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    The surname Riley

    An Irish surname, carried by 133,872 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈɹaɪ.li/ 2 syllables Soundex R400 Also a first name

    Riley: #217 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Riley #217, 133,872 people Riley: #217 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Riley #217, 133,872 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Riley is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    Irish origin

    * From Ryley in Lancashire, from Old English ryge (“rye”) + leah (“clearing, meadow”). Equivalent to rye + -ley (“lea”). * A variant of Reilly, from Irish Ó Raghallaigh (see O'Reilly).

    One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 133,872 people named Riley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,306 Americans. That is up 4.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 127,960.

    #217
    rank among US surnames
    133,872
    people in 2010
    45
    per 100,000 Americans
    +4.6%
    change since 2000 (was #210)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #208Bradley136,7202,258
    #209Knight136,7132,258
    #210Elliott135,7652,274
    #211Cunningham135,7182,275
    #212Duncan135,1872,284
    #213Armstrong135,0442,286
    #214Hudson134,9632,288

    Who is named Riley

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    73% of people named Riley identified as white (not Hispanic), 21% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 73%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 21%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Rileys

    41 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Talulah Riley
      British actress, born 1985
    • Pat Riley
      American basketball player, coach and executive, born 1945
    • Amber Riley
      American actress and singer, born 1986
    • Terry Riley
      American composer and musician (born 1935)
    • Charlotte Riley
      British actress, born 1981
    • Bob Riley
      American politician, born 1944
    • Alex Riley
      American professional wrestler, born 1981
    • Ruth Riley
      American basketball player (born 1979)
    • James Whitcomb Riley
      American poet from Indianapolis (1849–1916)
    • Samantha Riley
      Australian swimmer, born 1972
    • Richard Riley
      American politician, born 1933
    • Jeannie C. Riley
      American singer, born 1945

    Notable Rileys come mostly from the United States (31), Australia (4) and the United Kingdom (2).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    • Rileigh
    • Rylee
    • Ryleigh
    • Rylie
    • Ryley

    Surnames that sound like Riley

    Riley has the Soundex code R400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R400.

    Other Irish surnames

    All 880 Irish surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Riley come from?
    * From Ryley in Lancashire, from Old English ryge (“rye”) + leah (“clearing, meadow”). Equivalent to rye + -ley (“lea”). * A variant of Reilly, from Irish Ó Raghallaigh (see O'Reilly).
    How common is the surname Riley?
    133,872 people in the United States had the surname Riley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,306 Americans. It ranked 217th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Riley?
    In the 2010 Census, 73% of people named Riley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 21% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Riley?
    Talulah Riley, British actress, followed by Pat Riley.
    Where is the surname Riley most common?
    Wikidata records people named Riley in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 2 other countries.
    How do you pronounce Riley?
    Riley is /ˈɹaɪ.li/, 2 syllables.
    Is the surname Riley getting more or less common?
    More common. 127,960 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 133,872 in 2010, up 4.6%.
    What are other spellings of Riley?
    Rileigh, Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie and Ryley.
    Is Riley also a first name?
    Yes. Riley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.