River
31% girls · 69% boys
About River
River shares the tranquil feeling of all the water names, and seems to have pretty much escaped its past strong association with River Phoenix and his unfortunate fate. Actor Joaquin Phoenix named his son with actress Rooney Mara after his brother River.
River for boys#111 US
River's popularity is rising for boy genders, but it's still predominantly given to baby boys. Last year nearly 3500 boys were named River vs. about 1900 baby girls.
Keri Russell and the Taylor Hansons both have sons named River, Natasha Henstridge used it as the middle name of her boy Tristan, and Jason Schwartzman pluralized it for daughter Marlowe Rivers.
River for girls#220 US
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 #111 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #105 in 2022, Nameberry popularity #80.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #287 | 1,243 | #453 | 708 |
| 2015 | #244 | 1,516 | #348 | 950 |
| 2016 | #212 | 1,852 | #286 | 1,131 |
| 2017 | #200 | 1,969 | #270 | 1,181 |
| 2018 | #197 | 2,075 | #244 | 1,333 |
| 2019 | #168 | 2,371 | #211 | 1,441 |
| 2020 | #129 | 2,814 | #184 | 1,561 |
| 2021 | #110 | 3,503 | #149 | 1,885 |
| 2022 | #105 | 3,494 | #150 | 1,927 |
| 2023 | #116 | 3,111 | #193 | 1,584 |
| 2024 | #112 | 3,138 | #214 | 1,434 |
| 2025 | #111 | 3,139 | #220 | 1,401 |
World rankings
River for boys
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like River.
Similar boy names
Similar girl names
River on lists
Famous Rivers
- River Jude PhoenixBoy
late American actor
- River Phoenix (b. 2020)Boy
son of Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara
- River ShieldsBoy
American actor
- River ViiperiBoy
American model
- River MatthewsBoy
British singer,songwriter
- River John ReevesBoy
English guitarist of late band Viola Beach
- River Samuel Hanson (b. 2006)Boy
son of singer Taylor Hanson
- River Russell Deary (b. 2007)Boy
son of actress Keri Russell
- River Robertson (b. 2008)Boy
son of TV personality Jeptha Robertson of Duck Dynasty
- River James Murray (b. 2010)Boy
son of actor Sean Harland Murray
- River Jacob Stewart (b. 2010)Boy
son of actor Josh Stewart
- River Isaac Ruah Olsen (b. 2013)Boy
son of actress Daniela Ruah
- River Juozas Baskauskas (b. 2014)Boy
son of TV personality Aras Baskauskas ("Survivor")
- River Alan Thomas Hampson (b. 2014)Boy
son of actress/model Megan Gale and AFL footballer Shaun Hampson
- River Jackson (b. 2014)Boy
son of singer Jackie Jackson; twin of brother Jaylen
- River Blake Gosa (b. 2014)Boy
son of TV personality Whitney Purvis and Weston Gosa of "16 and Pregnant"
- River Chen (Xuan Fei) (b. 2015)Boy
son of athlete/TV personality Blackie Chen and singer Christine Fan; twin of brother Ryan (Xuan Xiang)
- River Rocket Blue Dallas Oliver (b. 2016)Boy
son of celebrity chefs Jamie and Jools Oliver
- River Kelly Smith (b. 2016)Boy
late son of country singer Granger Smith
- River Joe Goldblum (b. 2017)Boy
son of actor Jeff Goldblum and Emilie Livingston
- River Jones Johnson (b. 2017)Boy
son of golfer Dustin Johnson and model Paulina Gretzky
- Nolan River Nicholas (b. 2011)Boy
son of actor Thomas Ian Nicholas & DJ Colette
- Journey River Green (b. 2016)Boy
son of actors Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green
- River Rowe Nicholson (b. 2018)Boy
son of american R&B,pop singer Ameriie
- River Hart (b. 1999)Girl
daughter of singers Corey Hart and Julie Masse
- River Stone (b. 2011)Girl
daughter of singer Melissa Auf der Maur and filmmaker Tony Stone
- River Rose Blackstock (b. 2014)Girl
daughter of singer Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock
- River Gallanders (b. 2014)Girl
daughter of actors Stacie Mistysyn and James Gallanders
- Dylan River Nichols (b. 2013)Girl
daughter of singer Joe Nichols
River in pop culture
- River BaldwinBoy
character on American soap "The Young and the Restless"
- River Ripple (later Riverstar)Boy
character from the book series "Warriors" by Erin Hunter
- "RiverBoy
" song by Sarah McLachlan, in reference to actor River Phoenix
- River SongBoy
character in the television show, "Doctor Who" (2005)
- "Mouth of the RiverBoy
" song by Imagine Dragons
- "RiverBoy
" TV crime drama series
- River WardBoy
character in video game "Cyberpunk 2077"
- RiverGirl
daughter of Craig in the game "Dream Daddy"
- River SongGirl
character on the TV show "Doctor Who"
- River TamGirl
character on the TV show "Firefly"
- River E. WylesGirl
main character in the game "To The Moon"
- River McIrishGirl
character in "The Sims 3" computer game
- River StyxxGirl
daughter of the Grim Reaper in "Monster High" show and series