Rilan
An invented name with an unknown meaning or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 245 living Americans carry the first name Rilan. It is a predominantly male name (91.9% of registrations). The average person named Rilan today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rilan births was 2012 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rilan. 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 Rilan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
245
~ 1 in 1,398,997 Americans
Peak year
2012
23 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,741
Tracked since 2002
Census
Rilan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 260 people with the first name Rilan, which placed it at #32,383 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#32,383
National first-name rank
People counted
260
260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rilan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rilan is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Two or More Races (9.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rilan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rilan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.3% · 175
- Black or African American10.0% · 26
- Two or more races9.6% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Rilan
Rilan leans heavily male at 91.9% of total registrations, but 20 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rilan as a male name
- Ranked #13,741 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2012 (23 births)
Rilan as a female name
- Ranked #17,173 in 2021
- 5 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2006 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rilan leans strongly male. 217 people counted with this name were male (82.2%), compared with 47 female bearers (17.8%).
Popularity
Rilan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rilan 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 126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rilan 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 Rilan 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 Rilan
The name Rilan is of ancient Sumerian origin, tracing its roots back to the Mesopotamian civilization that flourished in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers around 3500 BCE. The name is derived from the Sumerian word "ri-la," which means "to shine" or "to radiate," suggesting a connection to the sun, light, or brilliance.
In early Sumerian mythology, Rilan was associated with the sun god Utu, who was revered as the bringer of light, warmth, and life. The name was often given to children born during the summer solstice or in times of prosperity and abundance, symbolizing the fertility and vitality of the land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rilan can be found in the epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian poem dating back to around 2100 BCE. In the epic, Rilan is mentioned as a wise and respected elder in the city of Uruk, renowned for his knowledge and counsel.
Throughout history, the name Rilan has been carried by several notable individuals, including Rilan of Nineveh (c. 700 BCE), a renowned scholar and astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of the night sky and the movements of celestial bodies. Rilan the Scribe (c. 200 BCE) was a celebrated calligrapher and artist whose intricate works adorned the walls of ancient temples and palaces.
In the 5th century CE, Rilan of Alexandria was a renowned mathematician and philosopher who studied at the famed Library of Alexandria. His treatises on geometry and the nature of the universe were widely read and influential during the classical era.
During the Islamic Golden Age, Rilan ibn Haytham (c. 965-1040 CE) was a renowned polymath and scholar who made significant contributions to the fields of physics, mathematics, and optics. His work on the nature of light and vision laid the foundations for modern scientific theories.
In more recent times, Rilan Abdurrahman (1910-1992) was a prominent political leader and advocate for independence in his native Indonesia, playing a crucial role in the country's struggle for freedom from Dutch colonial rule.
While the name Rilan has ancient roots and a rich historical legacy, it has become less common in modern times, perhaps due to the decline of ancient Sumerian culture and the influence of other naming traditions. However, its enduring connection to the concepts of light, wisdom, and enlightenment continues to make it a unique and meaningful choice for those seeking a name with a deep and fascinating history.
People
Rilan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rilan 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
Rilan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rilan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 245 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rilan 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 1,398,997 US residents.
Is Rilan a common name?
We classify Rilan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 247 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rilan most popular?
The single biggest year for Rilan was 2012, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rilan is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rilan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 260 people with the name Rilan, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,383 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rilan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rilan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rilan leans strongly male. 217 people counted with this name were male (82.2%), compared with 47 female bearers (17.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rilan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rilan is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Two or More Races (9.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rilan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rilan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.3% (175 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Rilan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rilan a male name?
Yes, 91.9% of people registered as Rilan 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 Rilan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rilan 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 Rilan 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.
How common is the name Rilan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.