Name of the Week: Rory

 

 

Origin:

Rory is the Anglicised form of the Old Gaelic name Ruaidrí, derived from ruad "red" and ri "king." The modern Gaelic spellings are Ruaidhrí and Ruairí, though many variants are used in both Scotland and Ireland today (see variants below).

Usage:

Ruaidrí was a favourite name in medieval Ireland, and well used in Scotland. It was particularly popular for the O'Connors (Ó Conchobhair) of Connacht and was born by at least four Kings of Connacht. The most famous of these was Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair "Rory O'Connor" (c. 1116–1198), the last High King of Ireland before the Norman invasion of Ireland. The O'Connors anglicised Ruaidrí as Roderic (Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair is often called Roderic O'Connor) but other Irish clans favoured Roger as an anglicised form.  Thanks to heavy anglicisation, the name almost died out in Ireland by the 18th century. It did, however, manage to survive in small numbers in Scotland, particularly in the Highlands before it started to make its revival in Ireland in the 19th century.  click to enlarge Data from the 1881 census shows that, at that time, Rory was most common in the Scottish highlands, particularly in Inverness and Ross & Cromarty, but extremely rare elsewhere. The name was rare in England and Wales until it began to pick up at the beginning of the 20th century. Curiously, this was the time when the name saw a dip in use in Scotland, seeing a revival again in the 1950s when it matched its previous peak in the 1860s.   Statutory birth registrations per decade in Scotland and England & Wales:   Scotland England & Wales 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s:  7 births 13 births 40 births  13 births 3 births 2 births 7 births 1 birth 3 births 1 birth 9 births 43 births 165 births 337 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 2 births 2 births 6 births 8 births 16 births 25 births 122 births 526 births 783 births 865 births click to enlarge In Scotland, Rory entered the top 100 in 1984 at #98 (44 births) and has been steadily rising ever since. In England and Wales, Rory first entered the top 100 in 1996 at #93 It declined after that point, plateauing around the #130 mark for several years until it began to rise again in 2011, reaching the #99 in 2012. Some of the renewed success in 2011 is most likely thanks to the character Rory Williams in Doctor Who, portrayed by Arthur Darvill (2010-2012).  In 2015, Rory ranked #23 (233 births) in Scotland and #74 (912 births) in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Ruaidrí mac Fáeláin (d. 785), King of Leinster. * Ruaidrí na Saide Buide "Roderic O'Connor" (d.1118), King of Connacht.  * Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair , King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and High King of Ireland from 1166 to 1193. * Rory na-bhFeadh mac Donough Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht 1316-1317. * Ruaidri mac Tairdelbach Ua Conchobair (d. 1384), King of Connacht. * Rory O'Tunny (c. 1541–1542) Irish sculptor. * Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha "Rory O'More" (d.1578), King of Laois. * Rory O'Moore "Sir Roger Moore" (1600–1655), Irish landowner one of the four principal organizers of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. * Ruairí Mac Easmainn (1864–1916), Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary and nationalist. Contemporary: * Rory Calhoun (1922–1999), American actor. * Rory Gallagher (1948–1995), Irish musician. * Rory Brennan (b. 1945), Irish poet. * Rory McGrath (b. 1956), British comedian. * Rory Bremner (b. 1961), Scottish comedian. * Rory Kinnear (b. 1978), British actor. * Rory Culkin (b. 1989), American actor. * Rory McIlroy (b. 1989), Northern Irish golfer. Literature and Other Media: * Rory Williams, companion of Doctor Who 2010-2012.

Variants:

Ruaridh, Ruairidh, Ruairi, Ruaraidh, Ruari, Ruaidri, Ruariadh, Ruary, Ruiridh, Ruraidh, Ruraigh, Rury, Rori,

Pronunciation:

ROR-ree [key]

Possible longer forms:

Roderick, Broderick, Rodrigo

Sibling Names:

Lucy      Isla      Emily     Isla     Anna     Erin  Euan     Owen     Brody     Toby     Lewis      Max

Name Lists:

Slim Softies

 

If you like Rory you may also like:    Rowan, Sorley, Callum, Harris, Ethan, Riley, Dylan, Rhys, Cody, Harvey

 

Thanks to LB for requesting this post.