River Boy & girl
How popular is River?
#111 boy name in 2025
3,139 baby boys were named River in the US in 2025, making it the 111th most popular boy name. Another 1,401 girls got the name (#219 for girls).
River popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #111 for boys (▲ 1 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 3,139 boys, 1,401 girls |
| 10-year trend | Rising fast (+107% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #243 in 2015, #129 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 2021 (3,504 boys) |
| Highest rank | #105 in 2022 |
| First recorded | 1971 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 65% boys, 35% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 3% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
River counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the River family of names ranked #119 for boys in 2025 (#116 the year before), with 3,212 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| River | 3,139 | 98% |
| Ryver | 73 | 2% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where River is most popular
Babies named River per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- Montana: 5.5 per 1,000 (97 boys)
- West Virginia: 5.2 per 1,000 (169 boys)
- Arkansas: 5.0 per 1,000 (317 boys)
- Wyoming: 4.5 per 1,000 (26 boys)
- Vermont: 4.3 per 1,000 (27 boys)
River by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 26 | #3,620 |
| 1980s | 82 | #1,853 |
| 1990s | 2,023 | #496 |
| 2000s | 4,449 | #448 |
| 2010s | 13,860 | #168 |
| 2020s | 19,236 | #105 |
Boy names about as popular as River
Questions
- Is River a boy or girl name?
- River is used for both. Over the last 10 years, 65% of babies named River were boys and 35% were girls.
- How popular is the name River?
- 3,139 baby boys were named River in the US in 2025, making it the 111th most popular boy name. Another 1,401 girls got the name (#219 for girls).
- When was River most popular?
- River peaked in 2021, when 3,504 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #105 in 2022.
- How many people are named River?
- 59,351 babies have been named River in the US since 1880. We estimate about 58,999 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 7.
- Where is River most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, River was most common in Montana, at 5.5 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.