ninan.org

Riley

Girls' name · Millennial-era

Living in the US
~237,600 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#48 among girls
Births in 2025
6,107 246,985 since 1880
Typical age
16 years, median

Riley popularity over time

Riley rank by birth year, 1923–2025Riley ranked #4,967 in 1923 and #48 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #22, in 2016.#100#1,000#48best #22 in 201619401960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1923–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

2008 is the peak year for Riley, with 9,906 births. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. It has held a top-100 place in 24 separate years.

The 2025 position is #48, on 6,107 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 22%.

Babies named Riley per yearPeaks at 9,906 births in 2008.9,906 in 2008018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Riley?

An estimated 237,600 living Americans are called Riley. SSA has recorded 246,985 births under the name since 1880. The split is about 140,800 women and 96,700 men.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Riley?

Median age among living Rileys: 16. The 2000s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Riley a millennial-era name.

Your Riley

Ages of living people named RileyHalf of living Rileys are older than 16 and half younger.median 16020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Riley is most common

Hawaii uses the name 2.2× as often as the country as a whole. New Hampshire, Delaware and Rhode Island follow.

Where Riley is used more than average5 states use the name Riley more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: 2.1× the national rateNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: 1.9× the national rateCTRhode Island: 1.9× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: 2.0× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: 2.2× the national rateHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Riley is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Hawaii 279 2.2×
New Hampshire 338 2.1×
Delaware 225 2.0×
Rhode Island 229 1.9×
Connecticut 950 1.9×

Is Riley a boy's or a girl's name?

57% girls43% boys
Share of all recorded US births under this name, 1880 to the latest year.

Mostly given to girls: 22.0% of the last ten years of births were boys. Across the whole record, 57.5% of births under the name were girls. The dominant sex is not the same at the end of the record as at the start.

Riley in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Riley ranked #83 in 2025 on 889 births.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Riley comes from

From Ryley in Lancashire, from Old English ryge (“rye”) + leah (“clearing, meadow”). A variant of Reilly, from Irish Ó Raghallaigh (see O'Reilly).

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Riley

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Riley Reid American pornographic actress 1991 44
Riley Keough American actress 1989 43
Riley Steele American pornographic actress 1987 33
Riley McGree Australian association football player 1998 28
Riley Voelkel American actress 1990 20
Riley Smith American actor-model 1978 18
Riley Salmon volleyball player 1976 13
Riley Fitzsimmons Australian canoeist 1996 12
Photo credits (5)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/riley.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).