Rillie
A feminine name of uncertain origin, perhaps a diminutive form of a longer name.
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Rillie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rillie today is around 88 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rillie births was 1917 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rillie. 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
- • The typical person named Rillie is about 88 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rillies were born before 1948.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rillie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1917
9 babies that year
Average age
88
years old
1938 SSA rank
#4,865
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Rillie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rillie from the 1880s through to the 1930s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 27 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Rillie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rillie 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 Rillie 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 Rillie
The name Rillie is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, around the 5th to 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "rīl," which means "streaming water" or "small stream." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with people living near bodies of water or waterways.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rillie can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land ownership and taxation in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The book mentions a landowner named Rillie in the county of Norfolk, indicating that the name was already in use during the late 11th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Rillie appears sporadically in various historical records and documents. Notable individuals bearing this name include Rillie de Montfort, a minor nobleman who fought in the Battle of Lewes in 1264 during the Second Barons' War in England. Another early figure was Rillie of Glastonbury, a Benedictine monk who lived in the 13th century and is known for his contributions to the Glastonbury Abbey.
In the 16th century, Rillie Bacon (1516-1579) was an English composer and organist during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He is credited with composing several anthems and contributing to the development of English church music. During the same period, Rillie Underhill (1533-1592) was a notable English merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in London.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Rillie Bosworth (1822-1891) was an American writer and poet from Massachusetts. She published several collections of poetry and was also involved in the women's rights movement. Another figure from this era was Rillie Merriweather (1842-1912), a renowned Southern belle and socialite from Georgia, known for her charm and hospitality.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples demonstrate the historical presence and usage of the name Rillie across various time periods and contexts, from medieval England to 19th-century America. Despite its relatively uncommon nature, the name has endured throughout the centuries, carrying with it the essence of its Old English origins.
People
Rillie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rillie 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
Rillie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rillie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rillie 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Rillie a common name?
We classify Rillie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 69 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rillie most popular?
The single biggest year for Rillie was 1917, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rillie is about 88 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rillie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rillie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rillie 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.
Is Rillie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rillie 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 Rillie 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Rillie?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Rillie at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.