How popular is the baby name Ryo 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 Ryo.
The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.
Which boy names increased in usage the most from 2023 to 2024?
Here’s a table of the fastest-rising boy names of 2024. On the left are the top 25 increases in terms of absolute change (numbers of babies). On the right are the top 25 increases in terms of relative change (percentages of babies).
Rank
Boy name
Absolute rise
Boy name
Relative rise
1
Liam
1,278
Truce
3,683%
2
Noah
1,249
Nazai
1,640%
3
Santiago
1,054
Zylus
1,000%
4
Theodore
927
Kyzeir
656%
5
Thiago
774
Ewen
640%
6
Enzo
740
Hartlen
600%
7
Eithan
717
Kyiir
560%
8
Roman
678
Kamazi
528%
9
Bennett
675
Mazieon
525%
10
Elias
650
Xaden
509%
11
Callum
615
Rustyn
483%
12
Colter
609
Endrick
433%
13
Beau
596
Kaior
417%
14
Wesley
594
Colsen
408%
15
Oliver
561
Elion
367%
16
Henry
559
Haysen
344%
17
Jaziel
538
Huntlee
340%
18
Hayes
496
Akoa
329%
19
Arthur
488
Joa
317%
20
Callan
469
Ryo
281%
21
Rowan
437
Amael
280%
22
Jett
436
Zalen
271%
23
Eliam
422 (tie)
Kysir
263%
24
August
422 (tie)
Creeden
250% (tie)
25
Harvey
413
Zyel
250% (tie)
The rise of Rustyn might be thanks to social media influencer Addie McCracken, who has a young son named Rustyn (b. 2022).
If you have theories about any of the other rises, please leave a comment!
My husband and I visited Las Vegas recently, and the casinos were all decked out for Chinese New Year (which falls on February 12th this year). Decorations included lanterns, firecrackers, Chinese coins, red envelopes, oranges,* and dragons — so many dragons that I initially thought we must be coming up on the Year of the Dragon.
Turns out I was wrong — it’ll be the Year of the Ox — but I didn’t realize this until my husband consulted the internet. Which I’m glad he did, because he ended up spotting this intriguing paragraph:
There are typically marked spikes in the birth rates of countries that use the Chinese zodiac or places with substantial Overseas Chinese populations during the year of the Dragon, because such “Dragon babies” are considered to be lucky and have desirable characteristics that supposedly lead to better life outcomes. The relatively recent phenomenon of planning a child’s birth in the Dragon year has led to hospital overcapacity issues and even an uptick in infant mortality rates toward the end of these years due to strained neonatal resources.
So, if Dragon years are influencing babies, could they also be influencing baby names…?
Chinese dragon at the Venetian, 2021
To answer this question, we need to know two things: which years are Dragon years, and which baby names are likely to be more popular during Dragon years.
Recent Dragon years have coincided (for the most part) with the following calendar years:
1952
1964
1976
1988
2000
2012
(The start date varies, but always falls between January 21 and February 20, on the day of the new moon.)
As for names, the most obvious choice to me was, of course, the English word Dragon. But that’s because I don’t speak any Asian languages (beyond a few words of Cambodian, thanks to my husband’s family).
So I looked up the Chinese word for “dragon.” The correct transliteration is lóng — the ó has a rising tone — but the word is more likely to be rendered “long” or “lung” in Latin script.
Here’s what I found for Dragon, Long and Lung in the U.S. baby name data…
Dragon
Usage of the baby name Dragon
The baby name Dragon debuted in 1988 (a Dragon year), saw a spike in usage in 2000 (the next Dragon year), and an even larger spike in 2012 (the most recent Dragon year).
In 1988, 8 U.S. baby boys were named Dragon.
5 [63%] were born in California.
In 2000, 22 U.S. baby boys were named Dragon.
6 [27%] were born in California, 5 in Texas.
In 2012, 24 U.S. baby boys were named Dragon.
5 [21%] were born in California.
I think the state data is notable here because California has a significant Asian American population.
Long & Lung
Usage of the baby name Long
The baby name Long debuted in 1975, likely because of Vietnamese immigration, and saw a general increase in usage during the late ’70s and early ’80s. It saw an initial spike in 1976 (a Dragon year), which was followed by three more distinct spikes in 1988, 2000, and 2012 (the three most recent Dragon years).
In 1976, 47 U.S. baby boys were named Long.
13 [28%] were born in California, 5 in Texas.
In 1988, 133 U.S. baby boys were named Long.
Long ranked 822nd nationally.
53 [40%] were born in California, 20 in Texas, 5 in Oklahoma, 5 in Massachusetts.
In 2000, 101 U.S. baby boys were named Long.
30 [30%] were born in California, 14 in Texas, 8 in Virginia, 7 in Washington, 6 in Massachusetts, 6 in Pennsylvania.
19 [23%] were born in California, 11 in Texas, 5 in Oregon.
The baby name Lung — a homograph of the English word for the internal organ, unfortunately — was a one-hit wonder in the Dragon year 1988.
Thienlong
While looking at the data for Long, I spotted the name Thienlong — a one-hit wonder in the Dragon year 2012. The Vietnamese name Thienlong, or “thiên long,” means something along the lines of “sky dragon” or “heavenly dragon.”
Seeing the crossover into Vietnamese names, I tried looking for other Asian words for “dragon” in the U.S. baby name data.
I didn’t have much luck until I tried one of the Japanese words for “dragon,” ryu (which should have a macron above the u, marking it as long). The word is typically rendered “ryu,” “ryo,” or “ryuu” in Latin script. (It can also have meanings other than “dragon” — just depends upon the kanji.)
Here’s what I found…
Ryu, Ryuu, Ryo
Usage of the baby name Ryu
The baby name Ryu debuted in 1985, dropped out of the data, and returned in 1988 (a Dragon year). It saw a small spike in usage in 2000 (the next Dragon year), then a larger spike in 2012 (the most recent Dragon year).
In 1988, 7 baby boys were named Ryu.
In 2000, 35 baby boys were named Ryu.
12 [34%] were born in California.
In 2012, 129 baby boys were named Ryu.
34 [26%] were born in California, 14 in Texas, 9 in New York.
The baby names Ryuu and Ryo both saw peak usage in the Dragon year 2012 as well.
Ryunosuke, Ryuki, Ryujin, etc.
While looking at the data for Ryu, I found several Ryu-based names with usage patterns that correlated to Dragon years:
In Japanese mythology, Ryujin (meaning “dragon god”) is the name of the tutelary deity of the sea.
And here’s an interesting fact: Japan’s most famous short-story writer, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, “was named Ryunosuke, ‘dragon-son,’ because he was born in the hour of the dragon, in the month of the dragon, in the year of the dragon.” (His birth date was March 1, 1892.)
And, finally, one more…
Draco
After looking up “dragon” in many different languages, I decided to check the Latin version, Draco — yes, as in Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy — just in case.
The name did see usage increases in the Dragon years 2000 and 2012, but these increases don’t seem impressive next to the steep rise of the last couple of years. (The rise may have been kicked off by the 2017 song “Draco” by Future.)
2024
The next Year of the Dragon will start in early 2024. Do you think dragon-related names will get another boost that year? If so, which ones?
And, do you know of any other dragon-related names that we should be keeping an eye on?
*Why oranges? Because the Cantonese word for mandarin orange, kam, sounds a lot like the Cantonese word for gold. (Another interesting fact: the word kumquat comes from the Cantonese words kam, “gold” or “golden,” and kwat, “orange.”)
Update, Jan. 2023: I’ve found more “Year of the Dragon” baby names! They’re all based on the Japanese word tatsu…
According to a survey that looked at 36,544 babies born in Japan from January through November, the most popular Japanese baby names for 2007 were Hiroto (male) and Hina (female). Hiroto topped the list for the second year in a row, Hina for the third.
Rising in popularity were the name Ryo, following the success of teenage golfer Ryo Ishikawa, and names including the kanji character “hisa,” a.k.a. “yu,” due to its use in the name of 1-year-old Prince Hisahito of Akishino.
The survey was conducted by Benesse Corporation. The results were reported in the Mainichi Daily News.
Looking for a set of baby names with something in common? If so, here are some 3-letter anagram names for you to check out!
Anagrams are words that contain the same set of letters, but not in the same sequence. For instance, the words “pot,” “opt,” and “top” are all anagrams of one another.
Anagram names can be a neat option for siblings — particularly multiples (like twins and triplets). They’re also a clever way to connect a baby name to the name of an older relative (e.g., grandpa Ole, grandson Leo).
Below are hundreds of three-letter names (collected from the SSA’s huge database of U.S. baby names) that happen to be anagrams of other names.
Three-letter anagram names
Ani, Ian, Ina, Nai, Nia
Eno, Eon, Neo, Noe, Oen
Ame, Ema, Mae, Mea
Ami, Iam, Mai, Mia
Amy, May, Mya, Yma
Ari, Ira, Rai, Ria
Ary, Ray, Rya, Yar
Azi, Iza, Zai, Zia
Ade, Dea, Eda
Adi, Dia, Ida
Aki, Kai, Kia
Ali, Ila, Lia
Alo, Loa, Ola
Ase, Esa, Sae
Ave, Eva, Vea
Avi, Iva, Via
Ean, Ena, Nea
Era, Rae, Rea
Eri, Ire, Rei
Ero, Reo, Roe
Ion, Nio, Oni
Isa, Sai, Sia
Ita, Tai, Tia
Kao, Koa, Oak
Nay, Nya, Yan
Ori, Rio, Roi
Abe, Bea
Abi, Bia
Aby, Bay
Aly, Lya
Anh, Han
Ann, Nan
Anu, Una
Aum, Uma
Avy, Yva
Bao, Oba
Cam, Mac
Caz, Zac
Dev, Ved
Dez, Zed
Dre, Red
Duy, Udy
Ela, Lea
Emi, Mei
Eve, Vee
Eze, Zee
Gem, Meg
Guy, Yug
Hal, Lah
Ike, Kei
Ivo, Ovi
Jai, Jia
Jak, Kaj
Jet, Tej
Jio, Joi
Kal, Kla
Kam, Mak
Kay, Kya
Kaz, Zak
Keo, Koe
Koy, Kyo
Lam, Mal
Lav, Val
Len, Nel
Leo, Ole
Lin, Nil
Lio, Oli
Lua, Ula
Lys, Sly
Mio, Omi
Miu, Umi
Naz, Zan
Niv, Vin
Noa, Ona
Nas, San
Ora, Roa
Oya, Yao
Rey, Rye
Roy, Ryo
Rui, Uri
Rut, Tru
Tae, Tea
Tao, Toa
Zae, Zea
Zay, Zya
Zeo, Zoe
Zio, Zoi
Ziv, Zvi
Which pairing/group do you like best? Let me know in the comments!
This website or its third-party tools process personal data.In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link Do not sell my personal information.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.