boys' name ★ peaked 1989

Cory

Gender Boy · 5% girls Rank 2025 #1,245 Trend ↓ Falling 25%

A male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Corey.

Rank 2025
#1,245
among boys · ↓149 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
174
named Cory · -18% vs 2024
How common
1 in 10,675
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1989
6,660 babies
All-time total
133,778
#264 all-time among boys
First recorded
1924
in Social Security records

Cory popularity over time

133,778 babies have been named Cory since 1924, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – 7 7 1 – #3,563
1930s 5 5 10 1 +43% #3,646
1940s 51 174 225 23 +2150% #1,187
1950s 341 1,627 1,968 197 +775% #454
1960s 617 5,896 6,513 651 +231% #160
1970s 1,943 27,509 29,452 2,945 +352% #67
1980s 2,071 44,358 46,429 4,643 +58% #59
1990s 1,119 34,166 35,285 3,529 -24% #67
2000s 234 8,903 9,137 914 -74% #227
2010s 128 3,355 3,483 348 -62% #578
2020s (to 2025) 90 1,179 1,269 212 -39% #910

Where Cory is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 153 0.09 outside top 500
2027 147 0.09 outside top 500
2028 142 0.08 outside top 500
2029 138 0.08 outside top 500
2030 135 0.08 outside top 500

Where Cory is most popular

Boys named Cory per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.108 per 1,000. Strongest in Indiana, Ohio, and Georgia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Cory born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Indiana 28 0.175 +61%
Ohio 39 0.147 +36%
Georgia 34 0.134 +24%
Florida 61 0.129 +19%
Michigan 25 0.122 +13%
New York 51 0.118 +9%
Pennsylvania 30 0.113 ≈ national
Texas 99 0.112 ≈ national
California 100 0.109 ≈ national
Tennessee 19 0.105 ≈ national
Mississippi 5 0.088 -19%
Maryland 10 0.084 -22%
North Carolina 21 0.082 -24%
Massachusetts 10 0.073 -33%
Illinois 17 0.067 -38%
New Jersey 12 0.060 -45%
Alabama 6 0.055 -49%
Utah 5 0.052 -52%
Louisiana 5 0.049 -55%
Missouri 6 0.043 -60%
Wisconsin 5 0.042 -61%
Virginia 7 0.037 -66%
Washington 6 0.037 -66%
Arizona 5 0.031 -72%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Cory

Cory is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,245 in 2025 with 160 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1924, 133,778 American babies have been named Cory. Its peak came in 1989, when 6,660 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Cory stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Cory?

The median living Cory is about 38 years old; half are between 32 and 46. An estimated 127 thousand people named Cory are alive in the United States today.

median 38 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Cory year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 14 #7,576 160 #1,245
2024 16 #7,004 197 #1,096
2023 13 #8,155 174 #1,179
2022 23 #5,503 182 #1,144
2021 13 #8,133 221 #991
2020 11 #9,079 245 #910
2019 10 #9,894 244 #900
2018 9 #10,758 242 #894
2017 15 #7,538 301 #778
2016 14 #8,087 320 #760
2015 11 #9,631 341 #723
2014 10 #10,310 357 #696
2013 13 #8,702 377 #648
2012 13 #8,743 373 #641
2011 15 #7,887 362 #650
2010 18 #6,980 438 #578
2009 15 #8,153 544 #499
2008 22 #6,178 608 #457
2007 22 #6,152 706 #416
2006 19 #6,646 653 #429
2005 18 #6,599 773 #373
2004 15 #7,482 817 #349
2003 25 #4,975 924 #320
2002 30 #4,205 1,119 #275
2001 33 #3,883 1,263 #260
2000 35 #3,682 1,496 #227
1995 100 #1,532 3,010 #123
1990 192 #971 5,765 #67
1985 184 #872 3,868 #81
1980 213 #772 3,556 #83
1975 222 #675 2,573 #99
1970 103 #1,135 1,762 #164
1965 41 #1,774 450 #361
1960 70 #1,314 353 #427
1955 37 #1,699 209 #508
1950 15 #2,680 46 #1,038
1945 8 #3,442 31 #1,187
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Cory

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Cory Booker Cory Booker American politician (born 1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Cory Monteith Cory Monteith Canadian actor (1982–2013) Contemporary
  3. 3 Cory Doctorow Cory Doctorow Canadian-British writer (born 1971) Contemporary
  4. 4 Cory Michael Smith Cory Michael Smith American actor b. 1986 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Cory Joseph Cory Joseph Canadian basketball player (born 1991) Contemporary
  6. 6 Cory Gardner Cory Gardner American politician and attorney (born 1974) Contemporary
  7. 7 Cory Higgins Cory Higgins American basketball player (born 1989) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Cory, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Cory?

The median living Cory is about 38 years old. Half of all living Corys are between 32 and 46 years old.

How many people named Cory are alive today?

An estimated 127 thousand people named Cory are alive in the United States, based on 133,778 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Cory mean?

A male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Corey.

How popular is the name Cory in 2025?

Cory ranked #1,245 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 160 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Cory?

133,778 babies have been named Cory in the United States since 1924, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Cory most popular?

Cory peaked in 1989, when 6,660 newborns received the name.

Is Cory a boy or girl name?

Cory is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 95% of babies with the name.

Is the name Cory rising or falling?

Cory is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Cory become more popular?

Cory is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 135 boys named Cory in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Cory?

Well-known people named Cory include Cory Booker (politician), Cory Monteith (actor), Cory Doctorow (writer).

Names like Cory

Names that sound and feel close to Cory: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Cory with similar names → More names starting with C →