How Many People Are Named River?
people named River are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 5,803 people in the US has this name
Based on 59,351 babies named River in Social Security records from 1971 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
💎 Rare
Peak Year
5,430 births
Trend
Rising (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Of the babies given the name River, 33.2% were girls and 66.8% were boys. The share of girls among babies named River rose from 11.7% in the 1990s to 33.8% in the 2020s.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named River alive today is about 8 years old, and 99% are under 30. Half of them were between 3 and 10 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
River first appears in the records in 1971 and was given most often in 2022, to 5,430 babies. In 2025, 4,540 babies got the name. Over the last ten years, the number each year has been rising.
Babies given the name each year, 1971 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
River has never been one of the 100 most popular boys' names. Its best rank was #105, in 2022. In 2025 it ranked #111. Among girls, its best rank was #149, in 2021.
| Boys | Girls | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #111 | #220 |
| Best rank | #105 (2022) | #149 (2021) |
| Years in the top 100 | None | None |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #116 in the 2020s | #186 in the 2020s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named River alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named River were born in California than in any other state: about 5,598 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, River was given 2.4 times as often in Arkansas, 2.4 times in Montana and 2.3 times in Alaska.
Look up another name
⊙ We don't save the names you search.