Corey is an Irish and English surname turned first name; its origin is uncertain, and it is usually explained from the Gaelic coire as "dweller in a hollow" or traced to an Old Norse personal name. The teen stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman made it a signature name of the 1980s, and it stayed strong through the 1990s. Corey ranked number 149 in 2000 and has declined steadily since, to number 778 in 2025.