Reilley
An anglicized spelling of the Gaelic name Raghailleach, meaning "valorous" or "courageous".
Name Census estimates that about 283 living Americans carry the first name Reilley. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 62.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Reilley today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reilley births was 2008 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reilley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
283
~ 1 in 1,211,146 Americans
Peak year
2008
26 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,745
Tracked since 1996
Gender
Gender distribution for Reilley
Reilley is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 287 total registrations, 107 (37.3%) were male and 180 (62.7%) were female.
Reilley as a male name
- Ranked #13,745 in 2016
- 5 male births in 2016
- Peak: 2008 (16 births)
Reilley as a female name
- Ranked #14,286 in 2013
- 7 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2004 (17 births)
Popularity
Reilley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reilley from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 182 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reilley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Reilley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reilley
The name Reilley is an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Reilly, which is derived from the Old Irish word "riaghail" meaning "rule" or "regulator." It is believed to have originated as a descriptive name or occupational surname for someone who worked as a steward or overseer.
The earliest recorded use of the name Reilley can be traced back to the 12th century in Ireland, where it was primarily found in the counties of Cavan, Longford, and Westmeath. In these regions, the Reillys were a prominent clan and held significant power and influence during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Reilley was Maolmordha Reilly, who was the Chief of Muintir Reilly and lived in the 14th century. He played a crucial role in the ongoing conflicts between the Irish clans and the Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland during that time.
Another prominent individual with the name Reilley was Edmund Reilly (1589-1669), an Irish Jesuit priest and author who spent much of his life in exile due to the persecution of Catholics in Ireland. He wrote several influential works on theology and philosophy during his lifetime.
In the 18th century, Andrew Reilly (1742-1809) was a notable Irish-American merchant and patriot who supported the American Revolution. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and was instrumental in the establishment of several educational institutions in Philadelphia.
Moving into the 19th century, John Reilly (1810-1888) was an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who became one of the wealthiest men in New York City. He made his fortune in the textile industry and donated generously to various Catholic charities and educational institutions.
Another notable figure with the name Reilley was Albert Reilley (1883-1962), an American chemist and engineer who made significant contributions to the field of chemical engineering. He is best known for developing the Reilley Distillation Method, a widely used technique in the chemical industry.
While the name Reilley has Irish roots, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, carried by immigrants from Ireland and their descendants.
People
Reilley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reilley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Reilley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reilley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 283 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reilley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,211,146 US residents.
Is Reilley a common name?
We classify Reilley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 287 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reilley most popular?
The single biggest year for Reilley was 2008, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reilley is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Reilley a female name?
Yes, 62.7% of people registered as Reilley in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.