Rhyon
A unique masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly Greek or East European.
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Rhyon. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 54.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Rhyon today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhyon births was 2010 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhyon. 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 Rhyon with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rhyon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
2010
16 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,173
Tracked since 2006
Gender
Gender distribution for Rhyon
Rhyon is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 59 total registrations, 32 (54.2%) were male and 27 (45.8%) were female.
Rhyon as a male name
- Ranked #13,895 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2010 (9 births)
Rhyon as a female name
- Ranked #13,173 in 2020
- 7 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2010 (7 births)
Popularity
Rhyon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhyon 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 34 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rhyon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhyon 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 Rhyon 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 Rhyon
The name Rhyon is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek word "rhyon," meaning "small promontory" or "little cape." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have roots in the coastal regions of ancient Greece, where small capes and headlands were a common geographical feature.
In its earliest recorded use, the name Rhyon appeared in various ancient Greek texts and inscriptions, often referring to specific locations or individuals associated with these coastal areas. One such reference can be found in the works of the Greek geographer Strabo, who mentioned a promontory called "Rhyon" located near the city of Chalcedon (modern-day Kadıköy in Istanbul, Turkey).
As the name spread across the Greek world, it eventually found its way into the annals of Greek mythology. According to some accounts, Rhyon was the name of a minor deity or nymph associated with the sea and coastal regions. However, the exact details of this mythological figure remain obscure, and their significance in Greek mythology is relatively minor.
The first recorded instance of Rhyon as a personal name can be traced back to the 5th century BCE, when it appears on various inscriptions and records from the Greek city-states. One notable individual bearing the name was Rhyon of Miletus, a philosopher and mathematician from the ancient Greek city of Miletus, who lived around 450 BCE.
Throughout the centuries, the name Rhyon has been borne by various individuals, though it has remained relatively uncommon. In the 3rd century BCE, there was a Greek sculptor named Rhyon, whose works were highly praised by ancient writers like Pliny the Elder. Another notable figure was Rhyon of Byzantium, a 6th-century CE grammarian and scholar who authored several works on the Greek language and literature.
During the Byzantine era, the name Rhyon gained some prominence among the Greek-speaking population of the Eastern Roman Empire. One famous bearer was Rhyon Kaukadenos, a 12th-century CE Byzantine nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the wars against the Seljuk Turks.
As the centuries passed, the name Rhyon remained largely confined to the Greek-speaking world, with occasional appearances in other regions influenced by Greek culture, such as parts of the Mediterranean and the Near East. However, it never achieved widespread popularity and remained a relatively rare and obscure name.
People
Rhyon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhyon 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
Rhyon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhyon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhyon 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Rhyon a common name?
We classify Rhyon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 59 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhyon most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhyon was 2010, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhyon is about 12 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 Rhyon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhyon a male name?
Yes, 54.2% of people registered as Rhyon 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 Rhyon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhyon 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 Rhyon 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 people have the name Rhyon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.