Rilla
A feminine diminutive of Marilla, an English variation of the name Muriel.
Name Census estimates that about 554 living Americans carry the first name Rilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rilla today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rilla births was 1914 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rilla. 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.
People living today
554
~ 1 in 618,690 Americans
Peak year
1914
56 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,856
Tracked since 1880
Census
Rilla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 723 people with the first name Rilla, which placed it at #15,793 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
#15,793
National first-name rank
People counted
723
723 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rilla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rilla is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rilla 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 Rilla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 601
- Black or African American9.5% · 69
- Two or more races2.2% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 11
Popularity
Rilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rilla from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 381 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rilla 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 Rilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rillas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Georgia, Alabama, Missouri recorded the most babies named Rilla, while Mississippi, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rilla
The name Rilla is a diminutive form of the feminine given name Priscilla, which originated from the Latin word "prisca", meaning "ancient" or "venerable". Priscilla was a Roman name that gained popularity among early Christians due to its association with Priscilla, a prominent figure in the New Testament.
The name Rilla emerged as a shortened version of Priscilla, likely in the 19th century when it became fashionable to use diminutive or pet forms of longer names. It was particularly popular in English-speaking countries, especially in the United States and Canada.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rilla can be found in the novel "Rilla of Ingleside" by Lucy Maud Montgomery, published in 1921. The book's protagonist, Rilla Blythe, was a fictional character set during World War I.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rilla. One such person was Rilla Woolworth Winans (1889-1958), an American philanthropist and heiress to the Woolworth fortune. She was known for her charitable work and support of various arts organizations.
Another prominent figure with the name Rilla was Rilla Evelyn Crone (1899-1990), a Canadian author and educator. She wrote several books on Canadian history and was awarded the Order of Canada for her contributions to literature and education.
In the field of music, Rilla Dorney (1878-1956) was an American singer and vaudeville performer in the early 20th century. She was known for her performances in musical comedies and operettas.
Rilla Askew (born 1957) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her works often explore themes of social justice, racism, and the complexities of life in the American South. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her writing.
Lastly, Rilla Muse Self (1910-1989) was an American artist and educator. She was known for her abstract expressionist paintings and taught art at various universities throughout her career.
While the name Rilla may not be as common today as it once was, it has a rich history and has been borne by notable individuals across various fields, reflecting its enduring charm and uniqueness.
People
Rilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rilla 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
Rilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 554 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rilla 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 618,690 US residents.
Is Rilla a common name?
We classify Rilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,652 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Rilla was 1914, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rilla is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rilla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 723 people with the name Rilla, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,793 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 Rilla 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 Rilla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rilla appears almost entirely female. Of the 722 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Rilla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rilla is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rilla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (601 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 Rilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rilla 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 Rilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rilla 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 Rilla 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 common is the name Rilla?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.