Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Rory

Meaning red-haired king Gender Unisex · 27% girls Rank 2025 #199 Trend ↑ Rising 78%

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh and Irish Ruairí (“red-haired king”), from Old Irish Ruaidrí (“red king”).

Rank 2025
#199
among boys · ↑28 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,100
named Rory · +15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 966
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
3,100 babies
All-time total
49,421
#608 all-time among boys
First recorded
1933
in Social Security records

Rory popularity over time

49,421 babies have been named Rory since 1933, 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
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – – – – – –
1930s – 10 10 1 – #3,888
1940s 129 462 591 59 +5810% #546
1950s 223 3,621 3,844 384 +550% #280
1960s 185 3,737 3,922 392 +2% #311
1970s 342 2,668 3,010 301 -23% #335
1980s 345 4,738 5,083 508 +69% #281
1990s 377 2,706 3,083 308 -39% #512
2000s 2,085 2,737 4,822 482 +56% #631
2010s 4,026 6,990 11,016 1,102 +128% #358
2020s (to 2025) 5,868 8,172 14,040 2,340 +112% #199

Where Rory 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 1,945 1.14 #188
2027 2,110 1.24 #173
2028 2,261 1.32 #162
2029 2,397 1.40 #154
2030 2,520 1.48 #141

Where Rory is most popular

Boys named Rory per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.831 per 1,000. Strongest in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

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 Rory 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
Rhode Island 52 3.19 +284%
Massachusetts 399 2.90 +249%
New Hampshire 60 2.70 +225%
Maine 49 2.53 +204%
District of Columbia 37 2.51 +202%
Connecticut 152 2.25 +170%
Montana 38 2.15 +159%
Minnesota 249 2.03 +144%
Oregon 128 1.69 +103%
Wisconsin 196 1.65 +99%
Iowa 109 1.58 +90%
South Dakota 29 1.56 +88%
Pennsylvania 387 1.46 +75%
Delaware 22 1.45 +75%
Illinois 362 1.42 +71%
Colorado 182 1.41 +70%
Kansas 92 1.34 +61%
Nebraska 56 1.29 +55%
Ohio 329 1.24 +49%
Idaho 50 1.22 +47%
Michigan 245 1.20 +44%
Washington 192 1.17 +41%
New Jersey 234 1.16 +40%
Maryland 137 1.15 +38%
New York 478 1.10 +33%
Indiana 167 1.04 +25%
Missouri 140 1.01 +22%
Utah 94 0.985 +19%
Virginia 186 0.980 +18%
North Dakota 16 0.937 +13%
Louisiana 87 0.851 ≈ national
Vermont 5 0.796 ≈ national
Oklahoma 67 0.757 -9%
North Carolina 180 0.705 -15%
Arizona 113 0.691 -17%
Tennessee 124 0.687 -17%
South Carolina 69 0.668 -20%
Kentucky 65 0.648 -22%
Florida 288 0.608 -27%
California 553 0.605 -27%
Georgia 135 0.533 -36%
Nevada 30 0.526 -37%
Alabama 54 0.494 -41%
New Mexico 16 0.486 -42%
Texas 370 0.420 -49%
Alaska 5 0.420 -49%
Arkansas 26 0.411 -51%
Mississippi 22 0.387 -53%
Hawaii 5 0.322 -61%
West Virginia 6 0.184 -78%
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 Rory

Rory is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #199 in 2025 with 1,768 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1933, 49,421 American babies have been named Rory, about 73% boys and 27% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 3,100 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Rory stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rory?

The median living Rory is about 13 years old; half are between 4 and 41. An estimated 47 thousand people named Rory are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

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

Rory 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 1,332 #230 1,768 #199
2024 1,105 #287 1,596 #227
2023 1,006 #305 1,447 #242
2022 959 #336 1,229 #280
2021 791 #399 1,135 #295
2020 675 #458 997 #330
2019 677 #459 924 #358
2018 530 #581 884 #369
2017 534 #566 862 #380
2016 470 #637 828 #386
2015 419 #683 853 #379
2014 330 #839 748 #417
2013 285 #900 610 #460
2012 248 #1,024 564 #481
2011 288 #910 413 #599
2010 245 #1,023 304 #748
2009 287 #934 303 #758
2008 275 #976 281 #784
2007 245 #1,073 260 #829
2006 231 #1,094 246 #830
2005 198 #1,167 283 #718
2004 201 #1,139 264 #724
2003 234 #989 316 #645
2002 187 #1,119 258 #698
2001 142 #1,354 236 #741
2000 85 #1,979 290 #631
1995 30 #3,650 204 #755
1990 31 #3,496 374 #512
1985 39 #2,532 502 #367
1980 28 #3,117 355 #439
1975 21 #3,376 160 #648
1970 51 #1,776 281 #483
1965 5 #7,305 353 #416
1960 11 #4,116 638 #311
1955 17 #2,819 375 #373
1950 41 #1,448 163 #534
1945 – – 20 #1,527
1940 – – 7 #3,087
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Rory

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

  1. 1 Rory McIlroy Rory McIlroy Northern Irish golfer (born 1989) Contemporary
  2. 2 Rory Culkin Rory Culkin American actor (born 1989) Contemporary
  3. 3 Rory Kinnear Rory Kinnear English actor (born 1978) Contemporary
  4. 4 Rory Kennedy Rory Kennedy American filmmaker (born 1968) Contemporary
  5. 5 Rory Stewart Rory Stewart British politician, academic and broadcaster (born 1973) Contemporary
  6. 6 Rory McCann Rory McCann Scottish actor (born 1969) Contemporary
  7. 7 Rory Gallagher Rory Gallagher Irish guitarist (1948–1995) Contemporary
  8. 8 Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun American actor (1922–1999) Contemporary
  9. 9 Rory Cochrane Rory Cochrane American actor b. 1972 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Rory Delap Rory Delap Irish professional footballer (born 1976) Contemporary
  11. 11 Rory Byrne Rory Byrne South African engineer and car designer (born 1944) Contemporary
  12. 12 Rory Fallon Rory Fallon New Zealand footballer (born 1982) Contemporary
  13. 13 Rory Sutherland Topics referred to by the same term b. 1982 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Rory?

The median living Rory is about 13 years old. Half of all living Rorys are between 4 and 41 years old.

How many people named Rory are alive today?

An estimated 47 thousand people named Rory are alive in the United States, based on 49,421 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rory mean?

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh and Irish Ruairí (“red-haired king”), from Old Irish Ruaidrí (“red king”).

How popular is the name Rory in 2025?

Rory ranked #199 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,768 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rory?

49,421 babies have been named Rory in the United States since 1933, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rory most popular?

Rory peaked in 2025, when 3,100 newborns received the name.

Is Rory a boy or girl name?

Rory is used for both: about 27% of babies named Rory have been girls and 73% boys.

Is the name Rory rising or falling?

Rory is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Rory become more popular?

Rory is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,520 boys named Rory in 2030, which would rank around #141. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Rory?

Well-known people named Rory include Rory McIlroy (golfer), Rory Culkin (actor), Rory Kinnear (actor).

Names like Rory

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

Compare Rory with similar names → More names starting with R →