Spelling and Abbreviations of Names
Cory Name Spelling
Practically all the early New England settlers were from England. It is stated in Burke's General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, all the Scotch families spell the name Corrie, the Irish spell it Corry and the English Cory.
The "Corey" spelling seems to have appeared in the first three generations in America. It has fluctuated over the generations. For example, in the Thomas line, in many cases, it reverted back to the Cory spelling in the fifth and sixth generations, but reappeared again in the seventh and eighth.
With many people not being able to read or write, and with others having only minimal reading and writing skills, there was a great tendency to spell many words phonetically. Since the person dictating information to a scribe was probably incapable of knowing whether or not the spelling was correct, often the name appeared the way the scribe thought it should be rather than the way it actually was.
During your research, you will find records of Corys under the following spellings: Carey, Cary, Chorey, Coary, Coery, Coney, Conry, Cora, Coray, Core, Coree, Corey, Corry, Cory, Covy, and in several places with a "G" or a "K" as the first letter.
Biblical Names
It was quite common for Cory children to be named after Biblical personages. Again, you will find various spelling of these names, for instance, Hezekiah is spelled Hezrkiah and Hezikiah in various references. Nathanael may be spelled Nathaniel, but it has been found to be also spelled Nathanell and Nathanill. The following table lists the spellings that seem to be correct:
| Abel | Ephraim | Jeremiah | Rebecca |
| Amos | Ezekiel | Josiah | Rebekah |
| Benjamin | Ezra | Joshua | Samuel |
| Daniel | Hezekiah | Nathanael | Zechariah |
| Elijah | Isaiah | Nathaniel |
Abbreviations
In many references, abbreviations are used for common names. Following is a brief list of the most common ones.
| Aaron---Aar n | Jonathan---Jonath n, Jon n, Jon: |
| Abraham---Abra m | John---Jno:, Jno |
| Andrew---Andr w, And w | Joseph---Jos, Jos: |
| Arthur---Art r, Arth r | Leonard---Leon d |
| Barbara---Barb a | Margaret---Marg t |
| Benjamin---Benj a, Benj n, Benj: | Nathan---Nath n |
| Charles---Cha s, Char s | Nathaniel---Nath l, Nathan l |
| Christopher---X r, Xopher, Xofer | Patrick---Patr k |
| Daniel---Dan l | Richard---Rich d, Rich: |
| David---Dav d | Robert---Rob t, Rob: |
| Ebenezer---Eben r | Samuel---Sam l, Sam: |
| Franklin---Frankl n, Frank n, Frank: | Stephen---Steph n |
| Frederick---Fred ck, Fredr k | Thomas---Tho s, Tho:, Tho |
| George---Geo:, G o | Vincent---Vinc t, Vinc nt |
| Gilbert---Gilb t, Gil rt | Virginia---Virg a, Virg: |
| Hannah---Ha n ah | Wilford---Wilf d, Wilf: |
| James---Ja s, Jas: | William---Will m, W m, Will: |
| Jeremiah---Jer a, Jerem a, Jer: | Zachariah---Zach a, Zachar a, Zach: |
Diminutive Forms
Diminutive forms of names are used extensively in the records. These include Abby, Betty, Betsey, Libbie, Liz, Lucy, Sally, Polly, and Patty. Many times, the "y" is replaced with an "ie".
The names Elizabeth and Mary are very prevalent in the Cory family. Mary has many diminutive forms. These include, Mae, Marietta, May, Molly, Moll, and Polly. This last form, Polly, seems to have been the most popular form with the Corys.