Recorded 1971–2025 · United States
River was most popular in 2022, when 5,430 American babies were given the name — ranking #98 that year. In 2025 it ranked #125, with 4,540 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 59,351 people named River.
River first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1971, which makes it about 54 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 46 of the 55 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 59,351 American births named River between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 58,854 are estimated to be alive today.
4,540 American babies were named River in 2025, ranking #125 that year.
River is rising. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 4,933 births a year, against 1,562 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +216% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record River is a unisex name — 33.1% of the 59,351 Americans given it were girls and 66.8% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 35% girls and 65% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 58,854 Americans named River are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 7 years old, and half are between 4 and 11. That is a narrow band because River is a young name — it only became common recently, so almost everyone carrying it is still a child or a young adult.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See River on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org