Corey
Torn between Corey and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
transferred English surname from the Old Norse given name Kóri, whose meaning is unknown
The story
Corey comes from an English surname, and that surname descends from the Old Norse given name Kóri. The meaning of Kóri is unknown. The familiar Irish hollow or ravine explanation belongs elsewhere and should not be attached to Corey simply because it sounds plausible. The name moved from surname to given name and became widely visible in the United States through Corey Baker, the son on the television series Julia, which began in 1968. The local curve starts moving in the 1970s, rises in the 1980s, reaches its strongest point in the 1990s, and then declines through the 2000s and later decades. Cory, Korey, and Kory share the sound, while Cori often marks feminine use. Corey's honest story is stronger than a false translation: Norse ancestry, surname history, and a clear late-twentieth-century American chapter.
How popular is Corey around the world?
In the United States, 2,787 babies were named Corey between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 24 boys named Corey were registered in 2024, the 181st most common name among boys that year.
Corey is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, South Australia, Ireland, England and Wales, Canada and Mexico City.
United States
1 in 7,800
In the United States, 2,787 babies were named Corey between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Corey peaked in the 1990s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 1,900
In Scotland, 24 boys named Corey were registered in 2024, the 181st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 3,7002017
In South Australia, 5 boys were registered as Corey in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Ireland
1 in 7,700
In Ireland, 7 boys named Corey were born in 2025, the 468th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 9,000
In England and Wales, 65 boys named Corey were born in 2025, the 593rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 26,000
In Canada, 14 boys named Corey were born in 2024, ranked 1,536th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Mexico City City
1 in 29,000
In Mexico City, there were 4 registrations of Corey in 2022.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
last on record 2020
Corey is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2014
Corey is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Montevideo City
last on record 1993
Corey is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Corey is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2018
Corey is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Spain, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Corey
Most people given the name Corey in the United States were born between 1970 and 1999. The Corey you meet today is most often in his 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Corey deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Corey truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Corey fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Corey fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Corey to your family’s tree →