Rory

Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the Irish: Ruairí/Ruaidhrí and Scottish Gaelic: Ruairidh[3] and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas.[4] The meaning of the name is "red king", composed of ruadh ("red-haired") and rígh ("king").

For other uses, see Rory (disambiguation).

Rory
Rory O'Conor, last High King of Ireland
PronunciationEnglish: /ˈrɔːri/ ROR-ee[1]
GenderUnisex[2]
Origin
Language(s)Celtic languages
Meaningred king
Region of originIreland, Scotland
Other names
Related namesfrom Ruairi (Ruaridh, Ruaidhrí, Ruairí, Ruairidh, Ruaraidh, Ruaidhrígh, "Ruari")

In Ireland and Scotland, it is generally seen as a masculine name and therefore rarely given to females.[5]

History

An early use of the name in antiquity is in reference to Rudraige mac Sithrigi, a High King of Ireland who eventually spawned the Ulaid (indeed, this tribe are sometimes known as Clanna Rudhraighe). 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, 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, held the name.

Rory has seen increasing use in females since the 1960s, especially in the United States. One notable example is Rory Kennedy (b. 1968), daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. It can alternatively be a nickname for "Aurora" or "Lorelai".

Variations

The standard Scottish Gaelic pronunciation is /ˈruə̯.rʲɪ/, and in Munster Irish /rəiˈrʲiː/. In English, it is typically pronounced as English: /ˈrɔːri/ (ROR-ee).[1] In Classical Gaelic, the name was written Ruaidhrigh, and in Old Irish 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 name Roderick, of similar meaning (leader) and in some cases the also etymologically unrelated names Roger and Ray.

Old Irish Modern Irish Scottish Gaelic Modern Scottish English
Ruaidhrí Ruairí Ruairidh Ruaridh Rory

List of people

Ruaidrí

Ruaidhrí

Ruairí

Ruaraidh

Ruairidh

Ruaridh

Male

Female

Characters

Male characters

Female characters

See also

References
  1. "How to pronounce Rory". forvo.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. "Popular Baby Names". The United States Social Security Administration. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. Martin-Doyle, Katie (1999). Treasury of Baby Names. Cambridge: Worth Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-1-903025-11-6. Anglicised form of the Irish Gaelic names Ruaidhri, Ruari, and the Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh and Ruaraidh
  4. Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (1996). Learn about the family history of your surname. ISBN 0-19-280050-7. for the given name "Rory".
  5. "Baby Names of Ireland - CSO - Central Statistics Office". www.cso.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.