Riley

Riley: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “valiant”
Origin: Irish
Say it: RYE-lee · 2 syllables
Used for: Both (57% girls, 43% boys since 1880)

Usually from the Irish surname Ó Raghailligh, derived from a personal name meaning 'valiant'. It also coincides with an English surname from a place-name meaning 'rye clearing'.

Irish names English names American names Names meaning brave Names meaning strength Surname-style names Modern names International names

How popular is Riley?

20241,866 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Riley in 20246,211

2024 rank#42 girls

Peak year2008

Total US babies since 1880240,821

Riley has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Riley

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Ryleerye clearing · English
Ryleighrye clearing · Old English
Rylierye clearing · Irish
Rhyleevariant spelling of Riley · American (modern coinage)
Ryleyrye clearing · Old English
Rowanlittle red-haired one · Irish
Quinndescendant of Conn · Irish
Roryred king · Irish

Riley questions

What does the name Riley mean?

Riley means "valiant". It comes from Irish. Usually from the Irish surname Ó Raghailligh, derived from a personal name meaning 'valiant'. It also coincides with an English surname from a place-name meaning 'rye clearing'.

Is Riley a boy or girl name?

Riley is used for both: about 57% of US babies named Riley since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Riley?

6,211 US babies were named Riley in 2024. Its peak year was 2008.

How do you pronounce Riley?

Riley is usually pronounced RYE-lee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.