Recorded 1906–2025 · United States
Ryan was most popular in 1985, when 30,475 American babies were given the name — ranking #14 that year. In 2025 it ranked #148, with 3,925 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 991,747 people named Ryan.
Ryan first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1906, which makes it about 119 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 114 of the 120 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 991,747 American births named Ryan 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 948,316 are estimated to be alive today.
3,925 American babies were named Ryan in 2025, ranking #148 that year.
Ryan is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 4,597 births a year, against 10,537 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -56% 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 Ryan is a boy’s name — 2.8% of the 991,747 Americans given it were girls and 97.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 10% girls and 90% 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 948,316 Americans named Ryan are alive today — 96% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 34 years old, and half are between 23 and 43.
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.
Irish · "little king"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Ryan on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org