Name Awesome

Reilly

#2,855 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Descendants of Raghallach

Reilly has been given to 10,088 babies in the U.S. since 1978. In 2025 it ranked #2,855 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1998, with 379 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 55% girls, 45% boys all-time.

Babies named Reilly, 2025

1 in 55,300

Reilly over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Reilly over time

In 2025, Reilly went to 56% girls and 44% boys.

19532025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Reilly: meaning, origin, and history

Descendants of Raghallach

surname transfer

What Reilly means

Reilly means “descendants of Raghallach”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Irish Ó Raghallaigh, a surname meaning "descendants of Raghallach".

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Reilly (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Reilly is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Reilly comes through Irish Ó Raghallaigh.

Reilly is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Reilly is pronounced /ˈɹaɪli/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,528 girls were recorded with the name Reilly between 1978 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 379 in 1998; its best national rank was #623 in 1997.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,236 in 2020 to #2,855 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,137 in 2015 to #2,855 in 2025.

In the United States, 4,560 boys were recorded with the name Reilly between 1953 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 218 in 2007; its best national rank was #804 in 1997.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,537 in 2020 to #2,708 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,800 in 2015 to #2,708 in 2025.

How common is Reilly?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 55,300
60 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 26,800
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#2,855
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
38,299 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Reilly sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 38,299 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Reilly. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Reillys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Reilly was born before 2003 — so the typical Reilly is around 22 today.

Median birth year
2003
About 22 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
44.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
63.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,528
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 44.1% of all recorded uses (2,437).

Is Reilly rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−141
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−619
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−718
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.67×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
15.8%
Peak was 1998 (379)
Years since peak
27
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
12.1% average annual change
Best rank ever
#623
1997

Spellings of Reilly

Reilly is not the most common spelling — Kelly is, with 65.0% against Reilly's 0.76%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Reilly is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Reilly was most concentrated in New Jersey — about 1 in 10,000 girls, against 1 in 28,663 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

010 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New Jersey1 in 10,000
  2. 2New York1 in 11,111
  3. 3Pennsylvania1 in 11,111
  4. 4Massachusetts1 in 12,500
  5. 5Illinois1 in 20,000
  6. 6California1 in 50,000
  7. 7Florida1 in 100,000
  8. 8North Carolina1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Reilly is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Reilly was most concentrated in Pennsylvania — about 1 in 16,667 boys, against 1 in 44,135 across all states with data. It was least common in California (1 in 100,000).

16 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Pennsylvania1 in 16,667
  2. 2New York1 in 25,000
  3. 3Colorado1 in 50,000
  4. 4Florida1 in 50,000
  5. 5Massachusetts1 in 50,000
  6. 6Missouri1 in 50,000
  7. 7Texas1 in 50,000
  8. 8Arizona1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Reilly around the world

Where Reilly ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1998–2025
    #5,927
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2017–2017
    #808
    in 2017
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #3,457
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1988–2012
    #871
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Reilly

People whose public names include Reilly, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Reilly by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,855
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 619
Best rank ever
#623
1997
Peak year
1998
379 that year
First recorded
1978
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,528
Count in 2025
60

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,708
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 171
Best rank ever
#804
1997
Peak year
2007
218 that year
First recorded
1953
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,560
Count in 2025
48

Names similar to Reilly

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ReignReinaBillyNellyMillyReignaEmillyTillyJanellyReiganEllyReineReidReighnDollyAllyKallyReitaReileyKeillyReilyReizelPollyReilynn

Names with a curve like Reilly

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Reilly, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

DasiaAlizeSavanaMadisenShyannSydnieChaseCaileyDeasiaYulissaSydneeKaylah

Sibling names for Reilly

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Reilly

Top names of 1998, Reilly's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1997Girls' names starting with R