Mostly girls · peaked in 2016
Riley name popularity since 1925
243,712 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Riley (58.2% girls, 41.8% boys). Half of them were born in 2009 or earlier, so the typical Riley is about 17 years old in 2026. Riley peaked in 2016 as the #22 name for girls, and it ranked #48 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 243,712
- Named Riley, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #48
- for girls in 2025 (4,441 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 58.2% girls
- 141,955 girls · 101,757 boys
- Most popular in
- Alaska
- 2.07× its national share
Peak year is the year Riley made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Riley births per year, 1925–2025
2016 was the biggest year for Riley both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1989 and 1994, Riley became 4.6× more common, from 1 in 10,900 baby girls to 1 in 2,360.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Riley's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Riley.
Decade by decade
Babies named Riley in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 6 | 837 | – |
| 1930s | 11 | 1,470 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 21 | 1,663 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 18 | 1,424 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 11 | 938 | #6,354 |
| 1970s | 72 | 1,090 | #5,418 |
| 1980s | 680 | 3,436 | #1,779 |
| 1990s | 10,234 | 18,841 | #287 |
| 2000s | 45,533 | 39,622 | #54 |
| 2010s | 56,150 | 23,145 | #35 |
| 2020–25 | 29,219 | 9,291 | #48 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
51.4% of babies named Riley from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Riley is most popular
The index compares Riley's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Riley.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 2.07× | 746 |
| Nevada | 2.05× | 1,768 |
| Idaho | 1.80× | 1,731 |
| New Hampshire | 1.78× | 1,354 |
| Utah | 1.72× | 3,544 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Riley and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Riley (this page) | 141,955 | 2016 |
| Rilee | 3,324 | 2010 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Riley's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Riley.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Riley (2016).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data