Name Awesome

Rye

#2,531 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Possibly forest clearing

Rye has been given to 1,236 babies in the U.S. since 1971. In 2025 it ranked #2,531 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2020, with 76 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 87% boys, 13% girls all-time.

Babies named Rye, 2025

1 in 62,600

Rye over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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

In 2025, Rye went to 17% girls and 83% boys.

19712025

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.

Rye: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly forest clearing

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Rye means

Rye may mean “forest clearing”, associated with rjóðr.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

* As an English surname, variant of Rea. * Also as an English surname, from the noun rye. * As a Norwegian surname, from several farmsteads whose name derive from Old Norse rjóðr (“forest clearing”); see the verb ryðja (“to clear”). * As a Danish surname, from the town Ry in Skanderbord. * The town in England is perhaps derived from Old English riþ (“river, stream”) whence also rith; compare ree.

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Rye is used in English.

Rye comes through Old Norse rjóðr and Old English riþ.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Ryan and Rea.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,070 boys were recorded with the name Rye between 1971 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 76 in 2020; its best national rank was #1,934 in 2020.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,934 in 2020 to #2,531 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #2,949 in 2015 to #2,531 in 2025.

In the United States, 166 girls were recorded with the name Rye between 2007 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 19 in 2022; its best national rank was #6,416 in 2022.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #10,127 in 2020 to #9,348 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #12,790 in 2015 to #9,348 in 2025.

How common is Rye?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 62,600
53 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 32,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,531
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
43,358 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Rye sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

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 43,358 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Rye. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ryes were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Rye was born before 2016 — so the typical Rye is around 9 today.

Median birth year
2016
About 9 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
38.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
85.4%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,070
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 38.0% of all recorded uses (407).

Is Rye 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
−91
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−597
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+418
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.32×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
69.7%
Peak was 2020 (76)
Years since peak
5
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
23.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,934
2020

Where Rye is used

Across 1910–2025, Rye was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 346,231 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Colorado1 in —
  3. 3Florida1 in —
  4. 4Massachusetts1 in —
  5. 5New York1 in —
  6. 6Oregon1 in —
  7. 7Texas1 in —
  8. 8Washington1 in —

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. Rye has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Rye around the world

Where Rye 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
    #5,137
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2015–2024
    #2,550
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1998–2002
    #606
    in 2002

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

Rye by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,531
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 597
Best rank ever
#1,934
2020
Peak year
2020
76 that year
First recorded
1971
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,070
Count in 2025
53

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#9,348
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 779
Best rank ever
#6,416
2022
Peak year
2022
19 that year
First recorded
2007
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
166
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Rye

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

RyenRyettRyerAryeRyelRyellRyersonRyelanRyeleeBryeRyelandCoryeRyelinRyekerRyeanAzaryeRyelleDamarye

Sibling names for Rye

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 Rye

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