River
Top 1000
About River
Most of the notable Rivers have been male, but this nature name certainly flows as well for a girl. The name River is still rising for both genders, with about 3500 baby boys receiving the name last year vs. 1900 baby girls.
Kelly Clarkson's choice of River for her newborn daughter further raised the profile of the name for girls. Baseball great Derek Jeter and Hannah Davis used the same name as Clarkson for their daughter born in 2021, River Rose.
Pronounced RIV-er.
As of October 2026, River ranked #220 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #149 in 2021, Nameberry popularity #656.
Editor's take: The name River is a girl's name of English origin.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #453 | 708 | 396.3 |
| 2015 | #348 | 950 | 532.2 |
| 2016 | #286 | 1,131 | 638.3 |
| 2017 | #270 | 1,181 | 684.1 |
| 2018 | #244 | 1,333 | 783.6 |
| 2019 | #211 | 1,441 | 858.6 |
| 2020 | #184 | 1,561 | 965.6 |
| 2021 | #149 | 1,885 | 1,148.8 |
| 2022 | #150 | 1,927 | 1,174.9 |
| 2023 | #193 | 1,584 | 987.2 |
| 2024 | #214 | 1,434 | 885.1 |
| 2025 | #220 | 1,401 | 871.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like River.
River on lists
Famous Rivers
- River Hart (b. 1999)
daughter of singers Corey Hart and Julie Masse
- River Stone (b. 2011)
daughter of singer Melissa Auf der Maur and filmmaker Tony Stone
- River Rose Blackstock (b. 2014)
daughter of singer Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock
- River Gallanders (b. 2014)
daughter of actors Stacie Mistysyn and James Gallanders
- Dylan River Nichols (b. 2013)
daughter of singer Joe Nichols
River in pop culture
- River
daughter of Craig in the game "Dream Daddy"
- River Song
character on the TV show "Doctor Who"
- River Tam
character on the TV show "Firefly"
- River E. Wyles
main character in the game "To The Moon"
- River McIrish
character in "The Sims 3" computer game
- River Styxx
daughter of the Grim Reaper in "Monster High" show and series