Riley vs Rilyn
American parents have registered 246,985 Rileys since 1880, against 1,434 Rilyns. Riley is still ahead, with 6,107 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Riley Rilyn
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Riley has been the commoner name in every year either was published, 1880 to 2025. The lead has never changed hands.
The closest they came was 2012, when Riley had 7,723 and Rilyn had 120.
Side by side
| Riley | Rilyn | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 246,985 | 1,434 |
| Most in one year | 9,906 | 120 |
| Babies in 2025 | 6,107 | 37 |
| Estimated living today | 237,000 | 1,400 |
| Median age today | 16 | 11 |
| Peak year | 2016 | 2012 |
| Best rank | 22nd girls | 1,955th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 48th | 4,460th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1999 |
| Girls / boys | 141,960 / 105,025 | 1,279 / 155 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Rileys alive today are over 16; half the Rilyns are over 11. That is 5 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Riley Alaska (2.2×), Nevada (2.2×), Idaho (1.8×)
- Rilyn Texas (2.7×), Florida (2.6×), Pennsylvania (2.1×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Riley and Rilyn.