# Rye (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/rye/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | Norse |
| Meaning | “forest clearing”, “to clear”, “river”, “stream” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Reay |
| US babies named this | 1,236 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,070 / 166 (13% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 96, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

* As an English surname, variant of Rea. * Also as an English surname, from the noun rye. * As a Norwegian surname, from several farmsteads whose name derive from Old Norse rjóðr (“forest clearing”); see the verb ryðja (“to clear”). * As a Danish surname, from the town Ry in Skanderbord. * The town in England is perhaps derived from Old English riþ (“river, stream”) whence also rith; compare ree.

## What it means

Rye is grouped under river and water.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 10 | 11,441 |
| 2010 | 9 | 12,074 |
| 2012 | 5 | 19,016 |
| 2013 | 5 | 18,777 |
| 2014 | 9 | 11,769 |
| 2015 | 8 | 12,795 |
| 2016 | 8 | 12,678 |
| 2017 | 8 | 12,531 |
| 2018 | 15 | 7,701 |
| 2019 | 11 | 9,632 |
| 2020 | 10 | 10,132 |
| 2021 | 18 | 6,634 |
| 2022 | 19 | 6,421 |
| 2023 | 15 | 7,574 |
| 2025 | 11 | 9,351 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 29 | 3,680 |
| 2012 | 43 | 2,807 |
| 2013 | 30 | 3,565 |
| 2014 | 31 | 3,517 |
| 2015 | 40 | 2,950 |
| 2016 | 46 | 2,682 |
| 2017 | 34 | 3,366 |
| 2018 | 64 | 2,187 |
| 2019 | 62 | 2,256 |
| 2020 | 76 | 1,934 |
| 2021 | 54 | 2,488 |
| 2022 | 61 | 2,345 |
| 2023 | 56 | 2,431 |
| 2024 | 57 | 2,440 |
| 2025 | 53 | 2,531 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 5 | 3,158 |
| 2010 | 5 | 3,332 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2014 | 3 | 4,632 |
| 2015 | 3 | 4,747 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2017 | 3 | 4,812 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,412 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3,937 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,334 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3,017 |
| 2022 | 7 | 2,755 |
| 2023 | 8 | 2,546 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2,671 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.