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Ripley

#1,032 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Grove, thicket + clearing

Ripley has been given to 3,590 babies in the U.S. since 1988. In 2025 it ranked #1,032 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2025, with 243 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 71% girls, 29% boys all-time.

Babies named Ripley, 2025

1 in 13,600

Ripley over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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

In 2025, Ripley went to 61% girls and 39% boys.

19182025

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.

Ripley: meaning, origin, and history

Grove, thicket + clearing

surname transfer

What Ripley means

Ripley means “grove, thicket + clearing”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From the Old English folk name for the Anglian tribe, *Hrype + Old English lēah (“woodland clearing”).

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

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

Ripley comes through Old English lēah.

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

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Ripley is pronounced /ˈɹɪpli/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,555 girls were recorded with the name Ripley between 1988 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 243 in 2025; its best national rank was #1,032 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,297 in 2020 to #1,032 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #2,038 in 2015 to #1,032 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,035 boys were recorded with the name Ripley between 1918 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 156 in 2025; its best national rank was #1,266 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,133 in 2020 to #1,266 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #3,666 in 2015 to #1,266 in 2025.

How common is Ripley?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 13,600
243 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 6,610
0.02% of girls
Rank, 2025
#1,032
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
9,458 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Ripley 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 5004%

Put another way: gather 9,458 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ripley. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ripleys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ripley was born before 2019 — so the typical Ripley is around 6 today.

Median birth year
2019
About 6 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
46.3% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
95.4%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
2,555
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 46.3% of all recorded uses (1,182).

Is Ripley 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
+217
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+265
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,006
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
2.51×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
100.0%
Peak was 2025 (243)
Years since peak
Peaking now
At its all-time high
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
18.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,032
2025

Spellings of Ripley

Ripley is not the most common spelling — Riley is, with 53.3% against Ripley's 0.96%.

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 Ripley is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Ripley was most concentrated in Oregon — about 1 in 3,030 girls, against 1 in 9,919 across all states with data. It was least common in Massachusetts (1 in 50,000).

233 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Oregon1 in 3,030
  2. 2Oklahoma1 in 4,000
  3. 3Washington1 in 4,348
  4. 4Colorado1 in 5,556
  5. 5Indiana1 in 5,556
  6. 6Arizona1 in 8,333
  7. 7Florida1 in 8,333
  8. 8North Carolina1 in 8,333

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 Ripley is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Ripley was most concentrated in Oregon — about 1 in 9,091 boys, against 1 in 37,507 across all states with data. It was least common in Tennessee (1 in 100,000).

111 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Oregon1 in 9,091
  2. 2Nebraska1 in 16,667
  3. 3Ohio1 in 16,667
  4. 4Washington1 in 16,667
  5. 5Indiana1 in 20,000
  6. 6Minnesota1 in 20,000
  7. 7Arkansas1 in 25,000
  8. 8Kansas1 in 25,000

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.

Ripley around the world

Where Ripley 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
    1996–2025
    #1,892
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2025–2025
    #780
    in 2025
  • France
    2003–2003
    #4,552
    in 2003
  • Canada
    2004–2024
    #1,286
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1997–2012
    #871
    in 2012

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

Notable people named Ripley

People whose public names include Ripley, 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.

Ripley by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,032
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 265
Best rank ever
#1,032
2025
Peak year
2025
243 that year
First recorded
1988
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,555
Count in 2025
243

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,266
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 867
Best rank ever
#1,266
2025
Peak year
2025
156 that year
First recorded
1918
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,035
Count in 2025
156

Names similar to Ripley

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

EisleyBayleyBexleyWesleyEmileyTinleyEnsleyCaileyLinleyHalleyHolleyRidleyCayleyRenleyFinnleyCaleyZaileyEverleyKinzleyKaisleyAisleyHartleyLynleyBriley

Names with a curve like Ripley

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

KingsleyMajestyZylaMaelynnEmberlynAmyraReyaGaiaSiaLeylaniYusraMemphis

Sibling names for Ripley

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 Ripley

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