Ryan Name Meaning

An Irish name meaning “little king”, Ryan has been a chart staple since bursting onto the scene in the 1970s. Despite his meteoric rise to fame, Ryan doesn’t seem dated and is quickly becoming a classic in his own right.

A friendly name with boy-next-door appeal, Ryan is a feel-good pick that is easily recognizable. Most people know a Ryan, leaving misspellings in the dust and avoiding awkward pronunciation issues that plague some names. The name also has a natural likeability factor.

Thanks to his popularity over the years, Ryan is also immune to being timestamped. A Ryan could easily be a newborn or a grown man, while someone with a name like Ryker is most certainly a baby or child. He wears well into adulthood, just as easily fitting a doctor or musician.

While Ryan fits a man at any age, he does have a boyish charm that’s hard to overlook. Somewhat mischievous and playful, Ryan has an irresistible charisma. The first to ignite fun and adventure, Ryan is the little king of the playground, wearing his meaning well.

Ryan is working his way towards becoming a timeless pick, but he fits in with today’s top names as well. He sounds similar to Rylan and Riley while having the Irish roots beloved in Aiden and Liam.

Infographic of Ryan name meaning, which is An Irish name, Ryan means little king.
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Ryan Name Popularity

How popular is the name Ryan? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 0 0%
1911 0 0%
1912 0 0%
1913 0 0%
1914 0 0%
1915 0 0%
1916 0 0%
1917 0 0%
1918 0 0%
1919 0 0%
1920 1,599 5 0.0004%
1921 1,408 6 0.0005%
1922 0 0%
1923 0 0%
1924 0 0%
1925 1,426 6 0.0005%
1926 0 0%
1927 0 0%
1928 0 0%
1929 0 0%
1930 0 0%
1931 0 0%
1932 0 0%
1933 0 0%
1934 1,356 5 0.0005%
1935 0 0%
1936 0 0%
1937 0 0%
1938 0 0%
1939 0 0%
1940 0 0%
1941 0 0%
1942 0 0%
1943 0 0%
1944 0 0%
1945 1,398 5 0.0004%
1946 991 17 0.0012%
1947 728 50 0.003%
1948 1,017 17 0.0011%
1949 707 55 0.0034%
1950 766 43 0.0027%
1951 707 57 0.0034%
1952 650 71 0.0041%
1953 630 86 0.0049%
1954 664 77 0.0042%
1955 560 129 0.007%
1956 540 150 0.0079%
1957 455 242 0.0126%
1958 453 259 0.0137%
1959 395 368 0.0194%
1960 415 326 0.0172%
1961 408 341 0.0181%
1962 406 355 0.0193%
1963 308 615 0.0343%
1964 348 472 0.0268%
1965 219 1,067 0.0652%
1966 171 1,557 0.0997%
1967 147 1,916 0.1263%
1968 131 2,162 0.144%
1969 134 2,245 0.1457%
1970 139 2,321 0.1458%
1971 51 6,190 0.4119%
1972 39 8,892 0.6529%
1973 30 10,517 0.8112%
1974 25 13,188 1.0147%
1975 23 15,304 1.191%
1976 16 17,501 1.3579%
1977 16 21,257 1.577%
1978 14 21,334 1.5868%
1979 14 23,220 1.6468%
1980 15 24,804 1.6964%
1981 13 26,823 1.8247%
1982 13 26,697 1.7865%
1983 13 27,842 1.8867%
1984 12 28,720 1.9306%
1985 12 29,895 1.9696%
1986 11 29,509 1.9549%
1987 13 28,478 1.8662%
1988 13 27,739 1.78%
1989 13 28,409 1.7605%
1990 11 29,248 1.7646%
1991 11 27,529 1.6889%
1992 13 27,006 1.6919%
1993 13 26,720 1.7139%
1994 16 24,053 1.5673%
1995 15 23,087 1.5319%
1996 16 21,807 1.4564%
1997 16 20,526 1.3878%
1998 17 20,194 1.3492%
1999 12 21,011 1.403%
2000 13 20,264 1.3265%
2001 15 18,286 1.2136%
2002 16 17,659 1.1784%
2003 13 19,571 1.2864%
2004 12 19,491 1.2788%
2005 14 17,982 1.1761%
2006 14 16,426 1.049%
2007 16 15,709 0.9956%
2008 18 14,679 0.9497%
2009 20 13,106 0.8769%
2010 23 11,968 0.8305%
2011 25 11,493 0.8067%
2012 26 10,935 0.7674%
2013 30 9,873 0.6934%
2014 37 9,080 0.6232%
2015 39 8,517 0.5853%
2016 40 8,232 0.5709%
2017 43 7,652 0.5483%
2018 46 6,905 0.5026%
2019 54 6,087 0.4496%
2020 57 5,213 0.4096%
2021 66 4,694 0.384%
2022 74 4,372 0.3314%

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Indiana (IN)

Kansas (KS)

Kentucky (KY)

Louisiana (LA)

Massachusetts (MA)

Maryland (MD)

Maine (ME)

Michigan (MI)

Minnesota (MN)

Missouri (MO)

Mississippi (MS)

Montana (MT)

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Rhode Island (RI)

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Tennessee (TN)

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West Virginia (WV)

Wyoming (WY)

Data via SSA.gov.


Names Like Ryan

If you like Ryan, you’ll love these other names like Ryan.


What names are diminutives of Ryan?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Ryan sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Ryan, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Rye

Rye plant

English


What names are variants of Ryan?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Ryan.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Rian

King

Gaelic

Rien

Of the sea; king

Latin

Rion

King

Gaelic

Ryen

King

Gaelic

Ryon

King

Gaelic

Ryun

King

Gaelic


What names sound like Ryan?

If you like how Ryan sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Ryan.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Orion

Boundary

Greek

Riley

Rye clearing

Irish

Roan

Little red-head

Gaelic

Ronan

Little seal

Irish

Rowan

Of the rowan tree

Gaelic

Royan

Red-haired, red; ascending

Indian (Sanskrit)

Ryder

Mounted warrior

English

Ryker

Rich

English

Rylan

Rye land

English

Ryland

Land where rye is grown

English

Rylee

Descendant of Roghallach

Irish

Ryley

Rye clearing

English


What names are similar to Ryan?

Find a name that’s like Ryan, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Aiden

Little fire

Irish

Brandon

Broom hill

English

Brendan

Prince

Irish

Conner

Dog lover

Irish

Ian

God is gracious

Scottish

James

Supplanter

English

John

God is gracious

Hebrew

Liam

Helmet of will

Irish

Owen

Noble born

Welsh

Sean

God is gracious

Irish


Lists With Ryan

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Ryan.


Siblings of Ryan

Mamas with kids named Ryan also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ennis

One choice

Celtic

Brucey

French

Alexandria

Defender of man

Greek

Gladys

“The bright one,” from the Anglo- Saxon glaecl, bright, shining.

Welsh

Anastasia

Resurrection

Greek

Joseph

Jehovah will increase

Hebrew

Elisia

From the blessed isles

Latin

Katiana

Form of Katherine

European

Emilia

To rival

Latin

Landon

Long hill

English

Logan

Small hollow

Scottish

Liam

Helmet of will

Irish

Matthew

Gift of God

Hebrew

Earl

Nobleman, warrior, prince

English

Calvin

Hairless one

English

John

God is gracious

Hebrew

21 Comments

  1. I tend to lean towards Celtic sounding names, but my husband is very traditional, so this was a good name that was normal enough for him but had some of the Irish flair I like. My brother in law’s middle name is Ryan, so it was a nod to him also. I often call him Ry Ry, but he is still little so it works.

  2. We both love the name

  3. Ryan is my husbands middle name. His full name is Ryan Scott Judd

  4. No thoughts

  5. We are old school and love to honor our family members.

  6. Me and my husband both loved this name and it had really good meaning.! There is nothing about this name which i dislike.!

  7. my big baby

  8. Just like the name

  9. I honestly don’t know why I chose this name other than bc I just like it. I had him 3 weeks early and hadn’t chosen a name yet so when it was time to sign the birth certificate I stalled as long as possible and then blurted out Ryan Matthew lol I love his name though

  10. We love how Ryan Reyes sounds. It’s a classic name.

  11. Ryan is a family name. We chose it so we could honor my husband’s side, while his middle name is my side.

  12. We both wanted our son to have a name that was good, strong and easy to say. ? also not many kids his age are named Ryan. So our hope is that when he goes to school he won’t have to go by Ryan S. Hopefully he’ll be the only one in class.

    • I have 3 sons, and I felt the same way when I named them Andrew 37, Daniel 33, & Ryan 32. Nobody else names their kids those names anymore! Hahaha… everyone had the same thought. My boys had more friends with the same names. Like everything else, including names, everything recycles ?

  13. Just liked it. Strong name

  14. My stepfathers stepdad was named RC…They we’re very close and he was more of a father figure then his real dad was….I never met the man but my stepfather had told many stories about him and what he has told he sounded like a great man…So to kinda keep that name going I decided to name my son Ryan Christopher short for RC in memory of his stepdad….When Ryan gets older to realize that RC is a nickname and not a real name we will call him RC at times..

  15. Hes a funny outgoing little boy. His daddy chose his name after his middle name.

  16. Ryan is a family name. It’s my Mother’s maiden name. We loved the simplicity of the spelling as his middle name and last name were going to be 9 letters each.

  17. Sounded masculine, looked nice in writing, had good memories of our childhood friends, a nod to Christ being King.

  18. He is named after his dad

  19. My second son was named after my maiden name.


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