Reily
Possibly a variant spelling of the Irish surname Riley meaning "valiant, courageous".
Name Census estimates that about 885 living Americans carry the first name Reily. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Reily today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reily births was 2006 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reily. 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
885
~ 1 in 387,293 Americans
Peak year
2006
82 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,694
Tracked since 1992
Gender
Gender distribution for Reily
Reily is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 897 total registrations, 536 (59.8%) were male and 361 (40.2%) were female.
Reily as a male name
- Ranked #13,694 in 2019
- 5 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2006 (51 births)
Reily as a female name
- Ranked #17,098 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (31 births)
Popularity
Reily: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reily from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 485 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
Reily 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 Reily during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reilys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Reily, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reily
The name Reily is a variant spelling of the Irish name Riley, which has its origins in the Gaelic name "O'Raghailligh" or "O'Reilly". This name is derived from the word "riaghail", meaning "rule" or "ruler", suggesting that the original bearers of this name may have held positions of authority or leadership within their communities.
The name Reily can be traced back to medieval Ireland, where it was prevalent among the O'Reilly clan, a powerful and influential family based in County Cavan. The O'Reillys were recognized as the hereditary lords of East Breffny, an area that encompassed parts of modern-day counties Cavan and Longford.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which references a notable figure named Gilla-na-naem O'Reilly in the year 1256. This individual was described as the "Chief of Muintir-Maolmordha", indicating his position of leadership within his community.
Throughout history, several noteworthy individuals have borne the name Reily or its variants. In the 16th century, Sir John O'Reilly was a prominent Irish soldier who fought in the Nine Years' War against English forces in Ireland. He was known for his bravery and military prowess.
In the 17th century, Edmund O'Reilly was an Irish Catholic priest and historian who authored several works on Irish history and culture, including the "Descriptive Catalogue of Eminent Irish Writers".
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, John Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist, and activist who played a significant role in the Irish nationalist movement. He was born in 1844 and later emigrated to the United States, where he became a prominent voice for Irish independence.
Another notable figure with the name was Mary Reilly, an Irish-American labor organizer and activist who fought for the rights of working-class women in the early 20th century. She was born in 1873 and played a crucial role in the formation of the National Women's Trade Union League.
In the realm of sports, Jimmy Reilly was an American baseball player who played in the Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1909. He was born in 1875 and was known for his exceptional defensive skills as an outfielder.
While these examples illustrate the historical presence of the name Reily and its variants across various fields and eras, it is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list, as the name has been borne by countless individuals throughout the ages.
People
Reily + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reily 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
Reily: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reily?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 885 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reily 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 387,293 US residents.
Is Reily a common name?
We classify Reily as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 897 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reily most popular?
The single biggest year for Reily was 2006, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reily is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Reily a male name?
Yes, 59.8% of people registered as Reily in the SSA data are male. 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.