Rhyleigh
A feminine name of possible blend origin meaning "maiden", "fair", or "soft".
Name Census estimates that about 632 living Americans carry the first name Rhyleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rhyleigh today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhyleigh births was 2019 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhyleigh. 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 Rhyleigh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
632
~ 1 in 542,333 Americans
Peak year
2019
56 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,392
Tracked since 2002
Census
Rhyleigh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 405 people with the first name Rhyleigh, which placed it at #23,978 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
#23,978
National first-name rank
People counted
405
405 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rhyleigh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhyleigh is White at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (37.3%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Rhyleigh 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 Rhyleigh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.4% · 192
- Black or African American37.3% · 151
- Two or more races6.9% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 6
Popularity
Rhyleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhyleigh from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 368 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rhyleigh remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhyleigh 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 Rhyleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rhyleighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Rhyleigh, while Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rhyleigh
The name Rhyleigh is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from a combination of the names Riley and Leigh. Its origins are not rooted in any specific language or culture, but rather stem from a desire for a unique and distinctive name in recent times.
While the name itself does not have a long historical record, its component parts can be traced back further. The name Riley is of Old English origin, derived from the Old English word "rig" meaning "brushwood" or "a wood or glade." It was originally a surname that later became a given name. Leigh, on the other hand, is an English place name derived from the Old English "leah," meaning "meadow" or "clearing."
There are no known references to the name Rhyleigh in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the late 20th century. The earliest recorded examples of the name are likely found in birth records from the 1990s and early 2000s, as the name gained popularity during this time period.
As a relatively new name, there are not many famous historical figures who bore the name Rhyleigh. However, here are a few notable individuals who share this first name:
1. Rhyleigh Hinkle, an American actress born in 1995, known for her roles in the TV series "Too Close to Home" and "The Kids Are Alright."
2. Rhyleigh Killington, a Canadian singer-songwriter born in 1997, who has released several singles and EPs.
3. Rhyleigh Mackie, a Canadian soccer player born in 1995, who has played for the Canadian women's national soccer team.
4. Rhyleigh Parsons, an American singer and YouTuber born in 2000, known for her covers of popular songs on her YouTube channel.
5. Rhyleigh Russell, an Australian actress born in 2006, known for her role in the TV series "Harrow."
It is important to note that due to the relatively recent emergence of the name Rhyleigh, there may be limited historical records or notable figures bearing this name, as it has only gained popularity in modern times.
People
Rhyleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhyleigh 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
Rhyleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhyleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 632 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhyleigh 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 542,333 US residents.
Is Rhyleigh a common name?
We classify Rhyleigh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 637 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhyleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhyleigh was 2019, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhyleigh is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rhyleigh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 405 people with the name Rhyleigh, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,978 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 Rhyleigh 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 Rhyleigh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rhyleigh leans strongly female. 400 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 8 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Rhyleigh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhyleigh is White at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (37.3%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Rhyleigh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rhyleigh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.4% (192 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 Rhyleigh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhyleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhyleigh 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 Rhyleigh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhyleigh 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 Rhyleigh 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 called Rhyleigh?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.