Ryan (given name)


Ryan is an English-language given name of Irish origin. Traditionally a male name, it has been used increasingly for both boys and girls since the 1970s. It comes from the surname Ryan, which is typically an anglicisation of the Irish surname Ó Riaghain / Ó Riain. Popular modern sources typically suggest that the name means "champion" and "little king", but the original meaning is unknown. According to John Ryan, Professor of Early and Medieval History at University College Dublin, "Rian, like Niall, seems to be so ancient that its meaning was lost before records began."

Popularity

Ireland

From 1990 to 2026, the name Ryan had consistently ranked top 100 for newborn boys in Ireland, peaking in 2011 when it ranked as the 6th most popular name with 685 uses. By 2021, Ryan had been overtaken in popularity on the Irish charts by the Irish-language form Rian and its hyperforeign spelling variant Rían.

United Kingdom

In Scotland, "Ryan" was the most popular name given to newborn boys every year from 1994 to 1998. This increase in popularity is fairly recent as records show that "Ryan" was barely in use in 1900, then was later ranked between No. 100 and No. 250 in 1950, and finally climbed to No. 64 in 1975.
In Northern Ireland, "Ryan" did not appear in the top ten most common male names for newborns in 1975, but was in the top five from 2000 to 2003.
In England and Wales, records suggest less popularity for the name than in other parts of the UK, ranking at No. 21 in 2003 and 2004 before dropping to No. 25 from 2005 to 2007.

United States

"Ryan" appeared in the top 20 male given names in the U.S. for 30 years between 1976 and 2006, having previously appeared in the top 1,000 for the first time in 1946 before steadily gaining popularity over the next three decades. The name gained popularity for girls in the 1970s, having first appeared in this capacity in the top 1,000 in 1974, and has remained in the top 1,000 since then; in 2018, it was ranked at No. 364 on a list of the most popular girls' names.

List of people with the given name Ryan

Male

Female

Non-binary

Fictional characters

Other