Popularity of the name Riley, 1880–2025
Riley was at its most popular in 2016, when 7,159 girls were given the name: about 1 in 250 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #22. In 2025, 4,441 girls were named Riley, ranking #48. In all, Social Security counts 141,960 girls named Riley since 1923.
- Girls’ peak year
- 2016
- Girls’ rank in 2016
- #22
- Girls’ babies in 2016
- 7,159
- Girls’ rank in 2025
- #48
- Girls’ total since 1923
- 141,960
- Girls / boys, all years
- 57% / 43%
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #35 in 2015 to #48 in 2025: 5,739 girls got it in 2015, and 4,441 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 2010s, when 56,150 girls were named Riley, #34 for the decade. It ranked #7,141 in the 1920s and #40 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 18 in 1980 (#4,148), 2,552 in 2000 (#131) and 5,339 in 2020 (#33).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 7,159, in 2016. Its best rank, #22, came in its peak year.
Riley is given to both girls and boys. Since 1880, Social Security counts 141,960 girls and 105,025 boys named Riley. Among girls it peaked in 2016 at #22, and among boys in 2006 at #101. In 2025, 73% of babies named Riley were girls.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls or boys named Riley, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | — | — | 41 | #262 |
| 1881 | — | — | 47 | #222 |
| 1882 | — | — | 54 | #222 |
| 1883 | — | — | 45 | #237 |
| 1884 | — | — | 47 | #251 |
| 1885 | — | — | 58 | #209 |
| 1886 | — | — | 39 | #272 |
| 1887 | — | — | 46 | #239 |
| 1888 | — | — | 37 | #289 |
| 1889 | — | — | 44 | #244 |
| 1890 | — | — | 39 | #275 |
| 1891 | — | — | 28 | #318 |
| 1892 | — | — | 39 | #292 |
| 1893 | — | — | 36 | #287 |
| 1894 | — | — | 38 | #285 |
| 1895 | — | — | 49 | #257 |
| 1896 | — | — | 39 | #296 |
| 1897 | — | — | 44 | #263 |
| 1898 | — | — | 39 | #298 |
| 1899 | — | — | 35 | #294 |
| 1900 | — | — | 53 | #284 |
| 1901 | — | — | 30 | #325 |
| 1902 | — | — | 37 | #317 |
| 1903 | — | — | 29 | #357 |
| 1904 | — | — | 32 | #354 |
| 1905 | — | — | 34 | #355 |
| 1906 | — | — | 37 | #342 |
| 1907 | — | — | 40 | #341 |
| 1908 | — | — | 42 | #349 |
| 1909 | — | — | 49 | #330 |
| 1910 | — | — | 63 | #311 |
| 1911 | — | — | 47 | #420 |
| 1912 | — | — | 87 | #418 |
| 1913 | — | — | 97 | #432 |
| 1914 | — | — | 101 | #483 |
| 1915 | — | — | 142 | #461 |
| 1916 | — | — | 166 | #436 |
| 1917 | — | — | 139 | #488 |
| 1918 | — | — | 174 | #450 |
| 1919 | — | — | 194 | #421 |
| 1920 | — | — | 166 | #472 |
| 1921 | — | — | 160 | #489 |
| 1922 | — | — | 163 | #482 |
| 1923 | 5 | #4,967 | 174 | #465 |
| 1924 | — | — | 168 | #478 |
| 1925 | — | — | 165 | #467 |
| 1926 | — | — | 179 | #453 |
| 1927 | — | — | 162 | #478 |
| 1928 | — | — | 168 | #471 |
| 1929 | 6 | #4,053 | 163 | #461 |
| 1930 | 5 | #4,550 | 162 | #466 |
| 1931 | — | — | 137 | #491 |
| 1932 | — | — | 131 | #501 |
| 1933 | — | — | 153 | #448 |
| 1934 | — | — | 156 | #450 |
| 1935 | — | — | 156 | #456 |
| 1936 | — | — | 156 | #450 |
| 1937 | 6 | #3,800 | 139 | #481 |
| 1938 | — | — | 141 | #487 |
| 1939 | — | — | 139 | #488 |
| 1940 | — | — | 150 | #471 |
| 1941 | 5 | #4,420 | 174 | #446 |
| 1942 | 5 | #4,622 | 157 | #492 |
| 1943 | 5 | #4,691 | 171 | #473 |
| 1944 | — | — | 171 | #467 |
| 1945 | — | — | 139 | #507 |
| 1946 | — | — | 166 | #501 |
| 1947 | 6 | #4,764 | 186 | #495 |
| 1948 | — | — | 179 | #492 |
| 1949 | — | — | 170 | #510 |
| 1950 | — | — | 152 | #548 |
| 1951 | 5 | #5,414 | 146 | #566 |
| 1952 | 7 | #4,483 | 163 | #546 |
| 1953 | — | — | 164 | #551 |
| 1954 | — | — | 166 | #573 |
| 1955 | — | — | 130 | #648 |
| 1956 | — | — | 134 | #655 |
| 1957 | 6 | #5,377 | 141 | #648 |
| 1958 | — | — | 115 | #699 |
| 1959 | — | — | 113 | #721 |
| 1960 | — | — | 107 | #745 |
| 1961 | — | — | 102 | #762 |
| 1962 | — | — | 112 | #725 |
| 1963 | — | — | 99 | #766 |
| 1964 | — | — | 106 | #747 |
| 1965 | 6 | #5,817 | 73 | #859 |
| 1966 | — | — | 93 | #757 |
| 1967 | — | — | 73 | #836 |
| 1968 | 5 | #7,016 | 94 | #765 |
| 1969 | — | — | 79 | #861 |
| 1970 | — | — | 78 | #905 |
| 1971 | — | — | 96 | #822 |
| 1972 | — | — | 85 | #873 |
| 1973 | 7 | #6,666 | 90 | #839 |
| 1974 | 8 | #6,258 | 85 | #867 |
| 1975 | 11 | #5,161 | 106 | #808 |
| 1976 | 7 | #7,296 | 106 | #809 |
| 1977 | 10 | #5,888 | 116 | #793 |
| 1978 | 13 | #4,931 | 166 | #651 |
| 1979 | 16 | #4,420 | 162 | #671 |
| 1980 | 18 | #4,148 | 164 | #678 |
| 1981 | 25 | #3,340 | 180 | #635 |
| 1982 | 35 | #2,645 | 198 | #611 |
| 1983 | 36 | #2,516 | 225 | #562 |
| 1984 | 22 | #3,613 | 252 | #547 |
| 1985 | 64 | #1,760 | 334 | #473 |
| 1986 | 99 | #1,327 | 403 | #431 |
| 1987 | 88 | #1,470 | 476 | #398 |
| 1988 | 124 | #1,210 | 529 | #378 |
| 1989 | 169 | #1,014 | 675 | #342 |
| 1990 | 238 | #822 | 814 | #311 |
| 1991 | 286 | #726 | 865 | #297 |
| 1992 | 424 | #555 | 1,067 | #266 |
| 1993 | 553 | #453 | 1,379 | #218 |
| 1994 | 756 | #349 | 1,588 | #194 |
| 1995 | 969 | #287 | 1,919 | #170 |
| 1996 | 1,150 | #246 | 2,393 | #146 |
| 1997 | 1,669 | #184 | 2,833 | #135 |
| 1998 | 1,877 | #166 | 3,013 | #128 |
| 1999 | 2,312 | #138 | 2,970 | #127 |
| 2000 | 2,552 | #131 | 3,421 | #109 |
| 2001 | 3,044 | #106 | 3,653 | #105 |
| 2002 | 3,906 | #77 | 3,959 | #99 |
| 2003 | 4,243 | #72 | 4,077 | #104 |
| 2004 | 4,982 | #58 | 4,110 | #106 |
| 2005 | 5,127 | #54 | 4,110 | #106 |
| 2006 | 5,056 | #56 | 4,396 | #101 |
| 2007 | 5,212 | #52 | 3,973 | #109 |
| 2008 | 5,774 | #39 | 4,132 | #106 |
| 2009 | 5,637 | #38 | 3,791 | #107 |
| 2010 | 5,543 | #40 | 3,649 | #105 |
| 2011 | 5,045 | #47 | 3,462 | #111 |
| 2012 | 4,833 | #47 | 2,890 | #133 |
| 2013 | 4,941 | #45 | 2,559 | #157 |
| 2014 | 4,800 | #47 | 2,448 | #174 |
| 2015 | 5,739 | #35 | 2,094 | #194 |
| 2016 | 7,159 | #22 | 1,728 | #224 |
| 2017 | 6,368 | #25 | 1,471 | #252 |
| 2018 | 6,010 | #28 | 1,470 | #250 |
| 2019 | 5,712 | #30 | 1,374 | #263 |
| 2020 | 5,339 | #33 | 1,368 | #257 |
| 2021 | 5,225 | #37 | 1,452 | #245 |
| 2022 | 4,914 | #39 | 1,600 | #225 |
| 2023 | 4,643 | #43 | 1,632 | #223 |
| 2024 | 4,657 | #42 | 1,573 | #229 |
| 2025 | 4,441 | #48 | 1,666 | #207 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.