Ryann
Feminine variant of the English name Ryan, derived from an Irish surname meaning "little king".
Name Census estimates that about 11,672 living Americans carry the first name Ryann. It is a predominantly female name (93.7% of registrations). The average person named Ryann today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ryann births was 2006 (419 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ryann. 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 Ryann with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 29,366 Americans
Peak year
2006
419 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,189
Tracked since 1971
Census
Ryann in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,740 people with the first name Ryann, which placed it at #2,504 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
#2,504
National first-name rank
People counted
9.7K
9,740 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ryann
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ryann is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Hispanic (8.1%). 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 Ryann 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 Ryann at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.2% · 6,935
- Black or African American12.9% · 1,255
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 790
- Two or more races5.7% · 554
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 146
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 60
Gender
Gender distribution for Ryann
Ryann leans heavily female at 93.7% of total registrations, but 751 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ryann as a male name
- Ranked #8,805 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1982 (26 births)
Ryann as a female name
- Ranked #1,189 in 2024
- 199 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (408 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ryann leans strongly female. 9,144 people counted with this name were female (93.9%), compared with 595 male bearers (6.1%).
Popularity
Ryann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ryann 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 3,420 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Ryann remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ryann 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 Ryann during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ryanns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Ryann, while New Mexico, Hawaii, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 220 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ryann
The name Ryann is a modern variation of the Irish name Ryan, which itself is derived from the ancient Irish Gaelic name Riaghan or Riain. This name is believed to have originated from the old Irish word "ri" meaning "king" or "illustrious", and the suffix "-an" which was a common diminutive form.
The name Ryan has been recorded as far back as the 7th century AD in ancient Irish annals and manuscripts. It was a popular name among the Irish nobility and ruling families during the medieval period. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Riain, the son of Finnchu, who was an abbot and saint in the 7th century.
In the 12th century, a famous bearer of the name was Ruaidhri Ua Conchobair (Ryan O'Connor), who was the last High King of Ireland before the Norman invasion. He ruled from 1166 to 1198 AD and was known for his resistance against the Anglo-Norman invasion.
Another notable historical figure with the name Ryan was Riain of Inis Cathaigh (Ryan of Scattery Island), who was a renowned Irish poet and scholar of the 12th century. He wrote several religious works and poems that are still preserved in ancient Irish manuscripts.
In the 16th century, Hugh Ó Ruaidhín (Hugh O'Ryan) was an Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Ryan clan in County Tipperary. He was known for his support of the Irish Confederate Catholics during the Irish Confederate Wars against the English Parliament.
In the 19th century, Jeremiah O'Ryan was an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who made a fortune in the shipping industry and founded the O'Ryan Charitable Trust in Boston, which still exists today.
The modern spelling variation "Ryann" emerged in the late 20th century as a feminized version of the traditional Irish name Ryan. While it retains its Irish roots and connection to the ancient Gaelic name Riaghan, the spelling "Ryann" is a more recent development, likely influenced by contemporary naming trends and preferences.
People
Ryann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ryann 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
Ryann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ryann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,672 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ryann 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 29,366 US residents.
Is Ryann a common name?
We classify Ryann as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ryann most popular?
The single biggest year for Ryann was 2006, when 419 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ryann is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ryann in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,740 people with the name Ryann, or 3.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,504 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 Ryann 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 Ryann?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ryann leans strongly female. 9,144 people counted with this name were female (93.9%), compared with 595 male bearers (6.1%). 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 Ryann?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ryann is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Hispanic (8.1%). 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 Ryann most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ryann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.2% (6,935 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 Ryann in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ryann a female name?
Yes, 93.7% of people registered as Ryann 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 Ryann still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ryann 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 Ryann 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 Ryann?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.