Conor peaked in 1993, ranks #707 today, and carries 27,087 SSA entries: a name that had its American moment during the Celtic revival wave and has been holding steady since. The spelling alone does quiet cultural work: one N, no H, Irish through and through.
Irish Gaelic Bones
Conor descends from the Old Irish Conchobar, meaning "lover of hounds" or "wolf-lover" — derived from con (hound, or figuratively warrior) and cobar (desiring). Conchobar mac Nessa was the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle, one of early Irish literature's central heroic figures. Over centuries the name softened into Conchobhar, then into the modern anglicized forms Connor and Conor. The single-N Irish spelling is the more historically faithful option, even if Connor edges it out in raw American usage.
The Connor/Conor Divide
Among all bearers of this name's sound, the double-N Connor is more common in SSA records. Conor's singularity isn't a mistake — it's a deliberate stance. Parents who choose Conor are often signaling Irish heritage more precisely, leaning into the original orthography the way someone might choose Siobhán over Shavon. Mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor brought the single-N spelling to global visibility after 2013, and a new generation now associates it with a different kind of warrior energy than the mythological original.
Does the Spelling Cause Confusion?
In American schools, Conor will spend a portion of his life correcting the double-N assumption — teachers, baristas, substitute instructors will default to Connor. Whether that's a minor nuisance or a meaningful identity marker depends entirely on the family. Compare both spellings side by side at /compare to see how their trajectories diverged after the mid-1990s peak. Conor pairs naturally with surnames like Murphy or Malone, and nicknames don't really apply — the name is already short enough to stand alone.