Ridley
About Ridley
Can one prominent character affect the gender identity of a name? Definitely, as has supernatural bad girl Ridley Duchannes of the Beautiful Creatures series-turned-movie, played by the gorgeous Emmy Rossum.
Before Duchannes, director Ridley Scott all but owned this unusual surname and so gave it a male spin, but it feels girl-appropriate too, thanks to the afore mentioned character and actor Daisy Ridley. The trendy -ley ending helps it along, as it could easily fit in with Wrenley, Hadley, Presley, and similar.
Given to around 100 girls in each recent year, it peaked in 2018 when 124 girls received the name, along with 90 boys.
Pronounced RID-lee.
As of October 2026, Ridley ranked #2013 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1683 in 2018.
Editor's take: The name Ridley is a girl's name of English origin meaning "cleared wood; reed clearing; channel clearing".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,511 | 72 | 40.3 |
| 2015 | #2,547 | 71 | 39.8 |
| 2016 | #2,283 | 84 | 47.4 |
| 2017 | #2,422 | 75 | 43.4 |
| 2018 | #1,683 | 124 | 72.9 |
| 2019 | #1,839 | 111 | 66.1 |
| 2020 | #1,902 | 101 | 62.5 |
| 2021 | #1,989 | 98 | 59.7 |
| 2022 | #1,925 | 104 | 63.4 |
| 2023 | #1,874 | 107 | 66.7 |
| 2024 | #1,930 | 103 | 63.6 |
| 2025 | #2,013 | 95 | 59.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Ridley.
- Callaway
- Jovi
- Wylie
- Camber
- Callaway
- Rhodes
- Lyle
- Radley
- Anniken
- Jensen
- Rhyett
- Kensington
- Bodhi
- Laine
- Raleigh
- Reeve
- Beckett
- Quinley
- Hurley
- Sumner
Ridley on lists
Famous Ridleys
- Frances Ridley Havergal (1836
1879), hymnist and composer
- Daisy Ridley
English actress
- Ridley Belle Baxter (b. 2007)
daughter of actress Victoria Smurfit and Douglas Baxter
Ridley in pop culture
- Ridley Duchannes
a main character in the Caster Chronicles
- Ridley Silverlake
a main character in the computer game Radiata Stories