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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Rory, Corey, Toby? Any bad reputations?

35 replies

Liland · 12/12/2018 19:32

I've been perusing these boards for a while in search of our due next month first baby boy's name, and it's become apparent that some names have a certain reputation I wasn't aware of - I have no Mum friends or involvement with kids yet, so this is new ground for me, and I don't want to pick a name people will make judegments about before meeting my child, at school and such.

Are there any prevailing opinions on Rory, Toby or Corey? Me and DP like all 3, but have been struggling to agree on any others! All work well with his last name, and we'll work on a middle name later on. We're based in the UK if that matters!

Any opinions would be very gratefully received!

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Astronica · 13/12/2018 08:01

Toby and Rory are good. Corey not good.

MiseryLoves · 13/12/2018 07:51

I quite like Toby. The only one I can think of (showing my age here) is Toby Mangel from neighbours a billion years ago. I’m know a few Tobias but never shortened.

Rory is nice too but there seems to be a surge of female Rory’s - I personally know 3 girls across various toddler groups, all short for Aurora.

Corey, yes it’s used for penis where I’m from (east London) but was also the name of the little boy who ate the poisoned doughnut and died in ‘flowers in the attic’ so I always feel sad when I hear it.

Original poster
Liland · 13/12/2018 07:42

Lots more input, thanks again :) We've definitely ruled out Corey, and I'm going to have a chat with DP about the possible problems of pronouncing Rs, so thanks for pointing that out too!

OP posts:
BitOfFun · 12/12/2018 23:30

I have a Rory, who is indeed ginger, and he is the naughtiest boy in the world. Here he is yesterday after discovering one of my lip crayons...

Rory, Corey, Toby? Any bad reputations?
LittleKitty1985 · 12/12/2018 23:19

We had Toby on our shortlist & I agree with the PPs that you should put Tobias on the birth certificate. One of the reasons we didn't choose it was that we didn't agree on the pronunciation of Tobias.

YerAuntFanny · 12/12/2018 23:16

Ruairaidh/Ruairi and Rory aren't interchangeable. I've only ever seen this being said on MN, they are completely different sounds. Roo-ree and Roar-ee!

Anyway, back to the point.

Rory - It's fine but it does sound like it should be short for something to me, I have no idea what/why though!
Corey - I know 4 under 10, all lovely kids and I like the name.
Toby - I know 2 human Toby's and 4 dogs.

AveEldon · 12/12/2018 23:15

Rory and Toby are great

Corey = Haim or Feldman, American, not so keen on it

NameChanger22 · 12/12/2018 23:12

There was a very naughty boy who lived near me called Rory when I was growing up. Everyone used to say "Rory, Rory, tell us a story" so he'd get upset and smash a window. I don't like the name.

Corey is a very American name, I knew a few people called Corey when I lived there. I don't like it.

I like Toby the most. I've only known two people called Toby. One of them took a drug overdose and died though, very sad.

Hope that helps.

SnowyPaws5 · 12/12/2018 23:05

None are my cup of tea (sorry).

I have known many naughty Coreys. But it looks like you've ruled it out now.

Toby is very wet fish.

And Rory is okay but a bit blah. I know quite a few.

RavenWings · 12/12/2018 23:01

Toby is very wet and blah, tbh. Rory is nice. Never really liked Corey, always seemed like a very American name to me.

Sophronia · 12/12/2018 23:00

I don’t like any of them. Toby and Rory are a bit wet, and Corey is very 80s. How about Cary?

foxtiger · 12/12/2018 22:39

My DP says that Rory is a ginger name.

The Rory I know best is ginger, so I can relate to that - and it does mean "red" so it's quite an appropriate name for a ginger person.

I like both Rory and Toby, not quite sure about Corey - it's making me think of apple cores, but I suppose that's not the worst association.

Cauliflowersqueeze · 12/12/2018 20:58

I have a friend called Rob who can’t pronounce his r sound and so has to introduce himself as Wob. I’d be put off Rory for that reason. War-we

Pinkyponkcustard · 12/12/2018 20:57

Rory actually means red king which might be where the ginger thing comes from (and it’s a Gaelic name)

Gorgeous name though

mogtheexcellent · 12/12/2018 20:57

Rory in dr who wasn't ginger.

I like it and was one of my top5 boys names but we had a girl.

MadeForThis · 12/12/2018 20:54

The Rory I know is ginger.

Katurah · 12/12/2018 20:54

I like Rory but prefer the Ruari spelling - I've taught a few over the years and always lovey boys. I prefer Tobias to Toby. Not a fan of Corey, first in to Jayden, Kayden territory for me. Or the sick twin in Flowers in the Attic🤷🏻‍♀️

NameChange30 · 12/12/2018 20:44

I like Toby, it was on my list for DS.
Also like Rory although I think it can be hard for some people to pronounce.
Dislike Corey.

If you and your partner have different surnames, please consider giving your child your own surname (on its own or together with your partner's surname). If using both surnames, you could hyphenate or just have two surnames without a hyphen (like the Spanish) which makes it easier to drop one surname for everyday use if you want.

Original poster
Liland · 12/12/2018 20:40

Awesome, thanks for all the input!

OP posts:
elibee · 12/12/2018 20:39

I only know the one Corey and if it does mean dick it suits him perfectly.

I like Rory best but I much prefer the Ruaridh spelling.

Mousetrap3 · 12/12/2018 20:35

I like Toby, DH is ginger and he’s not called Rory Hmm

tammytoby · 12/12/2018 20:29

Rory is very difficult to pronounce for those who struggle with their Rs.

Toby is nice as a nickname for Tobias only.

crumble82 · 12/12/2018 20:25

I like Rory and Toby, they’re both names that fit in anywhere.

Corey in my mind sounds like a troublemaker, however I know that’s a ridiculous thing to say as the only Corey I know is a lovely, polite little boy! Still not that keen on the name though.

EloisaJane · 12/12/2018 20:21

I have a Rory. I love his name (obvs). It has definitely increased in popularity but isn't ridiculously popular.

breakingdownbitbybit · 12/12/2018 20:18

I had Corey on our boys names list.
Everyone hated it!