How common is the name Riley?

191,103 people in the United States have the first name Riley, about 1 in 1,580. It ranks #291 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

RILEY

#291

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
191,103
About
1 in 1,580
This common or more
48.4%
Who bears it

Of the 191,103 people named Riley, 80.3% reported their origin as White, 6.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 5.6% as two or more races. 56.4% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Riley peaked in 2008, when 9,906 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2008
Births that year
9,906
In 2025*
6,107 ▼38%
Recorded as
used for both

At least 246,985 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Riley by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2010s, when it ranked #63. The largest share of babies named Riley, 50.7%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#525458
1890s#721386
1900s#892383
1910s#9601,210
1920s#1,0011,679
1930s#9851,481
1940s#1,0511,684
1950s#1,3901,442
1960s#1,857949
1970s#1,8041,162
1980s#9244,116
1990s#23529,075
2000s#7885,155
2010s#6379,295
2020s#6438,510
Before 19010.4%
Greatest Generation 1901–271.2%
Silent Generation 1928–451.1%
Baby boom 1946–641.1%
Generation X 1965–800.7%
Millennials 1981–967.4%
Generation Z 1997–1250.7%
2013 and later37.4%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Riley is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Riley has been most common in Alaska (2.2×), Nevada (2.2×), and Idaho (1.8×), and least common in District of Columbia (0.4×).

240,912 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Riley

#289 Albert · 192,229#290 Tony · 191,115#292 Nathaniel · 189,977#293 Ricardo · 189,959

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Riley, most common first.

#5,323 Rilee · 3,250#24,726 Rieley · 388#34,154 Rilley · 240#35,436 Rily · 227#50,309 Rilea · 120

Also a last name

As a last name, Riley ranks #224 of 156,621, with 129,431 people. See Riley as a last name

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