It had to be an Irish name for this week, when everyone’s just a little bit Irish. But Patrick seemed to be a little too cliche—and while it’s a timeless name, it’s not exactly red-hot these days.
But compare that with the equally Irish name Rory, and you’ll see what red hot really means. This Irish name means “red king,” and it’s on a sharp spike here in the U.S. since 2007, sitting at #481. In Scotland and Ireland, it’s a top 50 name!
You can attribute the sharpest part of the spike, from 2010-present, to the recent renaissance in popularity of Doctor Who—and two of his most beloved companions, the Ponds. That’s Amelia Pond (the girl who waited), and her future husband and true love, Rory, who died off and was resurrected a record number of times during his two years of traveling with the Doctor.
To me, Rory’s kind of a perfect name for someone looking to share their Irish heritage with their son—it’s a simple and straightforward, without the difficult spellings and pronunciations, like fellow Irish monikers Aoife and Ciaran. And if you’re daring, Rory works pretty well for a daughter, too.
I’d pair Rory with something else equally cool—Knox, Shea, True or Sage.
What do you think of the baby name Rory? Is it worthy of consideration? Check out our baby name finder to choose the perfect name for your baby, and don’t forget to like In Name Only to keep up with the latest in baby names.