Name Rarity Checker / How rare is Riley
How Rare Is the Name Riley?
Riley is a surname name used for both boys and girls. It ranks 338th of all time in U.S. records, with about 1 in 1,545 people sharing it, which puts it in the Common tier. It was most popular in the 2000s. Here is the full picture, decade by decade, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 1,545
- Tier
- Common
- U.S. rank
- 338th
- Share of people
- 0.0647%
- People named
- 240,821
- Most popular
- the 2000s
Based on U.S. births recorded by the Social Security Administration, 1880 to 2024. Figures describe recorded names, not people alive today.
About the name Riley
Riley comes from the Irish surname O'Reilly and from an English place name meaning 'rye clearing.' It started as a boys' name in America, tipped toward girls in the 1990s, and now runs close to even.
Want to check a different name? Try the Name Rarity Checker. First names are only half the picture: the surname rarity checker runs the same math on last names, using the Census surname file.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the name Riley?
- Riley is in the Common tier. About 1 in 1,545 people share it, which is 0.0647% of all recorded U.S. names, and it ranks 338th of all time. In total 240,821 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
- Is Riley a rare name?
- No. Riley is a well-known name rather than a rare one. It is in the Common tier, ranked 338th of all time, with about 1 in 1,545 people sharing it.
- How common is the name Riley?
- About 1 in 1,545 people in U.S. records share the name Riley, which is 0.0647% of all recorded names and 338th of all time. That places it in the Common tier.
- Is Riley a boy or girl name?
- In the records, Riley is given to more girls than boys. Of 240,821 people with the name, 137,477 were girls and 103,344 were boys.
- When was the name Riley most popular?
- Riley peaked in the 2000s. The bars on the card show its popularity for every decade from 1880 to 2024.