Ryan

Irish
"little king"

Ryan Origin and Meaning

The name Ryan is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "little king".

This ultrapopular boys' name is rapidly becoming a hot name for girls; admired for its buoyant Irish spirit.

Ryan returned to the Top 500 for girls in 2015 and will no doubt continue to climb further on the back of the success of blockbuster film Gravity.

A word of caution, however – the meaning and the movie reference may leave your daughter feeling as though you wished she were a son You may wish to go with Rion instead, which is similar in sound and means Queen in Irish. Rion is pronounced ree-on, which introduces problems of its own.

# 677 in the US

Ryan Rank in US Top 1000

# 1100 on Nameberry

Ryan Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ryan Popularity

Famous People Named Ryan

  • Ryan Whitney Newman
    American actress
  • Ryan Starr (born Tiffany Ryan Montgomery)
    American pop singer; finalist on "American Idol"
  • Ryan Haddon
    American journalist and TV producer
  • Ryan Destiny (Irons)
    American actress and singer
  • Ryan Elizabeth Wallace
    daughter of actors Lisa Trusel and David Wallace
  • Ryan Elizabeth Peete
    daughter of NFL player Rodney Peete and actress Holly Robinson Peete; twin of brother Rodney Jr.
  • Ryan Kate Brandenburg
    competitor on TV's "Master Chef Junior," daughter of baseball player Mark Brandenburg
  • Ryan Williams
    American soccer player
  • Ryan Justine Stewart (b. 2008)
    daughter of actor Josh Stewart
  • Ryan Elizabeth Jones (b. 2009)
    quintuplet daughter of Ethan and Casey Jones of TV's "Quints by Surprise"
  • Ryan Ruby Mae Pritchard (b. 2010)
    daughter of musician Mike Dirnt
  • Ryan Elizabeth Shaw
    Hayes (b. 2011), daughter of TV journalist Chris Hayes
  • Ryan Fuller (b. 2013)
    daughter of model Tori Praver and surfer Danny Fuller
  • Ryan James Vandermeer (b. 2014)
    daughter of ice hockey player Jim Vandermeer
  • Ryan Ava Erhard Rosenberg (b. 2015)
    daughter of American actress Haylie Duff and Matt Rosenberg; sister of Lulu Gray
  • Ryan Carson Curry (b. 2015)
    daughter of basketball player Stephen Curry

Ryan in Pop Culture

  • Dr. Ryan Stone
    main character in film "Gravity"
  • Ryan Fitzpatrick
    character in HERInteractive's "The Deadly Device"
  • Ryan Woods
    character on Netflix original series "Greenhouse Academy"