Riley
Riley is a unisex name of Irish origin meaning “Rye clearing or courageous.” It ranked #19 in the United States in 2025. From the Irish surname Ó Raghailligh, possibly meaning courageous.
how do you pronounce Riley?
RY-lee
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Riley mean?
The name Riley means “Rye clearing or courageous.” It comes from the Irish language tradition.
From the Irish surname Ó Raghailligh, possibly meaning courageous. It is also interpreted as an Old English place name meaning rye clearing. One of the most consistently popular unisex names in the US in recent decades.
where does the name Riley come from?
Riley has two independent sources that converged. The Irish surname comes from Ó Raghallaigh, an anglicisation of a Gaelic personal name of uncertain sense. The English surname derives from a place name meaning rye clearing, from ryge and leah. Modern bearers usually assume the Irish line.
the history of Riley
The O'Reilly sept held territory in County Cavan and minted their own coinage in the fifteenth century, which is one proposed source of the American slang phrase the life of Reilly. As a given name Riley moved from surname to boys' name to substantially girls' name in the United States within about thirty years, and it now sits in the top hundred for both.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2024 | #19 |
| 2023 | #20 |
| 2022 | #20 |
| 2021 | #21 |
| 2020 | #22 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Riley?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Riley?
- Riley Keough
- Riley Curry
what names are similar to Riley?
what names go well with Riley?
Sibling names that share Riley's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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