| Rory | Donovan | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | red king | dark brown-haired |
| Origin | irish | irish |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | ROR-ee | DON-oh-vuhn |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1933 | 1900 |
| Peak year | 2025 (1,768) | 2003 (2,211) |
| In 2025 | 1,768 | 609 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Rory | Donovan |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8,172 | 4,115 |
| 2010s | 6,990 | 12,289 |
| 2000s | 2,737 | 19,329 |
| 1990s | 2,706 | 12,239 |
| 1980s | 4,738 | 4,553 |
| 1970s | 2,668 | 3,750 |
| 1960s | 3,737 | 1,813 |
| 1950s | 3,621 | 876 |
| 1940s | 462 | 717 |
| 1930s | 10 | 866 |
| 1920s | 0 | 719 |
| 1910s | 0 | 335 |
| 1900s | 0 | 83 |
Anglicized form of Irish 'Ruaidhri', from 'ruadh' ('red') + 'ri' ('king') — 'red king'. Borne by Ruaidhri Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. Now also used for girls.
Anglicized from Irish O Donndubhain, from 'donn' meaning 'brown' and 'dubh' meaning 'black, dark' — commonly rendered 'dark brown-haired' or 'dark-haired chieftain'.
Rory is more popular than Donovan today: about 1,768 US babies were given the name Rory in 2025, compared with 609 named Donovan.
Rory means red king (irish origin), while Donovan means dark brown-haired (irish origin).
In US records, Rory first appears in 1933 and Donovan in 1900, so Donovan has the longer recorded history.