Riley (given name)
Pronunciation | /ˈraɪli/ RY-lee |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | Old English, Irish |
Other names | |
Related names | Reilly, Rileigh, Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie |
Riley is a transferred use of an English surname derived from Old English ryge ‘rye’ + lēah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.[1]
It is also derived from the Irish surname O'Reilly.[2]
Regional variations[]
Europe[]
In the United Kingdom, it is still primarily a boy's name, and was the 40th most popular name for boys in 2016.[3]
America[]
Until the 1990s and early 2000s, Riley was primarily a boy's name in the United States. However, it has become a popular name for girls in the United States and remains in wide use there for girls, with many variant spellings. It also remains a well-used name there for boys.[4]
Notable men with this given name[]
B[]
- Riley Barber (born 1994), American ice hockey player
- Riley Bartholomew (1807–1894), American politician and pioneer
- Riley Baugus, American guitarist
- Riley P. Bechtel (born 1952), American businessman
- Riley A. Bender (1890–1973), American businessman and politician
- Riley Biggs (1900–1971), American football player
- Riley Bonner (born 1997), Australian rules footballer
- Riley Breckenridge (born 1975), American musician
- Riley Brett (1895–1982), American race car driver
- Riley Brockington (born 1975), Canadian politician
- Riley Brown (born 1984), Australian rugby union footballer
- Riley Bullough (born 1993), American football player
C[]
- Riley Chamberlin (1852–1917), American actor
- Riley Cooper (born 1987), American football player
- Riley Cote (born 1982), Canadian ice hockey player
D[]
- Riley Darnell (1940–2020), American lawyer and politician
- Riley Dean (born 2001), Irish rugby union footballer
- Riley Dixon (born 1993), American football player
- Riley Dodge (born 1988), American football player
- Riley Dolezal (born 1985), American javelin thrower
E[]
- Riley Etheridge Jr., American singer-songwriter
F[]
- Riley Ferguson (born 1995), American football player
- Riley Ferrell (born 1993), American baseball player
- Riley Fitzsimmons (born 1996), Australian canoeist
G[]
- Riley Gardner (1921–2007), American psychologist
- Riley Gibbs (born 1996), American sailor
- Riley Gill (born 1985), American ice hockey player
- Riley Grant (born 1995), American soccer player
- Riley Green (singer) (born 1988), American singer-songwriter
- Riley Greene (born 2000), American baseball player
- Riley Griffiths (born 1997), American football player
H[]
- Riley Harbottle (born 2000), English footballer
- Riley Hatch (1862–1925), American singer
- Riley Hawk (born 1992), American skateboarder
- Riley Hekure (born 1994), Papua New Guinean cricketer
- Riley Herbst (born 1999), American stock car racing driver
- Riley Hern (1878–1929), Canadian ice hockey player
- Riley Hill (actor) (1914–1993), American actor
- Riley Holzapfel (born 1988), Canadian ice hockey player
- Riley D. Housewright (1913–2003), American microbiologist
I[]
- Riley Ingram (born 1941), American politician
J[]
- Riley Janes (born 1980), Canadian swimmer
- Riley Jones, English actor
K[]
- Riley Keaton (born 1997), American politician
- Riley Knight (born 1995), Australian rules footballer
L[]
- Riley Lee (born 1951), American-Australian shakuhachi player
M[]
- Riley Martin (1946–2015), American author
- Riley Matheson (1914–1987), American football player
- Riley Mattson (born 1938), American football player
- Riley McCarron (born 1993), American football player
- Riley McCormick (born 1991), Canadian diver
- Riley McGovern (born 1991), American soccer player
- Riley McGree (born 1998), Australian footballer
- Riley McKibbin (born 1988), American volleyball player
- Riley Meredith (born 1996), Australian cricketer
- Riley Carter Millington (born 1993/1994), English actor
- Riley Milne (born 1990), Australian rules footballer
- Riley Moore (born 1980/1981), American politician
- Riley Moss (born 2000), American football player
N[]
- Riley Nash (born 1989), Canadian ice hockey player
- Riley Nelson (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player
- Riley Dobi Noel (1972–2004), American murderer
- Riley Nottingham (born 1991), Australian actor
O[]
- Riley O'Neill (born 1985), Canadian footballer
- Riley Odoms (born 1950), American football player
P[]
- Riley Parsons (born 2000), English snooker player
- Riley Patterson (born 1998), American football player
- Riley Pint (born 1997), American baseball player
- Riley L. Pitts (1937–1967), American soldier
- Riley Puckett (1894–1946), American musician
R[]
- Riley Reiff (born 1988), American football player
- Riley Ridley (born 1996), American football player
- Riley Rossmo, Canadian comic book artist
S[]
- Riley Salmon (born 1976), American volleyball player
- Riley Schmidt (born 1976), American actor
- Riley Senft (born 1979), Canadian humanitarian
- Riley Sheahan (born 1991), Canadian ice hockey player
- Riley Shepard (1918–2009), American musician
- Riley Skinner (born 1986), American football player
- Riley Smith (born 1978), American actor
- Riley Smith (American football) (1911–1999), American football player
- Riley Stearns (born 1986), American filmmaker
- Riley Stewart (1919–2000), American baseball player
- Riley Stillman (born 1998), Canadian ice hockey player
- Riley E. Stratton (1823–1866), American attorney
- Riley Swanson (born 1984), American attorney
T[]
- Riley Thilthorpe (born 2002), Australian rules footballer
- Riley Thomson (1912–1960), American animator
- Riley Tufte (born 1998), American ice hockey player
V[]
- Riley Voelkel (born 1990), American-Canadian actress
W[]
- Riley Wallace (born 1941), American basketball coach
- Riley "Special" Wallace (born 1983), Canadian musician
- Riley Wang (born 1996), Canadian-Taiwanese actor
- Riley Ware (born 1962), American football player
- Riley Warland (born 2002), Australian footballer
- Riley Watson (1859–1915), English doctor
- Riley Weselowski (born 1985), Canadian ice hockey player
- Riley J. Wilson (1871–1946), American attorney and legislator
- Riley Woodcock (born 1995), Australian footballer
Y[]
- Riley S. Young (1860–1952), American politician
Notable women with this given name[]
- Riley Clemmons (born 1999), American musician
- Riley Day (born 2000), Australian sprinter
- Riley Hoover (born 1998), Guamanian-American footballer
- Riley Keough (born 1989), American actress
- Riley Mants (born 1978), Canadian swimmer
- Riley McCusker (born 2001), American artistic gymnast
- Riley Montana (born 1990), American fashion model
- Riley Redgate, American author
- Riley Reid (born 1991), American pornographic actress
- Riley Schillaci (born 1982), American performance artist
- Riley Steele (born 1987), American pornographic actress
- Riley Weston (born 1966), American actress
Fictional male characters[]
- Riley Finn, character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Riley Freeman, character in the animated television series The Boondocks
- Riley Parker, a character in Neighbours
- Riley is also the name of the playable dog character in Call Of Duty: Ghosts
Fictional female characters[]
- Riley Abel, a character in the video game The Last of Us: Left Behind
- Riley Andersen, a character in the film Inside Out
- Riley Blue, a character in the Netflix series Sense8
- Riley Daring, a character in The Replacements
- Riley Dawson, character in the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Riley Matthews, a character in the Disney Channel spinoff series Girl Meets World
See also[]
- Riley (surname), a page for people with the surname "Riley"
Notes[]
- ^ "Riley - given name origin".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Bardsley, Charles Wareing (1901). A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames. Henry Frowde. p. 647. ISBN 9785871144015.
- ^ "Olivia and Oliver were 2016's top baby names in England and Wales". Sep 20, 2017. Retrieved Aug 12, 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
Categories:
- Given names
- English feminine given names
- English masculine given names
- English given names
- English unisex given names