Rianna
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "great queen" or "mighty".
Name Census estimates that about 3,711 living Americans carry the first name Rianna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rianna today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rianna births was 2002 (271 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rianna. 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 Rianna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.7K
~ 1 in 92,362 Americans
Peak year
2002
271 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,850
Tracked since 1976
Census
Rianna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,522 people with the first name Rianna, which placed it at #5,021 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
#5,021
National first-name rank
People counted
3.5K
3,522 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rianna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rianna is White at 42.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.1%) and Black (17.6%). 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 Rianna 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 Rianna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.0% · 1,481
- Hispanic or Latino20.1% · 708
- Black or African American17.6% · 621
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.6% · 407
- Two or more races7.3% · 258
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 47
Popularity
Rianna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rianna 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 1,939 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
Rianna 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 Rianna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Riannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Rianna, while Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 68 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rianna
The name Rianna is a feminine given name with roots in several languages and cultures. It is believed to have originated from the ancient Celtic language of Gaelic, where it was derived from the Irish word "rí" meaning "king" or "sovereign." This suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon those of royal or noble descent.
In the early medieval period, the name Rianna appeared in various Irish and Scottish texts, often associated with legendary figures or saints. One notable example is Saint Riana, an Irish abbess who lived in the 6th century and founded a convent in County Galway, Ireland.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. In medieval Italy, the name took the form "Rianna," while in France, it was adapted to "Rianne." These regional variations reflect the linguistic influences and cultural exchanges that occurred during that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rianna can be found in the 12th-century Irish manuscript known as the Book of Leinster, which contains various historical and literary texts. In this text, the name is mentioned in connection with several prominent figures of the time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rianna. One such figure was Rianna of Turvey (c. 1200-1260), an English noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the administration of her estates during the 13th century.
Another prominent figure was Rianna MacLeod (c. 1550-1615), a Scottish chieftain and warrior who led her clan in battles against rival clans and the English during the turbulent times of the Scottish Clan Wars.
In the realm of literature, Rianna Fairchild (1768-1834) was a renowned English poet and author whose works explored themes of nature, love, and the human condition. Her collection of poems, "Wildflower Verses," was widely acclaimed during her lifetime.
In more recent times, Rianna Fitzgerald (1910-1988) was an Irish actress and playwright who made significant contributions to the development of Irish theater in the 20th century. Her play, "The Kerryman's Daughter," was a critical and commercial success, bringing her international recognition.
Finally, Rianna Kalenikova (1938-2021) was a influential Russian prima ballerina who performed with the Bolshoi Ballet for over three decades. Her mesmerizing performances in classical ballets such as "Swan Lake" and "Giselle" garnered her numerous accolades and a place in the annals of ballet history.
People
Rianna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rianna 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
Rianna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rianna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,711 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rianna 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 92,362 US residents.
Is Rianna a common name?
We classify Rianna as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,796 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rianna most popular?
The single biggest year for Rianna was 2002, when 271 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rianna is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rianna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,522 people with the name Rianna, or 1.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,021 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 Rianna 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 Rianna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rianna appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,521 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 Rianna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rianna is White at 42.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.1%) and Black (17.6%). 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 Rianna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rianna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.0% (1,481 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 Rianna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rianna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rianna 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 Rianna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rianna 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 Rianna 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 Rianna?
Find out how many people share the name Rianna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.