Ryu
Masculine · “dragon”
Ryu is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,685 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Ryu is a dragon in Japanese — and the East Asian dragon is a water creature, a bringer of rain rather than fire.
How old is the name Ryu?
Ryu first appears in US birth records in 1985 — 40 years ago. The typical Ryu is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,700 people named Ryu are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ryu most popular?
Ryu peaked in 2012, reaching #1314 nationally. Today it ranks #2332, 1,018 places below that high. See the whole 2012 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From 龍 to Ryu
The story of Ryu
The dragon of Chinese and Japanese tradition is a serpentine water spirit that commands rain and rivers, not the hoarding fire-breather of European legend — the two were only equated by translation. Ryu is a standard Japanese given name and element. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
dragon
From the Japanese ryu, 竜 or 龍, 'dragon', borrowed with the character from Chinese long. East Asian dragons govern rivers, rain and the sea rather than fire. The character is documented and the meaning fixed by it.
How the name formed
- 龍
- Ryu
Related forms: 竜 · 龍 · Ryuu
Pronouncing Ryu
RYOO
One syllable in Japanese, with a palatalised r English speakers usually replace.
Nicknames for Ryu
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
- 1985
- Most boys named
- 2012130 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1314reached in 2012
- Change vs 2024
- −53.5%59 in 2025, from 127
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.
Ryu in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- 竜 in Japanese — transliteration
- 龍 in Chinese — related form
- Ryuu in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Ryus among us
people named Ryu are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 28,950 born in 2025 was named Ryu
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 Jacobo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ryu's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jacobo climbed just as high around 1910, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jacobo's path sketches the road Ryu is walking now.
Ryu 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 Ryu is headed
Ryu looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 32% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Ryu beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ryu in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That East Asian dragons bring rain rather than fire is a first-rate correction.
- One syllable, compact, and easy to say approximately.
- The dragon meaning is concrete and strong.
- The Japanese r is not the English r.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
- A video game character is a strong association for some.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Ryu
Masculine · #2332 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ryus are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Ryu are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ryu in 2025?
- Ryu ranks #2332 among US boy names in 2025, with 59 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ryu?
- About 1 in every 28,950 US boys born in 2025 was named Ryu — 59 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ryu with classmates?
- Ryu will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ryu
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rishaan#2332 · Harlen#2332 · Kobi#2332 · Keyon#2332 · Oak#2332 · Layth#2332 · Merlin#2332 · Skye#2332
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ryu? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ryu and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
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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