boy's name
Conor
KON-er
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
- Births on record 75,754
the United States
#844
2025 births
Conor is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "lover of hounds," from the Irish Conchobhar. It ranks sixteenth in Ireland and is carried by the king at the center of the Ulster Cycle, the oldest body of Irish literature.
- Conor is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 1997, when 867 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 213 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1964.
Conor over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 754 |
| 1970s | 2,117 |
| 1980s | 3,606 |
| 1990s | 7,021 |
| 2000s | 7,481 |
| 2010s | 5,769 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,645 |
What Conor means
Conor means lover of hounds, or by extension lover of wolves, since the Irish cú covered both. The second element is usually read as desiring, so the whole name describes someone who prizes hounds — a mark of standing in early Ireland, where hunting dogs were prestige property.
Where Conor comes from
Conor anglicizes the Irish Conchobhar, from cú, genitive con, a hound or wolf, and a second element generally taken as cobhar, desiring or aiding. Its bearer in literature is Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle, who rules at Emain Macha and whose court frames the Táin Bó Cúailnge. He is the king who raises Cú Chulainn, and the one whose determination to marry Deirdre against her will drives the tragedy of the Sons of Uisneach. Later Irish history gives several kings of the name, including Conchobar mac Donnchada, a ninth-century High King. The Conor spelling is the standard anglicization; Connor with two letter n's is more common in the United States and reflects the surname O'Connor, itself from the same root.
Conor in use
Conor ranks sixteenth in Ireland with 211 births in 2025 and 51st in Northern Ireland, and it is rising in our data despite a peak that our records place back in 1993. It travels well: 844th in the United States and 578th in England and Wales, where the Connor spelling absorbs some of the demand. Our records carry the name from 1961.
How popular is Conor?
In 2025, Conor was given to 211 babies in Ireland, ranking #16 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Conor is used
Irish figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. The Central Statistics Office began recording the síneadh fada in 2018, so accented and unaccented spellings are counted separately from that year on. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Conor
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Conor also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Conor over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Conor in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Conor
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Conor — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Conor
What does the name Conor mean?
Conor means "lover of hounds," from the Irish cú, a hound or wolf, and an element meaning desiring.
Is Conor or Connor the correct spelling?
Conor is the standard Irish anglicization. Connor follows the surname O'Connor and is more common in the United States.
Who was Conchobar mac Nessa?
The king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle, foster-father to Cú Chulainn and the antagonist of the Deirdre story.
How popular is Conor?
Sixteenth in Ireland and 51st in Northern Ireland.
Is Conor a girl's or a boy's name?
Conor is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Conor a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Conor currently ranks #16 in Ireland. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.