Corey

Corey derives from the Old Norse 'kori', a word related to a hollow or ravine, which produced the Irish Gaelic surname O'Comhraidhe before being anglicized. It also has roots in the Irish name Cormac and the Norse personal name Kori. The anglicized spelling Corey became standard in American English, where it gained widespread use as a first name from the mid-20th century onward.

Corey belongs to a generation of relaxed, approachable anglicised names that flourished in the post-war English-speaking world, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia, and to a lesser degree Britain. Its Norse and Gaelic roots were largely invisible to the families who chose it from the 1960s onwards, who valued its friendly sound and contemporary feel over historical depth. In British culture, Corey is less common than in North America, where it peaked strongly in the 1970s and 1980s, partly through the visibility of American actors such as Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. In the UK it is found more often in working-class and suburban communities than in aristocratic or highly traditional naming traditions, giving it a warm, unpretentious social flavour. Today it reads as a slightly nostalgic choice that carries the easy confidence of the era in which it thrived, appealing to parents who want a name that will not date badly or require constant spelling correction.