Rhiannon
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "great queen" or "divine goddess".
Name Census estimates that about 14,793 living Americans carry the first name Rhiannon. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rhiannon today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhiannon births was 1999 (651 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhiannon. 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 Rhiannon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
15K
~ 1 in 23,170 Americans
Peak year
1999
651 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1982 SSA rank
#1,310
Tracked since 1974
Census
Rhiannon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,810 people with the first name Rhiannon, which placed it at #2,099 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
#2,099
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,810 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rhiannon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhiannon is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.3%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Rhiannon 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 Rhiannon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.0% · 10,115
- Hispanic or Latino10.3% · 1,317
- Two or more races6.5% · 838
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 276
- Black or African American1.4% · 173
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 91
Gender
Gender distribution for Rhiannon
Out of the 15,330 babies given the name Rhiannon since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Rhiannon as a male name
- Ranked #7,143 in 1982
- 5 male births in 1982
- Peak: 1982 (5 births)
Rhiannon as a female name
- Ranked #1,310 in 2024
- 175 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (651 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rhiannon appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,801 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Rhiannon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhiannon 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 4,075 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
Rhiannon 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 Rhiannon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rhiannons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Rhiannon, while New Hampshire, Wyoming, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 276 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rhiannon
The name Rhiannon is of Welsh origin, derived from the Celtic mythological figure Rhiannon, a prominent character in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales. The name is believed to be derived from the Welsh word "rhian," meaning "great queen" or "divine queen."
Rhiannon was a powerful and mysterious figure in Welsh mythology, often associated with horses and birds. She was the wife of Pwyll, the prince of Dyfed, and was known for her beauty, intelligence, and magical abilities. Her story is recounted in the tale of "Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed," where she is falsely accused of killing her newborn son and is subsequently punished by being forced to carry guests on her back from the gate to the court.
The name Rhiannon has been recorded in various spellings throughout history, including Rhiannyn, Rhianen, and Rianonnen. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is found in the Mabinogion itself, which dates back to the 12th or 13th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rhiannon. One of the most famous was Rhiannon Frampton (1945-2008), a British singer and songwriter known for her work with the rock band The Mamas & the Papas. Another notable Rhiannon was Rhiannon Ifans (1895-1979), a Welsh writer and nationalist who played a significant role in the Welsh literary revival of the 20th century.
In the field of literature, Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang (born 1958) is a British author and poet known for her works exploring Chinese and Welsh identities. Additionally, Rhiannon Giddens (born 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has gained recognition for her work in reviving African American folk music traditions.
Another notable figure bearing the name Rhiannon was Rhiannon Batten (1986-2008), a British Olympic gymnast who represented Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
While the name Rhiannon has its roots in Welsh mythology and culture, it has gained popularity worldwide, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its unique sound and rich historical background have contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Rhiannon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhiannon 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
Rhiannon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhiannon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,793 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhiannon 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 23,170 US residents.
Is Rhiannon a common name?
We classify Rhiannon as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,330 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhiannon most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhiannon was 1999, when 651 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhiannon is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rhiannon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,810 people with the name Rhiannon, or 4.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,099 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 Rhiannon 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 Rhiannon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rhiannon appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,801 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 Rhiannon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhiannon is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.3%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Rhiannon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rhiannon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (10,115 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 Rhiannon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhiannon a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhiannon 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 Rhiannon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhiannon 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 Rhiannon 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 Rhiannon as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Rhiannon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.