Reyden
A modern name combining Rey, meaning "king", and den, meaning "valiant" or "bold".
Name Census estimates that about 312 living Americans carry the first name Reyden. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Reyden today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reyden births was 2016 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reyden. 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
312
~ 1 in 1,098,572 Americans
Peak year
2016
35 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,823
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Reyden: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reyden from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 165 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Reyden remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reyden 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 Reyden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reydens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Reyden, while Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reyden
The name Reyden is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia during the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse words "rey," meaning "path" or "journey," and "denn," meaning "protected valley" or "sheltered place."
This suggests that the name Reyden may have initially referred to a traveler or someone who lived in a protected valley or sheltered area along a path or journey. However, there is limited historical evidence of the name's specific origins and early usage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reyden is found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of stories and historical accounts written in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the Saga of Grettir the Strong, a character named Reyden is mentioned as a farmer living in the Vatnsdalur valley in northwestern Iceland.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Reyden, although their fame and accomplishments varied. One such person was Reyden Thorvaldsson (c. 1020-1085), a Norwegian Viking chieftain and explorer who is believed to have led an expedition to Greenland and possibly as far as present-day Newfoundland in Canada.
Another historical figure with the name Reyden was Reyden Gudmundsson (1165-1237), an Icelandic lawspeaker and chieftain who played a significant role in the Sturlung Era, a period of civil conflict in Iceland during the 13th century.
In the realm of literature, Reyden Bjornsson (1874-1941) was a renowned Icelandic poet and novelist whose works were influential in the country's literary renaissance in the early 20th century.
Reyden Halldorsson (1901-1983) was an Icelandic geologist and explorer who led several expeditions to Greenland and made significant contributions to the understanding of the island's geology and glaciers.
More recently, Reyden Leifsson (born 1965) is an Icelandic businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded one of the country's largest software companies, Mennt.
While the name Reyden is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the cultural heritage of the Nordic countries, particularly Iceland, and serves as a reminder of the rich history and traditions of the Viking Age.
People
Reyden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reyden 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
Reyden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reyden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 312 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reyden 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 1,098,572 US residents.
Is Reyden a common name?
We classify Reyden as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 314 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reyden most popular?
The single biggest year for Reyden was 2016, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reyden is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Reyden in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reyden a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reyden 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.
Is Reyden still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reyden in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Reyden can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Reyden?
See how many Americans are named Reyden on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.