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Rihanna

#2,150 in 2025Girls' name

Basil; myrtle

Rihanna has been given to 6,617 babies in the U.S. since 2000. In 2025 it ranked #2,150 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2008, with 1,075 recorded.

Babies named Rihanna, 2025

1 in 38,100

Rihanna over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05001K1.5K18801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Rihanna: meaning, origin, and history

Basil; myrtle

Arabic

What Rihanna means

Rihanna means “basil; myrtle”, associated with rayḥān.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Arabic رَيْحَانَة (rayḥāna, singulative of رَيْحَان (rayḥān, “basil; myrtle”)).

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Rihanna is used in English. Its origins include Arabic.

Rihanna comes through Arabic رَيْحَانَة.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 6,612 girls were recorded with the name Rihanna between 2000 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 1,075 in 2008; its best national rank was #311 in 2008.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,492 in 2020 to #2,150 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,335 in 2015 to #2,150 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 boys were recorded with the name Rihanna between 2008 and 2008. Its highest annual count was 5 in 2008; its best national rank was #14,162 in 2008.

How common is Rihanna?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 38,100
87 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 18,500
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#2,150
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
26,414 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Rihanna 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 5001%

Put another way: gather 26,414 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Rihanna. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Rihannas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Rihanna was born before 2009 — so the typical Rihanna is around 16 today.

Median birth year
2009
About 16 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
50.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
99.9%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
6,612
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 50.6% of all recorded uses (3,346).

Is Rihanna 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
−384
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−658
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−815
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.49×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
8.1%
Peak was 2008 (1,075)
Years since peak
17
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
49.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#311
2008

Spellings of Rihanna

Rihanna is not the most common spelling — Brianna is, with 33.0% against Rihanna's 0.82%.

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 Rihanna is used

Across 2016–2025, Rihanna was most concentrated in Florida — about 1 in 6,250 girls, against 1 in 11,773 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 50,000).

216 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Florida1 in 6,250
  2. 2New York1 in 6,667
  3. 3New Jersey1 in 7,143
  4. 4Ohio1 in 9,091
  5. 5South Carolina1 in 9,091
  6. 6Massachusetts1 in 10,000
  7. 7Texas1 in 10,000
  8. 8Connecticut1 in 11,111

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.

Rihanna around the world

Where Rihanna 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
    2005–2025
    #1,892
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2006–2016
    #798
    in 2016
  • Northern Ireland
    2006–2020
    #397
    in 2020
  • Ireland
    2005–2025
    #718
    in 2025
  • France
    2005–2025
    #2,276
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2005–2024
    #3,457
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2001–2013
    #536
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Rihanna

People whose public names include Rihanna, 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.

Rihanna in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Rihanna. Linked forms have their own page here.

RiannaRihanaRhiannaReyhaneh

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Rihanna by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,150
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 658
Best rank ever
#311
2008
Peak year
2008
1,075 that year
First recorded
2000
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
6,612
Count in 2025
87

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#14,162
2008
Peak year
2008
5 that year
First recorded
2008
Last recorded
2008
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Rihanna

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

CorinnaRhiannaAliannaBreonnaBrionnaAryannaAiyannaMadonnaSuzannaAviannaLeeannaDayannaKeyonnaKeyannaRoxannaEliannaJovannaLiannaRosannaElliannaGiavannaRoseannaViennaTatianna

Names with a curve like Rihanna

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

MyleeKimoraAllissonJasleneSaniyaAdysonKaydenSaniyahMarelyCalleighKadenceNaima

Sibling names for Rihanna

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 Rihanna

Top names of 2008, Rihanna's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 2008Girls' names starting with R