Riese
A German masculine name meaning "giant" or "very tall person".
Name Census estimates that about 106 living Americans carry the first name Riese. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Riese today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Riese births was 2000 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Riese. 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
106
~ 1 in 3,233,531 Americans
Peak year
2000
15 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,774
Tracked since 1996
Gender
Gender distribution for Riese
Riese is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 108 total registrations, 64 (59.3%) were male and 44 (40.7%) were female.
Riese as a male name
- Ranked #13,774 in 2016
- 5 male births in 2016
- Peak: 2000 (10 births)
Riese as a female name
- Ranked #15,548 in 2017
- 6 female births in 2017
- Peak: 2010 (10 births)
Popularity
Riese: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Riese from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 68 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Riese remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Riese 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 Riese 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 Riese
The name Riese is a German word meaning "giant" or "titan." It has its roots in the Old High German word "risi," which was derived from the Old Norse word "risi," meaning the same. The name can be traced back to the medieval period in Germanic regions of Europe, particularly in areas that are now parts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
In ancient Germanic mythology, the word "risi" was used to refer to a race of giants or supernatural beings who were often depicted as fierce warriors or protectors of nature. This mythological connection suggests that the name Riese may have been used to convey strength, power, and a connection to the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Riese can be found in the Nibelungenlied, a medieval German epic poem dating back to the 13th century. In the poem, Riese is mentioned as a character, though it is not clear whether it was used as a name or a descriptor.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Riese. In the 16th century, Hans Riese was a German artist and engraver known for his intricate woodcuts and etchings. Born in 1551 in Nuremberg, he is remembered for his contributions to the development of printmaking techniques in Renaissance Germany.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Riese was a German classical philologist and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Latin literature. Born in 1805 in Großenhain, Saxony, he is best known for his critical editions of various classical texts, including works by Ovid and Virgil.
Another notable figure was Karl Riese, a German architect and urban planner who lived from 1877 to 1957. He was responsible for the design and development of several notable buildings and urban spaces in Berlin during the early 20th century, including the Tempelhof Airport and the Schöneberg City Hall.
In the realm of sports, Riese was also the name of a German boxer, Max Riese, who competed in the lightweight division in the early 20th century. Born in 1888 in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), he held the European lightweight title from 1913 to 1914.
Finally, Riese was also the name of a German general during World War II, Gottfried Riese, who was born in 1899 and served in the German Army. He was involved in various military operations on the Eastern Front and was ultimately captured by Soviet forces in 1945.
People
Riese + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Riese 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
Riese: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Riese?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Riese 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 3,233,531 US residents.
Is Riese a common name?
We classify Riese as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Riese most popular?
The single biggest year for Riese was 2000, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Riese is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Riese a male name?
Yes, 59.3% of people registered as Riese 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.