How popular is the baby name Ryan in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Ryan.

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Popularity of the baby name Ryan


Posts that mention the name Ryan

Baby names that fell the fastest in the U.S. data, 1881 to today (absolute decrease)

fallen leaves

A couple of weeks a go we checked out the list of top raw-number rises in the U.S. baby name data, so today let’s balance things out with the list of top raw-number drops.

Just remember that the SSA data doesn’t become very accurate until the mid-to-late 20th century, so many of the numbers below don’t reflect reality all that well.

Same format as usual: Girl names on the left, boy names on the right. Numbers represent single-year decreases in usage. From 1880 to 1881, for instance, usage of the girl name Mary dropped by 146 babies and usage of the boy name William dropped by 1,008 babies.

1880s

  • 1881: Mary, -146; William, -1,008
  • 1882: Lulu, -34; Garfield, -78
  • 1883: Mary, -136; William, -911
  • 1884: Mina, -33; Albert, -61
  • 1885: Sarah, -94; William, -853
  • 1886: Nancy, -35; Grover, -361
  • 1887: Minnie, -157; John, -916
  • 1888: Dorothea, -24; Rudolph, -17
  • 1889: Emma, -203; William, -933

1890s

  • 1890: Mollie, -53; William, -278
  • 1891: Mary, -375; John, -821
  • 1892: Jennie, -26; Enoch & Irving, -16 each (tie)
  • 1893: Mary, -390; John, -990
  • 1894: Ruth, -286; Grover, -171
  • 1895: Laura, -87; Charles, -155
  • 1896: Jessie, -197; John, -182
  • 1897: Anna, -431; John, -589
  • 1898: Sophie, -49; Hobart, -63
  • 1899: Mary, -1,234; William, -1,314

1900s

  • 1900: Manila, -24; Dewey, -154
  • 1901: Mary, -3,572; John, -2,931
  • 1902: Sophie, -45; Manuel, -32
  • 1903: Mary, -211; William, -305
  • 1904: Lillie, -121; Leo, -83
  • 1905: Florence, -94; Alton, -138
  • 1906: Minnie, -173; Theodore, -146
  • 1907: Bessie & Alice, -85 each (tie); Austin, -27
  • 1908: Evelyn, -178; Theodore, -69
  • 1909: Mae, -154; Ernest, -115

1910s

  • 1910: Allie, -35; Delmar & Bruce, -24 each (tie)
  • 1911: Annie, -220; Willie, -405
  • 1912: Dessie, -20; Lawyer & Blas, -12 each (tie)
  • 1913: Carrie, -62; Emerson, -28
  • 1914: Tomasa, -27; Woodrow, -547
  • 1915: Juana, -32; Kermit, -79
  • 1916: Mollie, -88; Willard, -476
  • 1917: Edna, -204; Woodrow, -239
  • 1918: Rose, -215; Frederick, -103
  • 1919: Helen, -2,447; John, -3,029

1920s

  • 1920: Sophie, -234; Woodrow, -1,033
  • 1921: Gertrude, -449; Willie, -391
  • 1922: Helen, -2,314; Warren, -3,315
  • 1923: Helen, -1,017; George, -321
  • 1924: Elizabeth, -512; Warren, -1,231
  • 1925: Mary, -2,910; John, -1,878
  • 1926: Mary, -2,773; William, -1,358
  • 1927: Helen, -1,582; William, -479
  • 1928: Mary, -3,756; William, -2,360
  • 1929: Mary, -3,361; John, -1,652

1930s

  • 1930: Ruth, -1,079; Herbert, -2,187
  • 1931: Dorothy, -3,884; John, -4,026
  • 1932: Betty, -1,688; Robert, -1,255
  • 1933: Mary, -4,381; Robert, -5,052
  • 1934: Dorothy, -761; Franklin, -1,209
  • 1935: Betty, -2,408; Franklin, -1,543
  • 1936: Shirley, -7,202; Donald, -1,025
  • 1937: Shirley, -8,337; Donald, -771
  • 1938: Shirley, -3,048; Donald, -1,207
  • 1939: Shirley, -3,320; Robert, -2,630

(From the SSA: “Note that many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data.”)

1940s

  • 1940: Shirley, -2,573; Donald, -962
  • 1941: Betty, -1,172; Wendell, -533
  • 1942: Deanna, -408; Billy, -352
  • 1943: Carole, -1,900; Douglas, -3,001
  • 1944: Barbara, -4,242; Robert, -4,008
  • 1945: Mary, -3,184; James, -2,497
  • 1946: Victoria, -280; Victor, -492
    • Top 5 boy-name drops of ’46, in order: Victor, Truman, Franklin, Delano, Roosevelt/Homer (tie)
  • 1947: Carole, -793; Richard, -369
  • 1948: Patricia, -5,144; Richard, -7,570
  • 1949: Linda, -5,192; Ronald, -2,026

1950s

  • 1950: Linda, -10,549; John, -1,642
  • 1951: Linda, -6,553; Larry, -1,016
  • 1952: Linda, -6,808; Larry, -2,224
  • 1953: Linda, -5,819; Larry, -3,081
  • 1954: Linda, -5,884; Dennis, -2,860
  • 1955: Mary, -4,830; Gary, -3,499
  • 1956: Deborah, -4,476; David, -4,588
  • 1957: Deborah, -7,778; Gary, -2,286
  • 1958: Cynthia, -8,311; James, -5,502
  • 1959: Debra, -4,166; Michael, -5,209

1960s

  • 1960: Debra, -4,626; Richard, -3,619
  • 1961: Donna, -5,468; Richard, -2,432
  • 1962: Mary, -4,163; Mark, -4,234
  • 1963: Linda, -3,754; Mark, -4,150
  • 1964: Lori, -5,280; Mark, -4,073
  • 1965: Mary, -6,709; John, -10,972
  • 1966: Karen, -7,431; John, -6,519
  • 1967: Lisa, -4,483; James, -3,495
  • 1968: Mary, -3,592; David, -3,058
  • 1969: Lisa, -4,494; Timothy, -3,153

1970s

  • 1970: Lisa, -6,077; David, -1,953
  • 1971: Lisa, -6,053; David, -8,650
  • 1972: Lisa, -5,357; John, -8,340
  • 1973: Lisa, -4,883; David, -5,267
  • 1974: Lisa, -2,889; Robert, -1,681
  • 1975: Jennifer, -4,926; Brian, -3,864
  • 1976: Michelle, -3,116; Scott, -1,571
  • 1977: Amy, -4,613; Scott, -1,541
  • 1978: Amy, -3,509; Jason, -4,027
  • 1979: Kelly, -1,686; Kevin, -1,373

1980s

  • 1980: Melissa, -2,420; Jason, -2,203
  • 1981: Melissa, -3,623; Jason, -6,268
  • 1982: Brooke, -2,183; Jeremy, -2,643
  • 1983: Jennifer, -2,767; Jason, -5,512
  • 1984: Jennifer, -3,784; Jason, -5,167
  • 1985: Jennifer, -7,903; Jason, -3,905
  • 1986: Jennifer, -6,474; Joshua, -4,655
  • 1987: Jennifer, -3,483; Jason, -3,054
  • 1988: Ashley, -4,873; Jason, -3,441
  • 1989: Jennifer, -3,888; Jason, -3,292

1990s

  • 1990: Tiffany, -2,555; Adam, -2,216
  • 1991: Brittany, -7,446; Christopher, -5,219
  • 1992: Jessica, -5,047; Michael -6,409
  • 1993: Chelsea, -4,885; Michael, -4,821
  • 1994: Ashley, -4,571; Michael, -5,089
  • 1995: Jessica, -4,175; Michael, -3,060
  • 1996: Jessica, -3,752; Michael, -3,043
  • 1997: Jessica, -3,142; Cody, -2,660
  • 1998: Jessica, -2,816; Christopher, -2,104
  • 1999: Brittany, -1,903; Austin, -2,710

2000s

  • 2000: Brittany, -2,760; Austin, -4,824
  • 2001: Hannah, -2,366; Brandon, -2,445
  • 2002: Taylor, -2,220; Jacob, -1,968
  • 2003: Ashanti, -1,983; Austin, -2,850
  • 2004: Hannah, -2,034; Zachary, -1,832
  • 2005: Alexis, -1,503; Jacob, -2,059
  • 2006: Emily, -2,540; Ryan, -1,557
  • 2007: Emily, -2,050; Joshua, -1,664
  • 2008: Hannah, -3,738; Christopher, -2070
  • 2009: Emily, -2,084; Anthony, -2,099

2010s

2020s

  • 2020: Harper, -1,686; Ethan, -1,801
  • 2021: Isabella, -957; Mason, -1,035
  • 2022: Ava, -1,791; Logan, -1,241
  • 2023: Ava, -1,405; Aiden, -1,151
  • 2024: Ava, -1062; Mason, -786

I’ve already written about some of the names above (click the links to see the posts) and will write about others in the future. In the meanwhile, feel free to beat me to it! Comment below with the backstory on the fall of Shirley in the late ’30s, Linda in the early ’50s, etc.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Fall (6282684630) by Kenny Louie under CC BY 2.0.

[Latest update: May 2025]

Popular baby names in New York City, 2017

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

Last year, New York City welcomed 117,013 babies — 56,911 girls and 60,102 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Liam, according to data from New York City’s Department of Health.

Here are NYC’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl names

  1. Emma, given to nearly 600 baby girls
  2. Olivia
  3. Mia
  4. Sophia
  5. Isabella
  6. Ava
  7. Leah
  8. Emily
  9. Sarah
  10. Abigail

Boy names

  1. Liam, given to more than 700 baby boys
  2. Noah
  3. Jacob
  4. Ethan
  5. David
  6. Lucas
  7. Matthew
  8. Jayden
  9. Aiden
  10. Daniel

The most popular baby names within specific ethnic/racial groups were…

Top girl namesTop boy names
Hispanic1. Mia, 250
2. Isabella, 245
3. Emma, 222
4. Sophia, 214
5. Camila, 178		1. Liam, 407
2. Jacob, 290
3. Dylan, 287
4. Matthew, 276
5. Noah, 255
Asian and Pacific Islander1. Olivia, 136
2. Emma, 109
3. Chloe, 103
4. Sophia, 86
5. Mia, 79		1. Muhammad, 157
2. Ethan, 146
3. Ryan, 143
4. Jayden, 136
5. Aiden, 129
White, non-Hispanic 1. Esther, 260
2. Leah, 231
3. Olivia, 228
4. Emma, 199
5. Chaya, 196		1. David, 282
2. Joseph, 279
3. Jacob, 264
4. Moshe, 223
5. James, 213
Black, non-Hispanic 1. Ava, 113
2. Skylar, 75
3. Madison, 72
4. Aaliyah, 48
5. Amelia, 47		1. Noah, 148
2. Liam, 113
3. Aiden, 107
4. Mason, 104
5. Ethan, 100

Among the names given to just 10 babies each in NYC last year were the girl names Artemis, Tzippy, and Reizy, and the boy names Azriel, Zeus, and Thaddeus.

One year earlier, in 2016, NYC’s top names (overall) were Olivia and Liam.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

[Latest update: Feb. 2026]

Baby name story: Zeppelin

The zeppelin bend (a type of knot)
The zeppelin bend

In December of 2016, American actors (and married couple) Jensen Ackles and Danneel Harris welcomed twins: a girl named Arrow Rhodes, and a boy named Zeppelin Bram.

I’m not sure how the couple chose Arrow’s name, but Ackles recently told the story behind Zeppelin’s name on the morning talk show Live with Kelly and Ryan.

Zeppelin’s umbilical chord had been knotted at birth, and this inspired Ackles to learn about knots:

I went onto a sailing knot site — like, names of knots. And at the very end was the zeppelin bend, which was the knot that they used to tether the zeppelin blimps to the ground.

Arrow and Zeppelin also have an older sister, named Justice.

P.S. Danneel Harris was born Elta Danneel Graul in Louisiana in 1979. “Elta” was the name of one of her great-grandmothers, while “Danneel” was inspired by Danneel Street in Uptown New Orleans.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from ZeppelinBagi by Cobanyastigi under CC0.

[Latest update: Oct. 2024]

Top first letters of U.S. baby names, 2017

What were the most popular first letters for baby names in 2017?

For girls, the most-used first letter was A, followed by M and E. The least-used first letter was U. Here’s the breakdown:

first letters, girl names, 2017

And here are the most-used girl names per letter for 2017:

For boys, the most-used first letter was J, followed by A and C. The least-used first letter was U. Here’s the breakdown:

first letters, boy names, 2017

Here are the most-used boy names per letter for 2017:

Finally, here are both genders side-by-side on the same chart:

first letters, baby names, 2017

Overall, the top first letter was A and the least popular letter was U. Not much has changed since 2016…