Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the /''Ruaidhrí'' and /''Ruaraidh'' and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", composed of ''ruadh'' ("red") and ''rígh'' ("king"). In

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, it is generally seen as a masculine name and therefore rarely given to females.

History

An early use of the name in antiquity is in reference to

Rudraige mac Sithrigi Rudraige mac Sithrigi (; ), was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. The son of Sitric, he took power after killing his predecessor, Crimthann Coscrach, and ruled for thirty or seventy years, aft ...

, a

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

who eventually spawned the

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

(indeed, this tribe are sometimes known as ''Clanna Rudhraighe''). Ruadrí mac Domnall was the grandfather of famous Scottish king

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

and the eponymous founder of ''Clann Ruaidrí'' ( House of Moray). Throughout the Middle Ages, the name was in use by various kings, such as Ruaidrí mac Fáeláin, Ruaidrí na Saide Buide and

Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair Ruaidrí mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (Modern Irish: Ruairí Ó Conchúir; anglicised as Rory O'Conor) ( – 2 December 1198) was King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and High King of Ireland from 1166 to 1198. He was the last High King of Ire ...

, the last High King of Ireland. As well as this, Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha, the famous King of Laois, and his nephew Ruairí Ó Mórdha, who was a leader in the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

, held the name, and Ruaidrí Ó Domhnaill, King of Tyrconnell of the

O'Donnell dynasty The O'Donnell dynasty ( or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell in Ulster in the north of medieval and early modern Ireland. Naming ...

who was deeply involved in the saga known as the Flight of the Earls. Rory has seen increasing use in females since the early 2000s, especially in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where it became among the top 1000 female baby names in 2003. As of 2022, Rory ranked 280th in popularity for males and 335th for females in the US. A similar trend can be observed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where the name has seen increasing use in females since 2001 and especially 2015. Rory can alternatively be a nickname for "

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

", “ Gloria”, or " Lorelai".

Variations

The standard Scottish Gaelic pronunciation is , and in Munster Irish . In English, it is typically pronounced as (). In Classical Gaelic, the name was written Ruaidhrigh, and in

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

Ruaidríg /ruaðʲr͈ʲiːʝʲ/ (Proto Celtic *roudo-riks). There are numerous other recorded variations of the name such as Ruaidrí, Ruaidhrí, Ruairdhrí, Rhuairidh, Ruaridh, Rhuari, Rhuaridh, Ruarídh, Ruarí, Roighrí, Rauridh or Raighrí. Historically, it has also been anglicised by replacement with the Germanic names

Roderick Roderick, Rodrick or Roderic (Proto-Germanic , from , + , ) is a Germanic name, recorded from the 8th century onward.Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'' (1856)740 Its Old High German forms are , , , , , ; in Gothic language ; in Old English ...

and

Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

, particularly the former.

List of people

Ruaidrí

* Ruaidrí mac Fáeláin (died 785), King of Leinster of the Uí Fáeláin sept of the Uí Dúnlainge branch of the Laigin * Ruaidrí ua Canannáin (died 950), king of the Cenél Conaill, and according to some sources High King of Ireland * Ruaidrí na Saide Buide (died 1118), called Ruaidrí na Saide Buide (Ruaidrí of the Yellow Birch), King of Connacht *

, 12th century King of Connacht and the last High King of Ireland * Ruaidri mac Cathal Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht in Ireland * Ruaidri mac Tairdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, died 1384 *Ruaidri Caech mac Diarmata (1404–1421), see Kings of Magh Luirg *Ruaidri Óg mac Diarmata (1478–1486), see Kings of Magh Luirg *Ruaidri mac Diarmata (1549–1568), see Kings of Magh Luirg * Ruaidrí Ó Domhnaill (1575–1608), King and Earl of Tyrconnell * Ruaidrí Ó Gadhra (died 1256), Irish king * Ruaidri Ó Cellaigh (died 1339), Irish king * Ruaidrí Ó Curnín (died 1496), Irish poet

Ruaidhrí

* Ruaidhri Ó Cianáin (died 1387), Irish historian * Rúaidhrí Conroy (born 1979), Irish actor * Ruaidhrí mac Coscraigh ( 990s), Irish king *

Rúaidhrí de Valera Rúaidhrí de Valera (3 November 1916 – 28 October 1978) was an Irish archaeologist most known for his work on the megalithic tombs of his country. He was the son of Éamon de Valera and Sinéad de Valera. Early studies De Valera took a B ...

(1916–1978), Irish archaeologist * Ruaidhrí Ó Dubhda ( 1380), Irish king *

Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh Roderick O'Flaherty (; 1629–1718 or 1716) was an Irish historian. Biography He was born in County Galway and inherited Moycullen Castle and estate. O'Flaherty was the last ''de jure'' Tigerna, Lord of Iar Connacht, and the last recognised C ...

(1629–1716/18), Irish historian * Ruaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh ( 1200s), Irish king * Rúaidhri Ua Flaithbheartaigh (died 1061), Irish king * Ruaidhri Ua Flaithbheartaigh (died 1145), Irish king * Ruaidhrí Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh (died 1569), Irish knight * Ruaidhrí Higgins (born 1984), manager of Derry City F.C. in the League of Ireland * Ruaidhri Mac Aedha (died 1170), Irish lord * Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill (died 1247?), Hebridean magnate * Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí (died 1318?), Scottish magnate * Ruaidhrí Mear Ua Dubhda ( 1100s), Irish king * Ruaidhrí Murphy (born 1987), Irish rugby union footballer * Ruaidhri Roberts (1917–1986), Irish trade union leader * Ruaidhri Smith (born 1994), Scottish cricketer

Ruadhri

* Ruadhri of Bute ( 13th century), Scottish noble * Ruadhri Ua Flaithbertaigh ( late 12th century), Irish king

Ruari

* Ruari Crichard (born 1995), English cricketer * Ruari MacLennan (born 1988), Scottish footballer * Ruari McLean (1917–2006), British typographic designer * Ruari Paton (born 2000), Irish footballer

Ruairí

* Bantum (real name Ruairí Lynch; born 1983), Irish multi-instrumentalist, musician, DJ, producer and composer * Ruairí Mac Easmainn (1864–1916), Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary and nationalist * Ruairí Brugha (1917–2006), Irish politician * Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (1932–2013), Irish Republican Army member * Ruairí Canavan (born 2003), Gaelic footballer *

Ruairi O'Connor Ruairí O'Connor (born 9 July 1991) is an Irish actor. On television, he is known for his role as Henry Tudor, the future Henry VIII, in the Starz series ''The Spanish Princess'' (2019–2020). His films include ''Handsome Devil (film), Handsome ...

(born 1991), Irish actor * Ruairí Convery (born 1984), Northern Irish hurler * Ruairí Deane (born 1991), Irish Gaelic footballer * Ruairí Ó Gadhra (died 1206), Irish king * Ruairi Glynn, installation artist * Ruairí Harkin (born 1989), Irish footballer * Ruairí Keating (born 1995), Irish footballer * Ruairi McGoff (born 1985), English-Canadian rugby league footballer * Ruairí McKiernan, Irish author and social entrepreneur * Ruairí Ó Murchú (born 1978), Irish politician * Ruairi Quinn (born 1946), Irish politician * Ruairi O'Rahilly, Gaelic footballer * Ruairí Robinson (born 1978), Irish film director and writer * Ruairí McKiernan (born 1977), Irish social activist

Ruaraidh

* Ruaraidh Erskine (1869–1960), Scottish nationalist * Ruaraidh Murray (born 1975), Scottish actor, writer and comedian

Ruairidh

* Ruairidh Campbell (born 1998), Scottish rugby union referee * Ruairidh Greenwood (born 1992), Scottish curler * Ruairidh MacIlleathain, Scottish Gaelic broadcaster

Ruaridh

Ruaridh Arrow Ruaridh Arrow is a British journalist and film-maker known for his 2011 feature documentary '' How to Start a Revolution'' about Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr Gene Sharp. The film was described as an underground hit with the Occupy movement, w ...

(born 1980), British film-maker * Ruaridh Jackson (born 1988), Scottish rugby union player * Ruaridh Langan (born 1998), Scottish footballer * Ruaridh MacKenzie (born 1994), Scottish rugby union player * Ruaridh McConnochie (born 1991), English rugby union player * Ruaridh Mollica, Scottish-Italian actor

Rory

Male

* Rory Anderson (born 1992), American football player * Rory Barnes (born 1946), Australian writer * Rory Best (born 1982), Irish rugby union footballer * Rory Boulding (born 1988), English footballer * Rory Brady (1957–2010), Irish lawyer * Rory Bremner (born 1961), Scottish comedian * Rory Brennan (born 1945), Irish poet * Rory Brien (born 1991), rugby league footballer * Rory Burns (born 1990), English cricketer * Rory Byrne (born 1944), South African racing car designer *

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

(1922–1999), American actor * Rory Carroll (born 1972), Irish journalist * Rory Cellan-Jones (born 1958), British journalist * Rory Cochrane (born 1972), American actor * Rory Collins (born 1955), epidemiologist * Rory Enrique Conde (born 1965), Colombian serial killer * Rory Culkin (born 1989), American actor * Rory Delap (born 1976), Irish football player *

Rory Dodd Rory Dodd (born Port Dover, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is probably best known for singing as the duet voice (the "Turn around, bright eyes" lyrics) on Bonnie Tyler's versi ...

, Canadian rock vocalist * Rory Fairweather-Neylan (born 1987), Australian ballet dancer * Rory Fallon (born 1982), New Zealand football player * Rory Feely (born 1997), Irish association football player * Rory Fitzpatrick (born 1975), American ice hockey player *

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

(1948–1995), Irish musician * Rory Hamilton-Brown (born 1987), English cricketer * Rory Jacob (born 1983), Irish hurler * Rory Jennings (born 1983), British actor * Rory Johnson (born 1986), American football player * Rory Jones (born 1955), South African football player * Rory Kiely (1934–2018), Irish politician * Rory Kinnear (born 1978), English actor * Rory Kockott (born 1986), South African rugby player representing France internationally * Rory Lamont (born 1982), Scottish rugby player * Rory Lawson (born 1981), Scottish international rugby union player *

Rory Lee Feek Rory Lee Feek (born April 25, 1965) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In his career, he has written singles for Clay Walker, Blake Shelton, Tracy Byrd and other artists. He and his wife, Joey Feek, formed the duo Joey + Rory ...

(born 1966), American country music singer and songwriter * Rory Leidelmeyer, American bodybuilder * Rory Loy (born 1988), Scottish footballer * Rory Macdonald (conductor) (born 1980), Scottish conductor * Rory MacDonald (fighter) (born 1989), Canadian professional mixed martial artist * Rory Macdonald (musician) (born 1949), Scottish bassist * Rory MacGregor (born 1976), British actor *

Rory MacLean Rory MacLean Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (born 5 November 1954) is a Great Britain, British-Canadian historian and travel writer who lives and works in Berlin and the United Kingdom. His best known works are ''Stalin’s Nose'' ...

(born 1954), Canadian writer * Rory Makem (born 1969) Irish-American musician * Rory Markas (1955–2010), American sportscaster * Rory Markham (born 1982), American mixed martial artist * Rory McCann (born 1969), Scottish actor * Rory McEwen (politician) (born 1948), Australian politician * Rory McEwen (artist) (1932–1982), Scottish artist and musician * Rory McGrath (born 1956), English comedian *

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...

(born 1989), Northern Irish golfer * Rory McLeod (singer-songwriter) (born 1957), English singer-songwriter * Rory McLeod (snooker player) (born 1971), English professional snooker player * Rory McTurk, British philologist * Rory O'Connor (Irish republican) (1883–1922), Irish republican activist * Rory O'Hanlon (born 1934), Irish politician * Rory O'Malley (born 1980), Broadway actor * Rory (Roger) O'Moore (1620–1655), Irish rebel * Rory O'Tunny (c. 1541–1542), Irish sculptor * Rory Peck (1956–1993), British journalist * Rory Reid (born 1963), American politician * Rory Sabbatini (born 1976), South African golfer * Rory J Saper (born 1996), English actor * Rory Schlein (born 1984), Australian speedway rider *

Rory Singer Rory Michael Singer (born May 28, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Although Rory had made a name for himself as a 185-pound prospect; his big break came after meeting the producers of TUF. They were fi ...

(born 1976), American mixed martial artist * Rory Sparrow (born 1958), American basketball player * Rory Smith (born 1987), Canadian lacrosse player * Rory Steele (born 1943), Australian author * Rory Stewart (born 1973), British politician, diplomat and author *

Rory Storm Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...

(1938–1972), English musician * Rory Sutherland (born 1982), Australian racing cyclist * Rory Underwood (born 1963), English rugby player * Rory Watson (born 1996), English footballer

Female

* Rory Bosio (born 1984), American ultramarathon runner * Aurora "Rory" Block (born 1949), American blues guitarist and singer * Ellen "Rory" Flack (born 1971), American figure skater * Rory Guilday (born 2002), American ice hockey player * Rory Kennedy (born 1968), American filmmaker * Rory Quintos (born 1962), Filipino television and film director * Rory Uphold, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and actress

Rorie

* Rorie Henderson (born 1959), British rower

Fictional characters

Male characters

*Brother Rua in the film

Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

*Rory in the Australian children's television series '' Little Lunch'' *Rory in the book series

The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' are a series of Young adult fiction, young adult Dystopian fiction, dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The series consists of a trilogy that follows teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and two ...

*Rory in the film/television series '' My Babysitter's a Vampire'' * Rory Adams in the movie ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' *Rory Breaker in the movie '' Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' *Rory Campbell in the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

*Roary in the television show Roary the Racing Car *Ruairí Donovan in the British radio soap opera ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

'' *Ruairi, a central character in the

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

Mabinogi, appearing in the introductory storyline and several others subsequently. * Rory Finnigan in the television series ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' * Rory Flanagan in the television series ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' * Rory Hennessy in the television series '' 8 Simple Rules'' *Rory Jansen in the movie '' The Words'' * Rory Murdoch in the television series '' River City'' *Rory O'Shea in the movie '' Inside I'm Dancing'' *Rory Peters in the movie ''

Final Destination 2 ''Final Destination 2'' is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis from a screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and Jeffrey Reddick. It is the sequel to ''Final Destinati ...

'' * Rory Regan, '' Ragman'' in the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

*Rory Slippery in the television series '' Fortysomething'' *

Rory Williams Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Having been introduced in 2010, at the start of Series 5, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Sm ...

in the television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' * Rory Walker in the movie '' The Conjuring'' * Rory Browne in the books of the saga of Agnes Browne (''The Mammy'', ''The Chisellers'', ''The Granny'' and ''The Young Wan'') by Brendan O'Carroll *Rory in the former

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

video game '' Club Penguin''

Female characters

* Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore in the television series ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...

'' * Rory Mercury in the anime and light novel series ''

Gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

.'' * Aurora "Rory" Morningstar, from the series "Lucifer."

References

{{given name Given names derived from colors Irish masculine given names Scottish Gaelic masculine given names Scottish masculine given names Anglicised Scottish Gaelic-language given names Irish given names Scottish given names Masculine given names English masculine given names