ninan.org

Ryan

Boys' name · Late 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~950,700 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#99 among boys
Births in 2025
3,925 991,747 since 1880
Typical age
33 years, median

Ryan popularity over time

Ryan rank by birth year, 1906–2025Ryan ranked #798 in 1906 and #99 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #11, in 1986.#10#100#1,000#99best #11 in 1986192019401960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1906–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1985 is the peak year for Ryan, with 30,475 births. The name does not appear in the data until 1906. Across the record, 55 years put Ryan in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #99 with 3,925 births. The ten-year change is -57%.

Babies named Ryan per yearPeaks at 30,475 births in 1985.30,475 in 19850192019401960198020002020
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Ryan?

An estimated 950,700 living Americans are called Ryan. SSA has recorded 991,747 births under the name since 1880.

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 Ryan?

Half of living Ryans are older than 33, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1980s. By the site’s era rules that makes Ryan a late 20th-century perennial name.

Your Ryan

Ages of living people named RyanHalf of living Ryans are older than 33 and half younger.median 33020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Ryan is most common

Connecticut uses the name 2.3× as often as the country as a whole. New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island follow.

Where Ryan is used more than average5 states use the name Ryan more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 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: 2.2× the national rateNJConnecticut: 2.3× the national rateCTRhode Island: 2.1× 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: 2.1× the national rateDEMassachusetts: 2.2× the national rateMAArizona: 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: not over-representedHITexas: 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 Ryan is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Connecticut 1,043 2.3×
New Jersey 2,984 2.2×
Massachusetts 2,043 2.2×
Rhode Island 226 2.1×
Delaware 205 2.1×

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

3% girls97% boys
Share of all recorded US births under this name, 1880 to the latest year.

Mostly given to boys: 10.1% of the last ten years of births were girls. Across the whole record, 2.8% of births under the name were girls.

Ryan in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Ryan ranked #135 in 2025 on 377 births. That is 36% lower than five years earlier.

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

Where the name Ryan comes from

English Wiktionary: given name from Arabic, Irish, surnames.

Notable people named Ryan

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Ryan Gosling Canadian actor 1980 91
Ryan Reynolds Canadian-American actor and entrepreneur 1976 90
Ryan Giggs Welsh association football player and coach 1973 86
Ryan O'Neal American actor 1941–2023 59
Ryan Babel Dutch association football player 1986 58
Ryan Phillippe American actor 1974 57
Ryan Lochte American swimmer 1984 51
Ryan Gravenberch Dutch association football player 2002 50
Photo credits (6)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 2,347 in 1970 to 6,229 in 1971 — 2.7 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

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/ryan.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).