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The name Connor has Irish roots. Pronounced KAHN-ur, it is a masculine name, and is popular as both a given name and a surname. Variants of the name are O'Connor, O'Conner, Conner, McConnor, MacConnor, Conners, Konnor, and Coner. It may come from the Irish "Conchobhair" or "Conchobhar" which means lover of hounds, or wolf-lover. Another meaning is Irish for "desire." The Gaelic meaning of the name is "strong-willed."

Connor has historical significance as the name of an early king of Ulster. In history, King Connor Mac Nessa had a tragic love for Deirdre. His palace was located in Emain Macha. He went to war with Maeve, his ex-wife, the Queen of Connaught. He also married her sister, Ethne. He was a patron of poetry and the arts, and at one point protected 1200 poets for 7 years because people had grown angry at their laziness and covetousness and how they were a burden on the people.

As a surname, O'Connor are the descendants of Conor or Concovar, an Irish chieftain who died in 971. A famous O'Connor is Sandra Day O'Connor, the former US Supreme Court Justice.

There is an unorganized territory named Connor in Maine, United States of America. There is also a town of Connor in the County Atrim, Northern Ireland. Besides locations, there is a branch of the Church of Ireland known as the Diocese of Connor. As a noun, an ale "connor" was someone who sat in a puddle of ale to judge its quality.

Famous Connors include fictional characters. Connor was a character on "Angel," the TV show, and a character named Connor MacLeod from the Highlander movies. There is a Connor Hawke, a DC comic hero. Many people are familiar with John and Sarah Connor, of "Terminator" fame.
There is also Connor Rown on the TV show "October Road," a character named Connor in the movie "Kicking and Screaming," and a character named Connor in the movie "National Treasure: Book of Secrets."

Jean Smart, Jensen Buchanan, Patrick Duffy, Ruth Pointer, Nicole Kidman, and Tom Cruise are all celebrities with a child named Connor. The only celebrity found to have the first name Connor is Connor Henry, the basketball player. As a last name, celebrities include George Connor and Roger Connor, hall-of-famers for football and baseball, respectively. Jim, Joe, John, and Ned Connor are all famous baseball players, Kathy Connor is a writer, Richard J. Connor runs marathons, and Sarah Connor is a musician.

In popularity, Connor peaked in 2005 ranking in the 30's as the most popular boy's name, and ranked 48th for the year 2006. It has only been in the top 100 names since 1992. It is popular globally, also ranking highly in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and England. In Scotland, it is most popular, ranking in the top 10 boy's names in recent years.

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