are separate from birth statistics.