Cory
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Meaning
traditionally 'hollow' or 'cauldron', from an Irish Gaelic surname
The story
Cory is usually traced to an Irish surname, traditionally glossed hollow or cauldron, and America turned it into a friendly first name with a spelling quarrel built in from the start. The curve climbs from mid-century through the 1970s to a peak across the 1980s and 1990s, the era that closed with Boy Meets World premiering in 1993 and Cory Matthews walking an entire generation through adolescence one Friday night at a time. The Corey spelling, worn by that decade's twin teen idols, always outsold this leaner four-letter form, a sibling rivalry the two spellings never resolved. Cory has eased since, aging gracefully with its cohort, and remains the tidier version of a sound that defined late-century American boyhood. If the sound comes back around, as friendly two-syllable classics tend to, the lean spelling is well placed to lead the return.
How popular is Cory around the world?
In the United States, 1,269 babies were named Cory between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 8 boys named Cory were registered in 2024, the 404th most common name among boys that year.
Cory is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, South Australia, England and Wales, Canada and Brazil.
United States
1 in 17,000
In the United States, 1,269 babies were named Cory between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cory peaked in the 1980s and the 1990s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 5,700
In Scotland, 8 boys named Cory were registered in 2024, the 404th 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 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 boys were registered as Cory 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
England and Wales
1 in 37,000
In England and Wales, 16 boys named Cory were born in 2025, ranked 1,613th 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 52,000
In Canada, 7 boys named Cory were born in 2024, ranked 2,550th 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)
Austria
last on record 2011
Cory 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)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 43 people in Brazil were named Cory, ranked 73,816th, with a median age of 53.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2022
Cory is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Mexico City City
last on record 2017
Cory is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 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
New Zealand
last on record 2013
Cory 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, Argentina, 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 Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Cory
Most people given the name Cory in the United States were born between 1970 and 1999. The Cory 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.
Keep exploring
The Cory deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cory 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 Cory fits with your family’s names and surname.
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