Riker
A masculine name of American origin meaning "brave, strong".
Name Census estimates that about 1,198 living Americans carry the first name Riker. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Riker today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Riker births was 2015 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Riker. 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
- • Riker is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 286,105 Americans
Peak year
2015
95 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,145
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Riker: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Riker 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 641 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Riker remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Riker 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 Riker during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rikers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Riker, while Wisconsin, South Carolina, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Riker
The name Riker is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "richo," meaning "powerful" or "ruler." It is believed to have first emerged in the 9th century during the Carolingian dynasty, a period when Germanic names were prevalent in parts of Europe.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled "Rihhari" or "Rihheri," later evolving into "Richer" and eventually "Riker." The name's association with power and leadership may have been influenced by the prominence of Frankish nobles and military commanders bearing similar names during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Riker can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a nobleman named "Richerus" is mentioned in a charter dated 1012 AD.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Riker. In the 13th century, Richer of Rheims (c. 1260-1312) was a French chronicler and monk renowned for his historical work "Historiae." During the Renaissance, Richer Grenier (1499-1560) was a French jurist and legal scholar who served as a counselor to the Parliament of Paris.
In the realm of literature, Riker Van Metre (1864-1931) was an American poet and educator, known for his contributions to the literary magazine "The Smart Set." Another notable figure was Riker Hartman (1892-1956), an American football player and coach who led the University of Pittsburgh's football team to several successful seasons in the 1920s.
More recently, Riker Hill (1912-1996) was an American actor and screenwriter, best known for his work in Western films and television shows in the mid-20th century.
While the name Riker has its roots in Germanic languages, it has transcended cultural boundaries and found use in various parts of the world, reflecting the diverse and interconnected nature of human history and naming traditions.
People
Riker + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Riker 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
Riker: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Riker?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,198 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Riker 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 286,105 US residents.
Is Riker a common name?
We classify Riker as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,208 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Riker most popular?
The single biggest year for Riker was 2015, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Riker is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Riker a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Riker 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.