boy's name
Corey
KOR-ee
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 214,876
the United States
#779
2025 births
Corey is a boy's name from an Irish surname, generally given as dweller near a hollow. It peaked in the United States in 1989 with 8,290 births and now ranks 779th there, while holding 187th in Scotland.
- Corey is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1989, when 8,290 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,445 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1919.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Corey over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 |
| 1920s | 21 |
| 1930s | 15 |
| 1940s | 242 |
| 1950s | 2,060 |
| 1960s | 10,564 |
| 1970s | 43,331 |
| 1980s | 56,715 |
| 1990s | 52,247 |
| 2000s | 17,882 |
| 2010s | 8,207 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,787 |
What Corey means
Corey is usually given as dweller near a hollow or a rounded hill. A separate Norse derivation from a personal name Kori is also proposed.
Where Corey comes from
Corey comes from an Irish surname, generally traced to Ó Comhraidhe, and is glossed as relating to a hollow or a rounded hill from the topographic element it appears to contain. A competing account derives it from the Old Norse Kori, a personal name of uncertain meaning carried into Ireland and northern England by Norse settlement — a plausible route given how many Irish surnames of the eastern seaboard have Norse rather than Gaelic roots. As a given name Corey is American and twentieth-century, part of the broad movement of surnames into first-name position, and its 1980s peak places it firmly in that decade's sound alongside Casey and Cody.
Corey in use
Corey ranks 187th in Scotland on 24 births, 237th in Northern Ireland, 506th in Ireland, 600th in England and Wales and 779th in the United States on 351. It peaked in the United States in 1989, when 8,290 babies were registered, and is falling in our data across 214,876 lifetime births. Around 4 percent of recorded births are female, so it is predominantly but not exclusively a boy's name.
How popular is Corey?
In 2025, Corey was given to 351 babies in the United States, ranking #779 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Corey is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Corey
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Corey also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Corey over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Corey
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Corey 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 Corey
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Corey — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Corey
What does the name Corey mean?
Usually dweller near a hollow, from an Irish surname. A Norse personal name Kori is also proposed.
Is it Corey or Cory?
Both are in use. Corey is the more common spelling in our data.
Is Corey an Irish name?
The surname is Irish, though it may itself have Norse roots. As a given name it is American and twentieth-century.
How popular is Corey?
187th in Scotland and 779th in the United States, down from a 1989 peak of 8,290 American births.
Is Corey a girl's or a boy's name?
Corey is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Corey?
Corey has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Corey?
Corey is usually shortened to Cor.
Is Corey a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Corey currently ranks #187 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.