Rhianna
A feminine name of potentially Phoenician origin meaning "singing songbird".
Name Census estimates that about 5,598 living Americans carry the first name Rhianna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rhianna today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhianna births was 2007 (495 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhianna. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rhianna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.6K
~ 1 in 61,228 Americans
Peak year
2007
495 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,494
Tracked since 1976
Census
Rhianna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,002 people with the first name Rhianna, which placed it at #3,908 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,908
National first-name rank
People counted
5.0K
5,002 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rhianna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhianna is White at 55.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.7%) and Black (13.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rhianna described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rhianna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.8% · 2,792
- Hispanic or Latino17.7% · 883
- Black or African American13.5% · 676
- Two or more races7.6% · 380
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 169
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 102
Popularity
Rhianna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhianna from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,634 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhianna by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rhianna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rhiannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Rhianna, while West Virginia, Utah, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 91 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rhianna
The given name Rhianna originated from the Welsh language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Welsh word "rhiain," which means "great queen" or "mighty queen." This name has its roots in the ancient Celtic traditions and mythology of Wales.
In the early medieval period, the name Rhianna was associated with powerful and influential women in Welsh society. It was often given to daughters of noble families and those with a strong connection to the royal lineage. The name carried a sense of strength, leadership, and respect within the Welsh culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rhianna can be found in the ancient Welsh manuscripts and bardic poetry from the 6th to 8th centuries. These texts often celebrated the deeds and virtues of Welsh warriors and leaders, some of whom were likely named Rhianna or had family members bearing this name.
Throughout history, several notable women have carried the name Rhianna. One of the most famous was Rhianna of Gwynedd (c. 1100-1176), a Welsh princess and daughter of Owain Gwynedd, a powerful prince of Gwynedd in northern Wales. Rhianna played a significant role in the political affairs of her time and was known for her diplomacy and influence.
Another historical figure was Rhianna ferch Llywelyn (c. 1220-1289), a Welsh noblewoman and the daughter of Llywelyn the Great, the Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of Wales. Rhianna was renowned for her intelligence and political acumen, and she played a crucial role in the negotiations between Wales and England during her lifetime.
In the 14th century, Rhianna ferch Dafydd (c. 1310-1380) was a prominent Welsh landowner and heiress. She inherited significant estates in Wales and was known for her wealth and influence in the region.
During the 16th century, Rhianna Vaughan (c. 1550-1598) was a Welsh poet and one of the few female writers of her time. Her works, written in the Welsh language, celebrated the beauty of nature and explored themes of love and spirituality.
In the 18th century, Rhianna Williams (c. 1740-1810) was a Welsh educator and philanthropist. She established several schools in Wales and worked tirelessly to promote education and literacy among the Welsh people, particularly women and children from underprivileged backgrounds.
People
Rhianna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhianna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rhianna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhianna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,598 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhianna going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 61,228 US residents.
Is Rhianna a common name?
We classify Rhianna as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,755 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhianna most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhianna was 2007, when 495 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhianna is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rhianna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,002 people with the name Rhianna, or 1.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,908 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rhianna in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rhianna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rhianna appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,007 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rhianna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhianna is White at 55.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.7%) and Black (13.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rhianna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rhianna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.8% (2,792 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rhianna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhianna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhianna in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rhianna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhianna in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rhianna can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Rhianna?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Rhianna at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.