Updated October 2026
Across 17 pages
of 17
English, modern invented name or surname
"edge of the meadow"
With the sprightly "Ren" and "Wren" currently in fashion, and "ley" a productive suffix to create new names, this combination was inevitable, and is chirpy and appealing. Renley has been on the US…
Persian
"dawn"
Best known as the beautiful heroine to whom Cyrano de Bergerac says, "Your name is like a golden bell". After peaking in 1954, the name dipped out of the Top 1000 in 2012. It returned at Number 986…
Botanical names or word name
"herb; regret"
Rue has gone from Golden Girls actress to Hunger Games heroine to a fresh alternative to beloved middle name Rose. This botanical name is also a coincidental double word name, meaning "regret" in…
Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese variation of Roland, German
"famous throughout the land"
Rolando, along with brother name Orlando, are among the most attractive and appealing of Latinate names. It has been in the US Top 1000 every year since 1946.
English
"basket weaver"
Might suggest speed, excitement, even danger, were it not for its best-known bearer, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.
Variation of Raleigh or Raylee
"meadow of roe deer; beam of light + meadow"
Inspired by either Raleigh -- a North Carolina place-name and the surname of the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh - or by Raylee, a modern creation, blending Ray and Lee, Rayleigh has been steadily used…
Spanish
"bold wolf"
Romanticizes Rudolph and distances the name from the red-nosed reindeer. After remaining steadily in the US Top 500 for much of the twentieth century, Rodolfo has been slipping of late.
Roselynn is one of the smoosh baby names most popular a generation or two ago.
Latin
"soft horse or pretty rose"
Rosalind has a distinguished literary history – used and popularized by Edmund Spenser and Shakespeare via one of his most charming heroines, in As You Like It . Along with a bouquet of other Rose…
Irish, English
"rye clearing; rye land"
Rylynn blends a number of modern trends: love for name Riley, the addition of the -lyn suffix, replacement of a vowel with a Y, a nature-connected meaning, and a slightly unisex, surname-inspired…
Literary invention
Invented by author Stephenie Meyer for the Twilight series for the half-human, half-vampire daughter of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, it's an amalgamtion of the names of Bella's mother Renee and…
Variation of Rylan
Rylen is the more-unusual spelling variation of Rylan and the even more popular Ryland. It also takes a cue from the long-trendy surname-name Riley and adds the newly-trendy n ending.
Invented name
"ray of light; moonbeam"
Rayla might be many things: a modern successor to Kayla; an elaboration of Rae; a blend of Riley and Taylor or Rae and Ayla; a possible substitute for for Raelynn; an alternative to Layla; a…
French
"forest guardian"
The list of occupational boys' names continues to expand, and this is one of the latest to ride onto the range. With a hint of cowboy and Western, a sprinkle of preppy surname, an outdoorsy,…
Rosalynn is a feminine name of English origin, created as a variation of Rosaline or a combination of Rosa and Lynn. Its roots connect to the Latin 'rosa' meaning 'rose,' symbolizing beauty and love.…
Modern Invented Name
A variation of Riley with an added -lynn suffix, this girl name is bubbling right underneath the Top 1000.
English word name
"royal"
A superlative word name along the lines of Saint, King, Princess, and Chosen, Royal was mostly used for boys — as in Wes Anderson's anti-hero Royal Tennenbaum — until Lil' Kim named her daughter…
"shield's son"
Ransom may be rakish and handsome, but it carries an unavoidable association with holding someone for ransom. But that kind of bad boy image might be exactly what attracts you to Ransom in the first…
Raylen is a modern masculine name that has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly in the United States. It appears to be a contemporary blend of the popular Ray prefix (meaning 'beam of…
Egyptian
"son of God"
Ramses was the name of several kings in Ancient Egypt, including the long-reigning Ramses II, known as Ramses the Great. Unfortuntely, some may associate it with the condom brand name.