As a given name, Cory is used by both males and females. It is a variation of the name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word coire, which means "in a cauldron", or "in a hollow".

As a surname, it has a number of possible derivations, including an Old Norse personal name Kori of uncertain meaning, which is found in Scandinavia and England. As an Irish surname it comes from Ó Comhraidhe (descendant of Comhraidheh). Notable people or fictional characters named Cory include:

Cory Aldridge (born 1979), American baseball player

Cory Alexander (born 1973), American basketball player

Cory Arcangel (born 1978), American digital artist

Cory Asbury (born 1985), American Christian musician and worship pastor

Cory Bent (born 1997), English footballer

Cory Booker (born 1969), United States senator from New Jersey

Cory Bowles (born 1973), Canadian actor and choreographer

Cory Carr (born 1975), American-Israeli basketball player

Cory Conacher (born 1989), Canadian ice hockey player

Cory Cory-Wright (1838–1909), British businessman

Cory Cotton (born 1987), writer and member of the American sports conglomerate Dude Perfect

Cory Cyrenne (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player

Cory Doctorow (born 1971), Canadian journalist and author

Cory Edwards, American writer and director

Cory Everson (born 1958), American bodybuilder and actress

Cory Fong (born 1972), American public servant

Cory Gearrin (born 1986), American baseball player

Cory Gibbs (born 1980), American association footballer

Cory Hardrict (born 1979), American actor

Cory Henry (born 1987), American pianist, organist and singer-songwriter

Cory Jane (born 1983), New Zealand rugby union footballer

Cory Kennedy (model) (born 1990), American model

Cory Kennedy (skateboarder), American professional skateboarder

Cory La Quay, American drummer of the post-hardcore band A Skylit Drive

Cory Lee (born 1984), Canadian singer-songwriter and actress

Cory Lerios (born 1951), American pianist and vocalist

Cory Lidle (1972–2006), American baseball player

Cory Marks, Canadian country rock singer

Cory McGrath (born 1979), Australian rules footballer

Cory Monteith (1982–2013), Canadian actor

Cory Morgan (ice hockey) (born 1978), Canadian ice hockey player

Cory Morrow (born 1972), American singer-songwriter

Cory Nelms (born 1988), American football player

Cory Paterson (born 1987), Australian rugby league footballer

Cory Pecker (born 1981), Canadian ice hockey player

Cory Philpot (born 1970), Canadian Football League player

Cory Quirino (born 1953), Filipino TV host

Cory Redding (born 1980), American National Football League player

Cory Rooney, American songwriter and record producer

Cory Sarich (born 1978), Canadian ice hockey player

Cory Schlesinger (born 1972), American footballer

Cory Spangenberg (born 1991), American baseball player

Cory Spinks (born 1978), American boxer

Cory Stillman (born 1973), Canadian ice hockey player

Cory Sullivan (born 1979), American baseball player

Cory Wade (born 1983), American baseball player

Cory Walker (born 1980), American comic book artist

Cory Wells (1941–2015), American singer

Cory T. Williams, American attorney and Democratic politician

Cory Williams (born 1981), American YouTube personality also known as "Mr. Safety"

Cory Witherill (born 1971), American race car driver

Surname
Annie Sophie Cory (1868–1952), English author

Asa Howe Cory (1814–1892), American Civil War captain

Arthur Cory, American politician

Charles B. Cory (1857–1921), American ornithologist and golfer

Clifford Cory (1859–1941), Welsh coal owner and Liberal Party politician

Donald Webster Cory, pen name of Edward Sagarin (1913–1986)

Eleanor Cory (born 1943), American composer

Fanny Cory, American illustrator of the Little Miss Muffet comic book

Florence Elizabeth Cory (1851–1902), American industrial designer and school founder

George Cory (historian) (1862–1935), South African chemist and historian

George Norton Cory (1874–1968), Canadian Lieutenant-General

J. Campbell Cory (1867–1925), American cartoonist

John Cory (1828–1910), British philanthropist, coal-owner, and ship-owner

Judith A. Cory, Oscar-nominated makeup artist

Kate Cory (1861–1958), American photographer and painter of Hopi

Peter Cory (1925–2020), judge on the Supreme Court of Canada

Robert Cory, English churchman and professor of moral philosophy

William Johnson Cory (1823–1892), English educator and poet

William Wallace Cory (1865–1943), Canadian politician

Nickname
Corazon Aquino (1933–2009), Filipino politician and former president of the Philippines

Fictional characters
Cory Baxter, from the TV series That's So Raven and Cory in the House

Cory Dollanganger, from the 1979 novel Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews

Cory Ellison, from the TV series The Morning Show

Cory Matthews, from the TV series Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World

Cory Maxson, from the play Fences, by August Wilson

"Richard Cory", the subject of an 1897 poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson

The Cory family, from the soap opera Another World

See also
Corey

Corie, given name

Corrie (given name)

Corrie (surname)

Kory (given name)

Kory (disambiguation), includes a list of people with the surname Kory