Ryelee
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a combination of "Rye" and "Lee".
Name Census estimates that about 336 living Americans carry the first name Ryelee. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Ryelee today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ryelee births was 2007 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ryelee. 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
336
~ 1 in 1,020,102 Americans
Peak year
2007
24 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2014 SSA rank
#11,850
Tracked since 1999
Census
Ryelee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 286 people with the first name Ryelee, which placed it at #30,451 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
#30,451
National first-name rank
People counted
286
286 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ryelee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ryelee is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.8%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Ryelee 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 Ryelee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.7% · 205
- Two or more races9.8% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 27
- Black or African American9.1% · 26
Gender
Gender distribution for Ryelee
Ryelee leans heavily female at 83.2% of total registrations, but 57 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ryelee as a male name
- Ranked #11,850 in 2014
- 6 male births in 2014
- Peak: 2012 (8 births)
Ryelee as a female name
- Ranked #17,161 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ryelee on both sides of the split. Of the 289 people counted with this name, 74 were male (25.6%) and 215 were female (74.4%).
Popularity
Ryelee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ryelee 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 154 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
Ryelee 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 Ryelee 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 Ryelee
The name Ryelee is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from the combination of the names Ryan and Lee. It does not have a clear linguistic or cultural origin, nor is it found in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records.
The name Ryan has its roots in the Irish Gaelic name Ríoghán or Rían, meaning "little king" or "kinglet." It gained popularity in the English-speaking world during the 20th century. Lee, on the other hand, is an English surname that can also be used as a given name, derived from the Old English word "leah," meaning a meadow or woodland clearing.
While there are no famous historical figures specifically named Ryelee, the name is a relatively recent creation, likely inspired by the combination of the more common names Ryan and Lee. As a newly coined name, it does not have a rich historical legacy or notable bearers from the past.
However, some individuals who bear similar names or variations of Ryan or Lee have made their mark throughout history. For instance, Ryan O'Neal (born 1941) is an American actor known for his roles in films like "Love Story" and "Paper Moon." Lee Iacocca (1924-2019) was an influential American automobile executive who played a key role in reviving the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s.
Other notable individuals include Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015), the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, and Ryan Reynolds (born 1976), a Canadian actor known for his roles in films like "Deadpool" and "The Proposal." Additionally, Ryan Coogler (born 1986) is an American filmmaker who directed the critically acclaimed Marvel film "Black Panther."
While the name Ryelee itself may not have a deep historical lineage, it draws inspiration from more established names with rich cultural roots and associations. As a newly coined name, its meaning and significance will likely evolve over time as it gains more widespread use and recognition.
People
Ryelee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ryelee 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
Ryelee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ryelee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 336 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ryelee 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 1,020,102 US residents.
Is Ryelee a common name?
We classify Ryelee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 340 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ryelee most popular?
The single biggest year for Ryelee was 2007, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ryelee is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ryelee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 286 people with the name Ryelee, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,451 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 Ryelee 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 Ryelee?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ryelee on both sides of the split. Of the 289 people counted with this name, 74 were male (25.6%) and 215 were female (74.4%). 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 Ryelee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ryelee is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.8%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Ryelee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ryelee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (205 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 Ryelee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ryelee a female name?
Yes, 83.2% of people registered as Ryelee 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 Ryelee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ryelee 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 Ryelee 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 are named Ryelee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.