Riordan
From Irish Gaelic meaning "red poet's descendant".
Name Census estimates that about 281 living Americans carry the first name Riordan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Riordan today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Riordan births was 2013 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Riordan. 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 Riordan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
281
~ 1 in 1,219,766 Americans
Peak year
2013
18 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,636
Tracked since 1986
Census
Riordan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 309 people with the first name Riordan, which placed it at #28,877 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
#28,877
National first-name rank
People counted
309
309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Riordan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Riordan is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Riordan 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 Riordan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 234
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 31
- Two or more races5.5% · 17
- Black or African American4.9% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 12
Popularity
Riordan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Riordan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 97 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Riordan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Riordan 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 Riordan 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 Riordan
The name Riordan is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "Riabhartach," which means "freckled" or "swarthy." This name has its roots in the Celtic culture of Ireland and can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Riordan dates back to the 12th century, when it was often spelled as "Riordain" or "Riordane." During this time, Ireland was a predominantly Gaelic-speaking society, and names were closely tied to physical characteristics or occupations.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Riordan was Riordan O'Malley, a 14th-century Irish chieftain who ruled over a territory in County Mayo. He was known for his fierce resistance against English rule and his defense of Gaelic traditions.
In the 16th century, the name Riordan gained prominence with Riordan O'Donnell, an Irish lord who played a significant role in the Nine Years' War against English forces. He was renowned for his military prowess and his efforts to preserve Irish sovereignty.
Another historical figure bearing the name Riordan was Riordan O'Flaherty, a 17th-century Irish historian and chronicler. His works, such as the "Ogygia" and the "Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught," are considered invaluable sources for understanding Irish history and culture during that period.
In the 19th century, Riordan O'Conor was an Irish-born American priest and author who advocated for the rights of Irish immigrants in the United States. He founded several schools and churches, and his writings played a crucial role in preserving Irish heritage and traditions among the diaspora.
Riordan Maldoon, a 20th-century Irish painter, was also a notable figure with this name. His vibrant and expressive works, often depicting rural Irish landscapes and people, earned him acclaim both locally and internationally.
While the name Riordan has deep roots in Irish culture and history, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among those with Irish ancestry or an appreciation for Celtic traditions.
People
Riordan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Riordan 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
Riordan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Riordan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 281 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Riordan 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 1,219,766 US residents.
Is Riordan a common name?
We classify Riordan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 285 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Riordan most popular?
The single biggest year for Riordan was 2013, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Riordan is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Riordan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 309 people with the name Riordan, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,877 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 Riordan 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 Riordan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Riordan leans strongly male. 268 people counted with this name were male (87.6%), compared with 38 female bearers (12.4%). 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 Riordan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Riordan is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Riordan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Riordan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (234 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 Riordan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Riordan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Riordan 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 Riordan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Riordan 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 Riordan 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 many people share the name Riordan?
You can see how many people share the name Riordan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.