Riannon
A Welsh feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly related to the Welsh word "rhiain" meaning princely or maiden.
Name Census estimates that about 240 living Americans carry the first name Riannon. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Riannon today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Riannon births was 1987 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Riannon. 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
240
~ 1 in 1,428,143 Americans
Peak year
1987
14 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2006 SSA rank
#14,796
Tracked since 1977
Popularity
Riannon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Riannon from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 82 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Riannon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Riannon 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 Riannon 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 Riannon
The name Riannon is believed to have its origins in Welsh mythology and Celtic folklore. It is derived from the name Rhiannon, a prominent figure in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales dating back to the 11th or 12th century. The name Rhiannon is thought to mean "great queen" or "divine queen" in Welsh.
The name Rhiannon first appears in the Mabinogion tale of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed. In this story, Rhiannon is portrayed as a beautiful and powerful woman who arrives on a magical white horse and marries Pwyll. She is associated with fertility, sovereignty, and the supernatural.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Riannon dates back to the 16th century. A Welsh woman named Riannon verch Ieuan ap Rhys was mentioned in records from 1591. Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Riannon or variations of it.
Riannon Leigh Parker, born in 1981, is an American singer and songwriter known for her work in the pop-rock genre. Riannon Steele, born in 1983, is a Canadian figure skater who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Riannon Tyers, born in 1989, is a British actress best known for her role in the TV series Becoming Human.
In literature, Riannon is the name of a character in the novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera, published in 1984. The name Riannon also appears in the fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, where it is mentioned as a name among the Elves of Middle-earth.
While the name Riannon has its roots in Welsh mythology, it has gained popularity across various cultures and regions over time. It is often associated with qualities such as strength, beauty, and mysticism, reflecting its origins in Celtic folklore.
People
Riannon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Riannon 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
Riannon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Riannon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 240 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Riannon 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 1,428,143 US residents.
Is Riannon a common name?
We classify Riannon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 250 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Riannon most popular?
The single biggest year for Riannon was 1987, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Riannon is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Riannon a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Riannon 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.
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.