Ryan: Meaning, origin and popularity

Pronounced RY-uhn · 2 syllables

Ryan means “little king”, from Irish.

A given name transferred from the surname, popular in English-speaking countries from the 1970s to the 1990s.

How popular is Ryan?

Ryan was the #99 name in the US in 2025, given to 3,925 babies. It’s used less than it was: down 55% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 1980.

Babies named Ryan in the US by five-year period, relative to its peak (around 1980).

Half of US adults named Ryan are older than 37; most are between 20 and 52. (Estimated from US births by year and life tables.)

Names that real brothers and sisters of people named Ryan have, from family records on Wikidata, most common first.

Chosen by the same families or with a similar style and era.

Ryan means “little king”. It comes from Irish.

Ryan is pronounced RY-uhn.

Ryan was the #99 name in the US in 2025, given to 3,925 babies. It’s used less than it was: down 55% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 1980.

Half of US adults named Ryan are older than 37. Most are between 20 and 52.