Show ContentsRorie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

There are many Irish surnames being used today in forms that are quite different than their original, ancient forms. Rorie originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Ruaidhri, which means son of Rory. [1]

Early Origins of the Rorie family

The surname Rorie was first found in County Tyrone (Irish:Tír Eoghain), the ancient territory of the O'Neills, now in the Province of Ulster, central Northern Ireland, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Rorie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rorie research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1298 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Rorie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rorie Spelling Variations

Many spelling variations of the surname Rorie can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include MacCreary, MacCreery, MacCrary, MacCrory and others.

Early Notables of the Rorie family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rorie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rorie Ranking

In the United States, the name Rorie is the 9,911st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [2]


United States Rorie migration to the United States +

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Rorie family came to North America quite early:

Rorie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James Rorie, who landed in America, in 1892
  • George S. Rorie, aged 20, who settled in America, in 1894
Rorie Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Thomas H.B. Rorie, aged 37, who settled in America from Broughty Ferry, Scotland, in 1912
  • James B. Rorie, aged 29, who immigrated to the United States, in 1914
  • Blanche Munro Rorie, aged 39, who landed in America from Drumgeith, Scotland, in 1917

Contemporary Notables of the name Rorie (post 1700) +

  • David Rorie MDCM, DPH (1867-1946), Scottish physician, folklorist and poet


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/


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