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Reilly

Masculine

Reilly is given to both — 4,560 boys and 5,528 girls since 1880. See Reilly as a girl nameSee other names given to both

1953high 2007
#2676 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare48 boys in 2025

Reilly is the Irish Ó Raghallaigh — and the root behind Raghallach has never been recovered.

How old is the name Reilly?

Reilly first appears in US birth records in 1953 — 72 years ago. The typical Reilly alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 4,500 people named Reilly are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Reilly most popular?

Reilly peaked in 1997, reaching #799 nationally. Today it ranks #2676, 1,877 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.

Compare this nameMore “R” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Reilly

Ó Raghallaigh were a Cavan sept who ruled East Bréifne, and their coins were so widespread that a 'reilly' was slang for money in medieval Ireland — possibly the origin of 'the life of Riley'. The root name's meaning is lost. Reilly appears in American records in current use.

Meaningscholars disagree

Not established

From the Irish Ó Raghallaigh, from the personal name Raghallach, whose meaning is genuinely unrecovered — 'valiant' and 'sociable' are both proposed without support. The surname is documented; the root is not. Reilly and Riley are separate anglicizations.

How the name formed

  1. Raghallach
  2. Ó Raghallaigh
  3. Reilly

Related forms: Ó Raghallaigh · Riley · O'Reilly

Pronouncing Reilly

RY-lee

Two syllables, stress on the first. Reilly and Riley are homophones.

Nicknames for Reilly

Moderate

RyeThe front sound alone, and a word-name with real modern currency
LeeThe back of the name, and a name in its own right for both sexes
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1953–202521810902184819532025

US babies named Reilly per year from 1953 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#7991950s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1953
Most boys named
2007218 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#799reached in 1997
Change vs 2024
+4.3%48 in 2025, from 46
Reilly sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2007, with 218 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.

Reilly in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Ó Raghallaigh in Irish — related form
  • Riley in English — related form
  • O'Reilly in English — related form

Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Texas, Pennsylvania.

Reillys among us

4,500

people named Reilly are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 35,585 born in 2025 was named Reilly

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Reilly

#2676
Reilly on the 2025 chart
#864
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Reilly went to 48 boys in 2025, but Reyli is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 64, which makes it the 864th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,812 places above the chart.

About 1 boy in 26,689 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 35,585 for Reilly itself.

Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Eliot test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Reilly's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Eliot climbed just as high around 1960, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Eliot's path sketches the road Reilly is walking now.

40%chance Reilly will feel dated by 2040
Reilly, aligned on its peakEliot· peak 1960not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-40 yrs+60 yrsEliot · #1321Reilly today
Reilly today is about where Eliot stood in 1988 — 28 years past a #799-sized peak. By 2003, Eliot had settled around #1264.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Reilly sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.

A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored

Where Reilly is headed

19532030

US babies named Reilly per year, 1953 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Reilly should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady-10% by 2030projected around #2,999 in 2030

Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.

A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.

Reilly beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Reilly in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Reillythis name48#2676Isaak48#2676Hershel48#2676Mikhael48#2676Kylon48#2676

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • That 'the life of Riley' may come from the sept's coinage is a first-rate possibility.
  • Lee is available as a short form with an enormous record.
  • Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
What to consider
  • The meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
  • Riley is the commoner spelling and reads as unisex.
  • It reads as a surname to many people.

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Reilly

Masculine · #2676 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Reillys are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,500 people named Reilly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Reilly?
Reilly is the most-used spelling in US records — 48 of the 64 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Reyli.
How popular is the name Reilly in 2025?
Reilly ranks #2676 among US boy names in 2025, with 48 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Reilly?
About 1 in every 35,585 US boys born in 2025 was named Reilly — 48 in all.
Will my child share the name Reilly with classmates?
Reilly will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Reilly

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Isaak#2676 · Hershel#2676 · Mikhael#2676 · Kylon#2676 · Pryce#2676 · Davin#2676 · Juancarlos#2676 · Zyion#2676

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reilly? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Reilly and another name?

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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