Popularity of the name Ryan, 1906–2025
Ryan was at its most popular in 1985, when 29,905 boys were given the name: about 1 in 62 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #12. In 2025, 3,532 boys were named Ryan, ranking #99. In all, Social Security counts 964,123 boys named Ryan since 1906. Social Security’s records also list 27,624 girls named Ryan.
- Peak year
- 1985
- Rank in 1985
- #12
- Babies in 1985
- 29,905
- Rank in 2025
- #99
- Total since 1906
- 964,123
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #39 in 2015 to #99 in 2025, with 8,548 boys named Ryan in 2015 and 3,532 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Ryan ranked highest in the 1980s, at #14, with 278,938 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #1,873 in the 1900s and #77 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 12 in 1920 (#2,459), 18 in 1940 (#1,627), 380 in 1960 (#408), 24,795 in 1980 (#15), 20,269 in 2000 (#13) and 5,348 in 2020 (#57).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 29,905, in 1985. Its best rank in any year was #11, first reached in 1986.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1906 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Ryan, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1906 | 10 | #798 |
| 1911 | 6 | #1,537 |
| 1913 | 7 | #2,273 |
| 1914 | 9 | #2,271 |
| 1916 | 7 | #3,177 |
| 1917 | 8 | #2,956 |
| 1918 | 12 | #2,398 |
| 1919 | 6 | #3,736 |
| 1920 | 12 | #2,459 |
| 1921 | 17 | #1,980 |
| 1922 | 8 | #3,252 |
| 1923 | 10 | #2,772 |
| 1924 | 7 | #3,505 |
| 1925 | 14 | #2,193 |
| 1926 | 14 | #2,186 |
| 1927 | 9 | #2,912 |
| 1928 | 14 | #2,162 |
| 1929 | 6 | #3,559 |
| 1930 | 14 | #2,079 |
| 1931 | 15 | #1,927 |
| 1932 | 14 | #1,995 |
| 1933 | 11 | #2,214 |
| 1934 | 13 | #2,022 |
| 1935 | 11 | #2,246 |
| 1936 | 13 | #1,964 |
| 1937 | 14 | #1,913 |
| 1938 | 8 | #2,646 |
| 1939 | 21 | #1,458 |
| 1940 | 18 | #1,627 |
| 1941 | 13 | #1,997 |
| 1942 | 26 | #1,358 |
| 1943 | 34 | #1,170 |
| 1944 | 23 | #1,400 |
| 1945 | 35 | #1,103 |
| 1946 | 65 | #812 |
| 1947 | 102 | #685 |
| 1948 | 82 | #744 |
| 1949 | 102 | #678 |
| 1950 | 99 | #685 |
| 1951 | 105 | #681 |
| 1952 | 126 | #624 |
| 1953 | 145 | #601 |
| 1954 | 132 | #637 |
| 1955 | 176 | #554 |
| 1956 | 192 | #547 |
| 1957 | 278 | #461 |
| 1958 | 308 | #446 |
| 1959 | 400 | #397 |
| 1960 | 380 | #408 |
| 1961 | 388 | #402 |
| 1962 | 397 | #405 |
| 1963 | 647 | #310 |
| 1964 | 515 | #345 |
| 1965 | 1,084 | #221 |
| 1966 | 1,573 | #171 |
| 1967 | 1,927 | #147 |
| 1968 | 2,166 | #131 |
| 1969 | 2,245 | #135 |
| 1970 | 2,323 | #140 |
| 1971 | 6,184 | #51 |
| 1972 | 8,878 | #39 |
| 1973 | 10,511 | #30 |
| 1974 | 13,179 | #25 |
| 1975 | 15,296 | #23 |
| 1976 | 17,484 | #16 |
| 1977 | 21,246 | #16 |
| 1978 | 21,322 | #14 |
| 1979 | 23,212 | #14 |
| 1980 | 24,795 | #15 |
| 1981 | 26,811 | #13 |
| 1982 | 26,685 | #13 |
| 1983 | 27,849 | #13 |
| 1984 | 28,724 | #12 |
| 1985 | 29,905 | #12 |
| 1986 | 29,524 | #11 |
| 1987 | 28,490 | #13 |
| 1988 | 27,747 | #13 |
| 1989 | 28,408 | #13 |
| 1990 | 29,263 | #11 |
| 1991 | 27,536 | #11 |
| 1992 | 27,022 | #13 |
| 1993 | 26,727 | #13 |
| 1994 | 24,063 | #16 |
| 1995 | 23,089 | #15 |
| 1996 | 21,809 | #16 |
| 1997 | 20,527 | #16 |
| 1998 | 20,198 | #17 |
| 1999 | 21,014 | #12 |
| 2000 | 20,269 | #13 |
| 2001 | 18,289 | #15 |
| 2002 | 17,658 | #16 |
| 2003 | 19,578 | #13 |
| 2004 | 19,496 | #12 |
| 2005 | 17,990 | #14 |
| 2006 | 16,434 | #14 |
| 2007 | 15,722 | #16 |
| 2008 | 14,686 | #18 |
| 2009 | 13,122 | #20 |
| 2010 | 11,981 | #23 |
| 2011 | 11,503 | #25 |
| 2012 | 10,944 | #26 |
| 2013 | 9,895 | #30 |
| 2014 | 9,098 | #37 |
| 2015 | 8,548 | #39 |
| 2016 | 8,261 | #40 |
| 2017 | 7,706 | #44 |
| 2018 | 6,943 | #46 |
| 2019 | 6,127 | #54 |
| 2020 | 5,348 | #57 |
| 2021 | 4,735 | #66 |
| 2022 | 4,403 | #74 |
| 2023 | 4,035 | #83 |
| 2024 | 3,906 | #87 |
| 2025 | 3,532 | #99 |
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.