Riel
A feminine name of French origin meaning "small stream".
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the first name Riel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Riel today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Riel births was 2012 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Riel. 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
122
~ 1 in 2,809,462 Americans
Peak year
2012
14 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,791
Tracked since 1997
Gender
Gender distribution for Riel
Riel is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 123 total registrations, 95 (77.2%) were male and 28 (22.8%) were female.
Riel as a male name
- Ranked #8,791 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (11 births)
Riel as a female name
- Ranked #17,094 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2012 (7 births)
Popularity
Riel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Riel from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 67 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Riel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Riel 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 Riel 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 Riel
The name Riel is of French origin, derived from the word "rieux," meaning a small stream or brook. It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, in the northern regions of France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Riel can be found in the historical records of the town of Rieux-Volvestre, located in the Haute-Garonne department of southwestern France. The town's name is thought to be the source of the given name Riel.
In the 14th century, a French nobleman named Jean de Riel was mentioned in several historical documents. He served as a military commander during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Riel de Bussy was a French poet and playwright who lived from 1520 to 1588. His works were widely acclaimed and contributed to the flourishing of French literature during that era.
In the 19th century, Louis Riel (1844-1885) was a famous Métis leader and founder of the province of Manitoba, Canada. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government, seeking to protect the rights and lands of the Métis people.
Another historical figure with the name Riel was Theodor Riel (1836-1911), a German astronomer and mathematician. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the motion of planets and comets.
In the realm of art, Riel Bravais (1909-1994) was a renowned French painter and sculptor. His abstract and figurative works were widely exhibited and celebrated throughout Europe in the 20th century.
The name Riel has also been found in various literary works, such as the novel "The Riel Paradox" by Antonia Bird, which explores the life and legacy of Louis Riel and the Métis people of Canada.
People
Riel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Riel 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
Riel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Riel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 122 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Riel 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 2,809,462 US residents.
Is Riel a common name?
We classify Riel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 123 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Riel most popular?
The single biggest year for Riel was 2012, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Riel is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Riel a male name?
Yes, 77.2% of people registered as Riel 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.
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.