Head to head · Boys' names
Andres vs Rory
#200 vs #199 in 2025
Rory is a whisker ahead (#199 vs #200 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Rory is climbing the charts fast, Andres is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Andres and Rory each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Andres #684, Rory — — Andres higher
- 1890s: Andres #834, Rory — — Andres higher
- 1900s: Andres #706, Rory — — Andres higher
- 1910s: Andres #749, Rory — — Andres higher
- 1920s: Andres #633, Rory — — Andres higher
- 1930s: Andres #632, Rory #3561 — Andres higher
- 1940s: Andres #607, Rory #1550 — Andres higher
- 1950s: Andres #580, Rory #424 — Rory higher
- 1960s: Andres #490, Rory #427 — Rory higher
- 1970s: Andres #359, Rory #527 — Andres higher
- 1980s: Andres #238, Rory #394 — Andres higher
- 1990s: Andres #170, Rory #641 — Andres higher
- 2000s: Andres #162, Rory #734 — Andres higher
- 2010s: Andres #209, Rory #457 — Andres higher
- 2020s: Andres #207, Rory #262 — Andres higher
Andres stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Andres has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Andres | Rory |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #684 | — |
| 1890s | #834 | — |
| 1900s | #706 | — |
| 1910s | #749 | — |
| 1920s | #633 | — |
| 1930s | #632 | #3561 |
| 1940s | #607 | #1550 |
| 1950s | #580 | #424 |
| 1960s | #490 | #427 |
| 1970s | #359 | #527 |
| 1980s | #238 | #394 |
| 1990s | #170 | #641 |
| 2000s | #162 | #734 |
| 2010s | #209 | #457 |
| 2020s | #207 | #262 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Andres
Not charting outside the US.
Rory
- Scotland#3
- England & Wales#24
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Andres
manly, of a man
From the Greek Andreas, built on anēr, andros — 'man'.
Andreas → Andreas (Latin) → Andrés → Andres
How it traveled
The root is Greek: Andreas, from andros, 'of a man'. It was already a common Greek name when one of the twelve apostles in the New Testament bore it, and Christian missionaries carried it across Europe, where each language reshaped it — Andrew in English, André in French, Andrzej in Polish, Andrés in Spanish.
Rory
red king
From the Old Irish elements ruadh, "red" or "red-haired", and rí, "king" — often rendered "red-haired king".
Ruaidrí → Ruaidhrí → Ruairidh → Rory
How it traveled
The name begins as Ruaidrí in Old Irish, a compound of "red" and "king", and it was borne by the last High King of Ireland in the twelfth century, before the Norman arrival reshaped the island. Irish spelling settled on Ruaidhrí and Scottish Gaelic on Ruairidh, and when clerks and emigrants wrote those sounds in English they produced Rory.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Andres
ahn-DRESS
That is the Spanish stress, on the second syllable. In English-speaking settings many bearers accept AN-druss, with the weight up front. Both are in real use, and it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
- Andy — The most portable short form, shared with Andrew and Andrea; also used on its own as a given name.
- Andresito — Spanish diminutive, affectionate and family-level rather than public.
- Dre — Informal clipping heard mainly among younger speakers in the US.
- Nano — A familiar nickname used in parts of the Spanish-speaking world; household use only.
Rory
ROR-ee
Rhymes with story; stress on the first syllable. The Irish Ruaidhrí and Gaelic Ruairidh are closer to ROO-ə-ree, which can surprise people meeting the older spellings for the first time.
- Rory — Already short; most bearers use the full name in every setting, formal and informal.
- Ro — Family-level shortening, used mostly by parents and siblings rather than on paper.
- Rors — Informal, chiefly among friends and teammates.
- Rory (as a short form) — Also used as an informal nickname for longer names such as Aurora and Rosemary, mainly for girls.
Who has carried each name
Andres
No documented entry for Andres yet.
Rory
Rory McIlroy (b. 1989) — Golf's career Grand Slam champion
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Andres if you want…
- a name holding steadyAndres is holding its place on the charts
- a long American recordAndres was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 25% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 55% for Rory
Choose Rory if you want…
- a name on the way upup 131 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooRory is on the national lists of Scotland and England & Wales
- a newer arrivalRory entered the US charts in 1933
- a name that feels very nowRory is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Andres
Strengths
- Recognized in dozens of languages through its close relatives — Andrew, André, Andreas — so it travels without translation.
- Spelled the way it sounds, and short enough to fit any form field.
- Comes with a ready-made short form in Andy, in continuous use for centuries.
To consider
- The Spanish spelling carries an accent: Andrés. Dropping it, as US records do, is entirely normal, but you may find yourself choosing between the two versions on documents, and family may restore it in speech.
- Two pronunciations circulate, ahn-DRESS and AN-druss, so your son will likely hear both and learn to answer to either.
- It sits close to Andrew, André and Andreas, and people who know one will sometimes reach for the wrong one on a first meeting.
Rory
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and spelled the way it sounds for English speakers — rarely needs repeating on the phone.
- Already a complete name at two syllables, with no long formal version anyone will insist on.
- Recognized across Ireland, Scotland, England and the US, so it crosses borders without translation.
To consider
- It leans to boys in American records but is genuinely given to girls too, so a daughter named Rory may meet forms and teachers that assume otherwise. Easy to correct, but it will come up more than once.
- The trajectory is upward. A Rory born now is unlikely to share the name in a classroom, but the name will be more familiar by the time they are grown than it is today.
- Two r-sounds close together make it one of the later names a child learns to say cleanly, and it can be misheard as Cory, Tory or Laurie in noisy rooms.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Andres
25%chance Andres feels dated by 2040
Andres peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
Rory
55%chance Rory feels dated by 2040
Rory is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Andres and Rory in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Names ending in -s
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- all guides
Where Andres and Rory each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Andres or Rory — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Andres or Rory?
- Rory, in 2025: Rory ranked #199 with 1,768 babies; Andres ranked #200 with 1,744 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Andres or Rory?
- Rory. Over the last five years Andres moved up 19 places; Rory moved up 131 places.
- Which is the older name, Andres or Rory?
- Andres was already in use when US records began in 1880; Rory entered the US charts in 1933. On the American record, Andres is the older name.
- How many people are named Andres and Rory?
- About 90,500 people named Andres are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 33,500 people named Rory are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Andress or Rorys in the classroom?
- Andres will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rory will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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