boy's name
Cory
KOR-ee
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 140,908
Northern Ireland
#309
2021 births
Cory has at least three unrelated origins — a Norse island name, an Irish surname and a Greek word for a maiden — and English cannot distinguish them. Scotland ranks it 418th, well above the United States.
- Cory is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1989, when 6,660 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 19,054 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1924.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Cory over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 7 |
| 1930s | 10 |
| 1940s | 225 |
| 1950s | 1,968 |
| 1960s | 6,513 |
| 1970s | 29,452 |
| 1980s | 46,429 |
| 1990s | 35,285 |
| 2000s | 9,137 |
| 2010s | 3,483 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,269 |
What Cory means
Cory is variously given as from the hollow, a maiden, or a descendant of Comhraidhe. The three proposals come from three unrelated languages and share nothing.
Where Cory comes from
Cory arrives by at least three routes that English spelling flattened into one. The Scottish and Norse line runs through Kori, a personal name behind places on Orkney and the Isle of Man. The Irish is Ó Comhraidhe, anglicized as Corry or Curry. The Greek kore, a maiden, is the name of Persephone before her abduction and is sometimes offered for the feminine use. Corey and Cory divided the spelling in twentieth-century America, and the name is about five percent female in our records.
Cory in use
Cory peaked in the United States in 1989, when 6,660 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 418th in Scotland on 8 births, 1248th in the United States on 174, 1654th in England and Wales on 16 and 5830th in France, across 140,908 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Scotland ranks it more than eight hundred places above America.
How popular is Cory?
In 2025, Cory was given to 174 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Cory 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 Cory
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Cory also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Cory over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Cory 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 Cory
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Cory — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Cory
What does the name Cory mean?
Contested. A Norse personal name, an Irish surname and the Greek kore, a maiden, are all proposed.
Is it Cory or Corey?
Both divided the spelling in twentieth-century America; Corey is slightly more common.
Is Cory a girls' name?
About five percent of the births in our records are female.
Where is Cory most used?
Scotland at 418th, more than eight hundred places above the United States.
How popular is the name Cory?
In 2025, Cory was given to 174 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
How many syllables are in Cory?
Cory has 2 syllables.
When was Cory most popular?
Cory peaked in 1989, when 6,660 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Cory a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Cory currently ranks #418 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.