Rheannon
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "sweet queen" or "great queen".
Name Census estimates that about 420 living Americans carry the first name Rheannon. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rheannon today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rheannon births was 1977 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rheannon. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rheannon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
420
~ 1 in 816,082 Americans
Peak year
1977
21 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2008 SSA rank
#17,040
Tracked since 1976
Census
Rheannon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 375 people with the first name Rheannon, which placed it at #25,327 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#25,327
National first-name rank
People counted
375
375 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rheannon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rheannon is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rheannon described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rheannon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino11.2% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.1% · 23
- Two or more races5.9% · 22
- Black or African American2.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 5
Popularity
Rheannon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rheannon from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 151 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Rheannon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rheannon 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 Rheannon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rheannons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rheannon
The name Rheannon is believed to have originated from the Welsh language, with its roots tracing back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Welsh word "rhiannon," which means "great queen" or "divine queen." This name was closely associated with the Welsh mythological figure, Rhiannon, who was a prominent character in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales.
In the Mabinogion, Rhiannon was portrayed as a powerful and enchanting figure, often depicted as a goddess or a queen. Her name was associated with sovereignty, fertility, and the divine feminine. The name Rheannon was likely adopted as a tribute to this legendary figure, reflecting the admiration and reverence held for her in Welsh mythology.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rheannon can be found in the 12th century, when it appeared in medieval Welsh literature. Throughout the centuries, the name has been passed down through various generations, with slight variations in spelling, such as Rhiannon, Rhiann, or Rhianon.
Historically, several notable figures have borne the name Rheannon. One of the most famous was Rheannon Courtney (1609-1670), an English historian and writer who authored several works on the history of Wales. Another prominent figure was Rheannon Gwynne (1768-1834), a Welsh poet and translator known for her contributions to the preservation of Welsh literature and culture.
In the 19th century, Rheannon Williams (1822-1901) was a prominent Welsh educator and advocate for women's rights. She played a vital role in establishing educational opportunities for women in Wales during a time when such opportunities were limited.
More recently, Rheannon Sparrow (1932-2018) was a celebrated American artist and sculptor, renowned for her intricate and thought-provoking works that explored themes of spirituality and the human condition.
Another notable figure was Rheannon Linney (1945-2022), an American playwright and screenwriter whose works often explored complex social issues and the human experience. Her plays were widely acclaimed and performed on various stages across the United States.
People
Rheannon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rheannon 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
Rheannon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rheannon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 420 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rheannon 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 816,082 US residents.
Is Rheannon a common name?
We classify Rheannon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 440 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rheannon most popular?
The single biggest year for Rheannon was 1977, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rheannon is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rheannon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 375 people with the name Rheannon, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,327 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rheannon in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rheannon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rheannon appears almost entirely female. Of the 373 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rheannon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rheannon is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rheannon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rheannon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (274 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Rheannon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rheannon a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rheannon 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.
Is Rheannon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rheannon 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 Rheannon 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.
How common is the name Rheannon?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Rheannon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.