boys' name ★ peaked 1985

Ryan

Meaning A unisex given name Gender Boy · 3% girls Rank 2025 #99 Trend ↓ Falling 35%

A unisex given name. A male given name.

Rank 2025
#99
among boys · ↓12 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,925
named Ryan · -9% vs 2024
How common
1 in 484
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1985
30,475 babies
All-time total
991,747
#31 all-time among boys
First recorded
1906
in Social Security records

Ryan popularity over time

991,747 babies have been named Ryan since 1906, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
510152018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – 10 10 1 – #844
1910s – 55 55 6 +450% #1,708
1920s – 111 111 11 +102% #2,044
1930s – 134 134 13 +21% #1,483
1940s – 500 500 50 +273% #680
1950s 7 1,961 1,968 197 +294% #397
1960s 78 11,322 11,400 1,140 +479% #131
1970s 2,136 139,635 141,771 14,177 +1144% #14
1980s 6,178 278,938 285,116 28,512 +101% #11
1990s 3,997 241,248 245,245 24,525 -14% #11
2000s 5,903 173,244 179,147 17,915 -27% #12
2010s 6,265 91,006 97,271 9,727 -46% #23
2020s (to 2025) 3,060 25,959 29,019 4,837 -50% #57

Where Ryan is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 3,283 1.92 #106
2027 3,084 1.81 #114
2028 2,925 1.71 #124
2029 2,797 1.64 #130
2030 2,692 1.58 #134

Where Ryan is most popular

Boys named Ryan per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.39 per 1,000. Strongest in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Ryan born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Rhode Island 97 5.95 +149%
Massachusetts 749 5.45 +128%
Connecticut 357 5.27 +121%
New Jersey 1,045 5.19 +118%
Delaware 70 4.62 +93%
New Hampshire 100 4.50 +89%
New York 1,919 4.43 +86%
District of Columbia 64 4.34 +82%
Alaska 50 4.20 +76%
Pennsylvania 983 3.70 +55%
Vermont 23 3.66 +53%
Maryland 432 3.62 +52%
Florida 1,574 3.32 +39%
Virginia 591 3.11 +31%
Maine 58 2.99 +25%
Hawaii 46 2.96 +24%
California 2,684 2.94 +23%
Illinois 709 2.77 +16%
New Mexico 86 2.61 +9%
Washington 401 2.45 ≈ national
Montana 43 2.44 ≈ national
Texas 2,098 2.38 ≈ national
Colorado 304 2.36 ≈ national
Oregon 178 2.35 ≈ national
Michigan 469 2.29 ≈ national
South Carolina 235 2.27 -5%
North Dakota 38 2.23 -7%
North Carolina 565 2.21 -7%
Idaho 88 2.15 -10%
Louisiana 219 2.14 -10%
Nevada 122 2.14 -10%
Georgia 541 2.14 -11%
Ohio 552 2.08 -13%
Kentucky 206 2.05 -14%
Arizona 334 2.04 -14%
Indiana 324 2.02 -15%
Tennessee 354 1.96 -18%
Iowa 134 1.94 -19%
Wisconsin 229 1.93 -19%
Alabama 210 1.92 -20%
Wyoming 11 1.90 -20%
Utah 179 1.88 -21%
Missouri 256 1.85 -23%
West Virginia 60 1.84 -23%
Oklahoma 162 1.83 -23%
Kansas 125 1.82 -24%
Arkansas 115 1.82 -24%
Nebraska 79 1.82 -24%
Minnesota 207 1.69 -29%
Mississippi 92 1.62 -32%
South Dakota 12 0.645 -73%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ryan

Ryan is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #99 in 2025 with 3,532 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1906, 991,747 American babies have been named Ryan. Its peak came in 1985, when 30,475 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ryan stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ryan?

The median living Ryan is about 33 years old; half are between 22 and 42. An estimated 955 thousand people named Ryan are alive in the United States today.

median 33 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ryan year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 393 #715 3,532 #99
2024 400 #703 3,906 #87
2023 433 #677 4,035 #83
2022 515 #580 4,403 #74
2021 635 #496 4,735 #66
2020 684 #451 5,348 #57
2019 773 #401 6,127 #54
2018 869 #363 6,943 #46
2017 773 #410 7,706 #44
2016 688 #463 8,261 #40
2015 680 #476 8,548 #39
2014 606 #513 9,098 #37
2013 438 #646 9,895 #30
2012 467 #616 10,944 #26
2011 506 #575 11,503 #25
2010 465 #631 11,981 #23
2009 527 #579 13,122 #20
2008 575 #537 14,686 #18
2007 706 #457 15,722 #16
2006 689 #459 16,434 #14
2005 676 #450 17,990 #14
2004 700 #435 19,496 #12
2003 598 #487 19,578 #13
2002 519 #531 17,658 #16
2001 465 #560 18,289 #15
2000 448 #582 20,269 #13
1995 354 #621 23,089 #15
1990 451 #526 29,263 #11
1985 570 #394 29,905 #12
1980 602 #384 24,795 #15
1975 139 #927 15,296 #23
1970 24 #2,918 2,323 #140
1965 6 #6,374 1,084 #221
1960 5 #7,120 380 #408
1955 – – 176 #554
1950 – – 99 #690
1945 – – 35 #1,118
1940 – – 18 #1,674
1935 – – 11 #2,375
1930 – – 14 #2,155
1925 – – 14 #2,302
1920 – – 12 #2,580
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Ryan

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ryan Gosling Ryan Gosling Canadian actor (born 1980) Contemporary
  2. 2 Ryan Reynolds Ryan Reynolds Canadian-American actor and entrepreneur (born 1976) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ryan Coogler Ryan Coogler American filmmaker (born 1986) Contemporary
  4. 4 Ryan Seacrest Ryan Seacrest American television and radio host (born 1974) Contemporary
  5. 5 Ryan Phillippe Ryan Phillippe American actor (born 1974) Contemporary
  6. 6 Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal American actor (1941–2023) Contemporary
  7. 7 Ryan Hurst Ryan Hurst American actor (born 1976) Contemporary
  8. 8 Ryan Dunn Ryan Dunn American television personality and stunt performer (1977–2011) Contemporary
  9. 9 Ryan Giggs Ryan Giggs Welsh footballer (born 1973) Contemporary
  10. 10 Ryan Adams Ryan Adams American musician (born 1974) Contemporary
  11. 11 Ryan Stiles Ryan Stiles American-Canadian comedian (born 1959) Contemporary
  12. 12 Ryan White Ryan White AIDS spokesperson and poster boy (1971–1990) Contemporary
  13. 13 Ryan Tedder Ryan Tedder American singer, songwriter, and producer (born 1979) Contemporary
  14. 14 Ryan Sweeting Ryan Sweeting American tennis player b. 1987 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Ryan Lochte Ryan Lochte American swimmer (born 1984) Contemporary
  16. 16 Ryan Guzman Ryan Guzman American actor (born 1987) Contemporary
  17. 17 Ryan Kwanten Ryan Kwanten Australian actor and producer b. 1976 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Ryan Hansen Ryan Hansen American actor (born 1981) Contemporary
  19. 19 Ryan Merriman Ryan Merriman American actor (born 1983) Contemporary
  20. 20 Ryan Zinke Ryan Zinke American politician (born 1961) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ryan, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ryan?

The median living Ryan is about 33 years old. Half of all living Ryans are between 22 and 42 years old.

How many people named Ryan are alive today?

An estimated 955 thousand people named Ryan are alive in the United States, based on 991,747 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ryan mean?

A unisex given name. A male given name.

How popular is the name Ryan in 2025?

Ryan ranked #99 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,532 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ryan?

991,747 babies have been named Ryan in the United States since 1906, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ryan most popular?

Ryan peaked in 1985, when 30,475 newborns received the name.

Is Ryan a boy or girl name?

Ryan is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 97% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ryan rising or falling?

Ryan is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ryan become more popular?

Ryan is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,692 boys named Ryan in 2030, which would rank around #134. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ryan?

Well-known people named Ryan include Ryan Gosling (actor), Ryan Reynolds (actor), Ryan Coogler (film director).

Names like Ryan

Names that sound and feel close to Ryan: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ryan with similar names → More names starting with R →