Rhiannan
A feminine variant of the name Rhiannon of Welsh mythology.
Name Census estimates that about 165 living Americans carry the first name Rhiannan. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rhiannan today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhiannan births was 1998 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhiannan. 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 Rhiannan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
165
~ 1 in 2,077,299 Americans
Peak year
1998
14 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2009 SSA rank
#14,895
Tracked since 1978
Census
Rhiannan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 192 people with the first name Rhiannan, which placed it at #39,369 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
#39,369
National first-name rank
People counted
192
192 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rhiannan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhiannan is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Rhiannan 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 Rhiannan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 154
- Two or more races7.3% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 4
- Black or African American1.0% · 2
Popularity
Rhiannan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhiannan from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 70 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhiannan 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 Rhiannan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rhiannan
The name Rhiannan originates from the Welsh language and is believed to have roots in the ancient Celtic culture. It is thought to be derived from the Welsh word "rhiain," meaning "great queen" or "princess." This suggests that the name may have been associated with royalty or nobility in its earliest usage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 5th century, when it was mentioned in the Welsh epic poem "Y Gododdin." This ancient text, which recounts the story of a British war-band from the region of modern-day Edinburgh, includes a reference to a character named Rhiannawg, which is believed to be an early variant of the name Rhiannan.
In the 12th century, the name gained prominence through its association with the legendary figure of Rhiannon, a central character in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales. Rhiannon is portrayed as a beautiful and powerful figure who marries a prince and becomes entangled in a complex narrative involving magic, betrayal, and redemption.
Notable historical figures who bore the name Rhiannan include Rhiannan Ferch Dafydd (c. 1350), a Welsh noblewoman and landowner during the late medieval period. Another notable bearer of the name was Rhiannan Verch Hywel (c. 1450), a Welsh poet and storyteller who was renowned for her contributions to the preservation of Welsh culture and language.
In the 16th century, Rhiannan Verch Ieuan (c. 1520-1580) was a prominent Welsh herbalist and healer, known for her extensive knowledge of traditional Welsh medicinal practices. Her legacy as a skilled practitioner of herbal remedies and folk medicine has been documented in various historical accounts.
Moving into the 19th century, Rhiannan Jones (1825-1901) was a Welsh educator and advocate for women's rights. She established several schools in Wales and was instrumental in promoting educational opportunities for girls and women during a time when access to education was limited for females.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Rhiannan, a name with deep roots in Welsh culture and mythology, reflecting its association with royalty, nobility, and the preservation of cultural traditions.
People
Rhiannan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhiannan 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
Rhiannan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhiannan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhiannan 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 2,077,299 US residents.
Is Rhiannan a common name?
We classify Rhiannan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhiannan most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhiannan was 1998, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhiannan is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rhiannan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 192 people with the name Rhiannan, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,369 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 Rhiannan 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 Rhiannan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rhiannan appears almost entirely female. Of the 191 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Rhiannan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhiannan is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Rhiannan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rhiannan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (154 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 Rhiannan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhiannan a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhiannan 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 Rhiannan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhiannan 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 Rhiannan 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 have Rhiannan as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Rhiannan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.