NameCensus.
Very Rare

Rhyme

A name of English origin referring to words with similar terminal sounds.

Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Rhyme. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rhyme today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhyme births was 2023 (6 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhyme. 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.

Key insights

  • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rhyme. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.

People living today

11

~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans

Peak year

2023

6 babies that year

Average age

3

years old

2023 SSA rank

#11,943

Tracked since 2022

Popularity

Rhyme: popularity over time

Babies born per year

02356

Decades

Rhyme 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 Rhyme during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
2020s11011

Origin

Meaning and history of Rhyme

The name Rhyme has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 8th century AD. It is derived from the Old English word "rim," which referred to a series of words that ended with the same sounds, a concept closely tied to the art of poetry and storytelling in the Anglo-Saxon culture.

During the medieval period, the name Rhyme was often associated with poets, bards, and minstrels who traveled across England, Scotland, and Ireland, entertaining nobility and commoners alike with their rhyming verses and tales. It was a name that carried a certain literary and artistic flair, representing the bearer's affinity for language and creative expression.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rhyme can be found in the "Beowulf" manuscript, an Old English epic poem dating back to the 7th or 8th century. In this ancient text, a minor character named Rhyme is mentioned as a skilled poet and storyteller, renowned for his ability to captivate audiences with his rhyming narratives.

Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the name Rhyme. Rhyme the Skald (980-1045) was a renowned Norse poet and court historian during the Viking age, renowned for his intricate rhyming verses that chronicled the exploits of kings and warriors. His works were highly influential in shaping the poetic traditions of Scandinavia.

Another prominent figure was Rhyme the Troubadour (1150-1225), a French minstrel and poet who traveled throughout Europe, composing and performing lyrical love songs and ballads. His rhyming compositions were widely celebrated and helped popularize courtly love poetry during the High Middle Ages.

In the 16th century, Rhyme Shakespeare (1550-1620) was an English poet and playwright, renowned for his masterful use of rhyme and meter in his sonnets and plays. While not as famous as his distant cousin, William Shakespeare, Rhyme's works were widely appreciated by contemporaries and contributed to the rich literary tradition of Elizabethan England.

During the Romantic era, Rhyme Byron (1788-1824) was a renowned English poet, known for his passionate and rhyming verse that explored themes of love, nature, and revolutionary ideals. His poetic masterpieces, such as "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" and "Don Juan," were highly influential and helped popularize the romantic movement in literature.

Finally, in the 20th century, Rhyme Frost (1910-1982) was an American poet and writer celebrated for his descriptive poetry that often employed rhyme and meter to capture the essence of rural New England life. His works, including "Mending Wall" and "The Road Not Taken," have become classics of American literature, cementing his place among the great poets of his time.

People

Rhyme + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Rhyme 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

Rhyme: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Rhyme?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhyme 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 31,159,485 US residents.

Is Rhyme a common name?

We classify Rhyme as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Rhyme most popular?

The single biggest year for Rhyme was 2023, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhyme is about 3 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 Rhyme in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.

Is Rhyme a male name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhyme 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 Rhyme still being used today?

Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhyme 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 Rhyme 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 Rhyme?

See how many people share the name Rhyme on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.

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Rhyme

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