Ridley
Feminine · “reed clearing”
Ridley is given to both — 1,364 girls and 1,528 boys since 1880. See Ridley as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Ridley is the reed clearing, and the bishop burned at Oxford in 1555 told his fellow martyr they would light a candle that would never be put out.
How old is the name Ridley?
Ridley first appears in US birth records in 2002 — 23 years ago. The typical Ridley is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,400 people named Ridley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ridley most popular?
Ridley peaked in 2018, reaching #1677 nationally. Today it ranks #2002, 325 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From hreod leah to Ridley
The story of Ridley
Nicholas Ridley was burned with Hugh Latimer at Oxford in 1555; Latimer's words to him at the stake are among the best-known in English. Kemp's ridley, the smallest sea turtle, is named for a Florida fisherman of the name. Ridley entered American given-name use recently and is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
reed clearing
From the Old English hreod, 'reed', and leah, 'wood' or 'clearing'. A second reading takes the first element as ryde, 'cleared land'. Ridley in Northumberland and Cheshire both preserve it. The leah element is settled; the first is not.
How the name formed
- hreod leah
- Ridley
Related forms: Ridly · Radley
Pronouncing Ridley
RID-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Ridley
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 2002
- Most girls named
- 2018124 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1677reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- −7.8%95 in 2025, from 103
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.
Ridley in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ridly in English — spelling variant
- Radley in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, California.
Ridleys among us
people named Ridley are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 16,919 born in 2025 was named Ridley
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Tamira test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ridley's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tamira climbed just as high around 1976, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tamira's path sketches the road Ridley is walking now.
Ridley 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 Ridley is headed
Ridley should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Ridley beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ridley in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The reed-clearing meaning is concrete and belongs to a real family of place names.
- Lee is available as a short form with an enormous record.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It reads as masculine and as a surname to most English speakers.
- The first element is genuinely disputed.
- Radley and Ridley are close enough to cause confusion.
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What they receive
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Ridley
Feminine · #2002 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ridleys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Ridley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ridley in 2025?
- Ridley ranks #2002 among US girl names in 2025, with 95 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ridley?
- About 1 in every 16,919 US girls born in 2025 was named Ridley — 95 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ridley with classmates?
- Ridley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ridley
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Tiara#2002 · Amberly#2002 · Audra#2002 · Yoselin#2002 · Fatoumata#2002 · Everlyn#2002 · Norma#2002 · Liara#2002
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ridley? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ridley and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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