Rory
Rory is a male given name of Goidelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the /Ruaidhrí/Ruaidhrígh/Rudhraighe/Ruaraidh and Manx: Rauree and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. The meaning of the name is "red king", from "ruadh" ("red" or "red-haired") and "rígh" ("king"). In Ireland and Scotland it is a masculine name and only rarely a female name (there is no record of the name being used for a girl in Ireland since at least 1965, and there have only been six instances of its use among girls in Scotland since 1974 ). 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. Since the  1960s in the United States, the name has occasionally been given to females, notably to Rory Kennedy (b. 1968), daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. It can also be short for "Aurora". 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 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.