Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Rian

Say it REE-un 2 syllables

Irish

Loved in Ireland. Common in Northern Ireland. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 19 more places.

1 in 44 boys born in Ireland in 2025. Number 1 there.

Rian in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 1, common in 1, rare in 22.
Rian in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales319 (up)20251401 in 1,9424752020
Scotland198 (new in the list)2025211 in 935Not listed2020
Northern Ireland19 (up)2025731 in 1131112020
Ireland (as Rían)1 (up)20255411 in 44152020
North America
Ontario (province)503 (up)202424about 1 in 2,4958572019
Quebec (province)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
British Columbia (province)442 (new in the list)20237about 1 in 1,859Not listed2018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Victoria (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
Queensland (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
New ZealandNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Western Europe
France2,171 (up)2025101 in 30,2692,2572020
NetherlandsRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Central Europe
Austria374 (up)2025141 in 2,7195522020
Switzerland202 (down)2025411 in 8781652020
Berlin (city)532 (new in the list)20235about 1 in 3,102Not listed2018
Munich (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Cologne (city)Rare: below the complete list2023Not listed2018
Bonn (city)256 (up)20252about 1 in 1,5853812020
Leipzig (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
NorwayRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Sweden471 (new in the list)202512about 1 in 3,594Not listed2020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Italy357 (new in the list)2024331 in 5,738Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
PolandRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Slovenia175 (up)20259about 1 in 8042332020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Rian is the Irish spelling of Ryan, taken back to its roots. Ryan comes from an Irish surname meaning "descendant of Rian", and choosing Rian revives the old Irish given name, also written Riaghan, on which that surname was built. The meaning of Rian itself is not known.

2 more paragraphs

It is said REE-un, two syllables, which sets it apart in sound from the English Ryan. Rían, with an accent, is also used.

Rian is currently the most popular boys' name in Ireland and a top-20 choice in Northern Ireland, with a smaller presence in Scotland, Slovenia and Switzerland. It is rising in many places and falling in none, and in Canada it reached its peak as recently as 2023, so it is a name very much on the way up.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
REE-un · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
No sourced meaning. We print a meaning only when a dictionary gives one.
Origin
Irish
Spellings counted
Counted together with Rian here: Rían.
Related names
Ian, Ryan
Where Rian comes from (Wiktionary)

A re-Gaelicisation of Ryan, which comes from the Irish surname O Riain "descendant of Rian"; it revives the original Irish given name Rian (Riaghan).

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Rian. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Rian over time

Rising in 10 of the 11 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 0. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 2023.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Rian in England and Wales: #633 in 1996, rising to a peak of #319 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300#1,000200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #633, 25 boys1997: #493, 38 boys1998: #554, 33 boys1999: #499, 40 boys2000: #480, 41 boys2001: #421, 51 boys2002: #403, 56 boys2003: #514, 46 boys2004: #487, 54 boys2005: #590, 45 boys2006: #608, 47 boys2007: #551, 56 boys2008: #500, 69 boys2009: #648, 49 boys2010: #598, 56 boys2011: #514, 69 boys2012: #526, 70 boys2013: #514, 72 boys2014: #574, 62 boys2015: #557, 68 boys2016: #531, 73 boys2017: #591, 63 boys2018: #711, 48 boys2019: #493, 79 boys2020: #475, 82 boys2021: #352, 127 boys2022: #395, 107 boys2023: #338, 126 boys2024: #371, 116 boys2025: #319, 140 boys#633 in 1996#319in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
199663325
199749338
199855433
199949940
200048041
200142151
200240356
200351446
200448754
200559045
200660847
200755156
200850069
200964849
201059856
201151469
201252670
201351472
201457462
201555768
201653173
201759163
201871148
201949379
202047582
2021352127
2022395107
2023338126
2024371116
2025319140

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named Rian in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2016. Peak: 2023, about 44 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 0 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 0 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 0 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 0 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 0 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 0 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 0 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 0 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 0 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 0 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 0 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 1.3 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 0 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 0 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 3 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 4.3 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 9.5 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 10 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 8.3 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 29.7 per 100,000 boys20202020-2024: about 1 in 3,370 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19290
1930–19340
1935–19390
1940–19440
1945–19490
1950–19540
1955–19590
1960–19640
1965–19690
1970–19740
1975–19790
1980–19841.3
1985–19890
1990–19940
1995–19993
2000–20044.3
2005–20099.5
2010–201410
2015–20198.3
2020–202429.7

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Rian

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Rian, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 71, Ireland

  2. 1 in 235, Ireland

  3. 1 in 86, Ireland

  4. 1 in 195, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 460, Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 203, Switzerland

  7. 1 in 124, Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 157, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 112, Ireland

  10. 1 in 159, Ireland

All 40 brother names for Rian

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Rian's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 50, Ireland

  3. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 130, Scotland

  6. 1 in 62, Poland

  7. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 137, Scotland

Full-name check

Rian Oliver

Syllables 2-3Initials R.O.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Rian

Sisters for Rian: Aoife, Saoirse, Orla, and 5 more
  1. AoifeRose and fell with Rian · Same generation as Rian
  2. SaoirseRose and fell with Rian · Same generation as Rian
  3. OrlaRose and fell with Rian · Same generation as Rian
  4. NiamhRose and fell with Rian · Irish, like Rian
  5. CiaraRose and fell with Rian · Irish, like Rian
  6. ArabellaRose and fell with Rian · Same generation as Rian
  7. EsmeRose and fell with Rian · Same generation as Rian
  8. MaisieRose and fell with Rian · Same generation as Rian

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Rian

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Rian's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 19 more places.

  2. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 19 more places.

  3. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 18 more places.

  4. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 19 more places.

  5. Rare in all 24 places we hold figures for.

  6. Rare in all 24 places we hold figures for.

  7. Rare in all 24 places we hold figures for.

  8. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 18 more places.

Famous people named Rian

Rian Johnson

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Rian

How popular is Rian in Ireland?

Rian ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, given to 541 boys, about 1 in 44.

Is Rian rising in popularity?

Yes, in most of the places we can check. Rising in 10 of the 11 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 0. Rising in: British Columbia, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ontario, England and Wales, and 5 other regions.

How many syllables does Rian have?

Rian has 2 syllables: REE-un.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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