River
- #219 for girls in 2025, 1,401 births
- #111 for boys in 2025, 3,139 births
- Given to boys 66.8% of the time
Showing
- Peak · boys
- 2022 · 3,500 births
- Debut · boys
- 6 births
- In top 100 · boys
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · boys
- 39,676since 1971
River over time
girlsboys
Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | girls | boys | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rank | births | rank | births | |
| 2025 | #219 | 1,401 | #111 | 3,139 |
| 2024 | #215 | 1,442 | #112 | 3,160 |
| 2023 | #192 | 1,587 | #116 | 3,117 |
| 2022 | #150 | 1,930 | #105 | 3,500 |
| 2021 | #149 | 1,886 | #110 | 3,504 |
| 2020 | #184 | 1,562 | #129 | 2,816 |
| 2019 | #211 | 1,441 | #168 | 2,371 |
| 2018 | #244 | 1,333 | #197 | 2,078 |
| 2017 | #270 | 1,181 | #200 | 1,969 |
| 2016 | #283 | 1,132 | #212 | 1,852 |
| 2015 | #348 | 951 | #243 | 1,516 |
| 2014 | #453 | 708 | #287 | 1,243 |
| 2013 | #585 | 488 | #371 | 830 |
| 2012 | #683 | 412 | #403 | 722 |
| 2011 | #891 | 293 | #424 | 645 |
| 2010 | #973 | 262 | #432 | 634 |
| 2009 | #949 | 281 | #448 | 619 |
| 2008 | #1,049 | 249 | #454 | 611 |
| 2007 | #1,129 | 229 | #553 | 464 |
| 2006 | #1,295 | 181 | #513 | 505 |
| 2005 | #2,030 | 92 | #517 | 476 |
| 2004 | #1,883 | 100 | #549 | 420 |
| 2003 | #2,321 | 72 | #570 | 388 |
| 2002 | #2,379 | 67 | #610 | 329 |
| 2001 | #2,236 | 72 | #607 | 323 |
| 2000 | #2,817 | 51 | #611 | 314 |
| 1999 | #2,567 | 55 | #559 | 359 |
| 1998 | #2,570 | 53 | #496 | 435 |
| 1997 | #2,733 | 45 | #518 | 389 |
| 1996 | #3,237 | 36 | #632 | 269 |
| 1995 | #4,099 | 25 | #619 | 278 |
| 1994 | #7,097 | 12 | #924 | 141 |
| 1993 | #7,038 | 12 | #1,638 | 54 |
| 1992 | #10,479 | 7 | #2,085 | 37 |
| 1991 | #6,976 | 12 | #2,469 | 28 |
| 1990 | #7,880 | 10 | #2,170 | 33 |
| 1989 | — | #1,858 | 40 | |
| 1988 | #11,798 | 5 | #3,705 | 13 |
| 1987 | — | #3,521 | 13 | |
| 1986 | — | #6,721 | 5 | |
| 1985 | — | — | ||
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| 1983 | — | — | ||
| 1982 | — | #5,619 | 6 | |
| 1981 | — | #6,262 | 5 | |
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| 1976 | — | — | ||
| 1975 | — | #4,309 | 7 | |
| 1974 | — | #5,227 | 5 | |
| 1973 | — | — | ||
| 1972 | — | #3,622 | 8 | |
| 1971 | — | #4,375 | 6 | |
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First appearance
1971
The first year at least five boys were named River! It came in at #4,375, and was given to 6 baby boys.
Quietest stretch: 1973–1974, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.
Where River is popular in 2025
- Rank in state
- Top 10
- 11–50
- 51–100
- 101–500
- 501+
- Not published
Hover or tap a state for its numbers.
Top states · boys
- Arkansas#42 · 1 in 221
- West Virginia#44 · 1 in 192
- Montana#55 · 1 in 209
- Hawaii#56 · 1 in 208
- Tennessee#57 · 1 in 281
Best ever in a state: #20 in West Virginia, 2024.
Show every state
| State | Rank | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | #42 | 57 | 1 in 221 |
| West Virginia | #44 | 32 | 1 in 192 |
| Montana | #55 | 18 | 1 in 209 |
| Hawaii | #56 | 14 | 1 in 208 |
| Tennessee | #57 | 131 | 1 in 281 |
| Oklahoma | #61 | 63 | 1 in 281 |
| Alabama | #63 | 71 | 1 in 303 |
| Vermont | #64 | 7 | 1 in 173 |
| Missouri | #65 | 90 | 1 in 309 |
| Idaho | #67 | 31 | 1 in 278 |
| Iowa | #68 | 47 | 1 in 294 |
| Georgia | #74 | 145 | 1 in 346 |
| Oregon | #75 | 48 | 1 in 314 |
| South Carolina | #76 | 66 | 1 in 321 |
| Utah | #78 | 60 | 1 in 328 |
| Kansas | #79 | 42 | 1 in 334 |
| Kentucky | #79 | 63 | 1 in 326 |
| Maine | #82 | 15 | 1 in 256 |
| Mississippi | #86 | 31 | 1 in 350 |
| Louisiana | #88 | 54 | 1 in 354 |
| New Hampshire | #88 | 17 | 1 in 265 |
| North Carolina | #88 | 134 | 1 in 384 |
| Delaware | #93 | 11 | 1 in 268 |
| Washington | #95 | 80 | 1 in 410 |
| Indiana | #96 | 78 | 1 in 406 |
| Michigan | #102 | 91 | 1 in 442 |
| South Dakota | #105 | 12 | 1 in 320 |
| Arizona | #106 | 77 | 1 in 425 |
| New Mexico | #106 | 18 | 1 in 361 |
| Ohio | #109 | 122 | 1 in 431 |
| Virginia | #109 | 77 | 1 in 484 |
| Nevada | #123 | 25 | 1 in 452 |
| Colorado | #125 | 56 | 1 in 479 |
| Florida | #125 | 174 | 1 in 549 |
| Minnesota | #129 | 50 | 1 in 490 |
| Pennsylvania | #129 | 99 | 1 in 528 |
| Nebraska | #131 | 20 | 1 in 441 |
| California | #139 | 285 | 1 in 616 |
| Illinois | #146 | 80 | 1 in 619 |
| North Dakota | #152 | 8 | 1 in 420 |
| Texas | #152 | 250 | 1 in 700 |
| Maryland | #153 | 38 | 1 in 603 |
| New York | #163 | 117 | 1 in 722 |
| Alaska | #165 | 5 | 1 in 454 |
| Wisconsin | #173 | 36 | 1 in 651 |
| Massachusetts | #178 | 38 | 1 in 711 |
| Connecticut | #268 | 12 | 1 in 1,101 |
| New Jersey | #268 | 34 | 1 in 1,170 |
| District of Columbia | — | — | — |
| Rhode Island | — | — | — |
| Wyoming | — | — | — |
Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.
See more about River
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
- 18 spots since 2020 (#129 → #111)
- Biggest jump: 714 spots in 1994
- Biggest drop: 63 spots in 1999
Rise & fade · boys
51 yrs to peak
- Debuted 1971
- Peaked 2022 at #105 (3,500 births)
- Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 32 yrs
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: 32 yrs · run 1994–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 499
- Highest: 1 in 499 boys born in 2022 were named River (0.20%)
- Latest: 1 in 544 boys born in 2025 (0.18%)
Era · boys
The 2020s
- 48.5% of all boys named River (19,236) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Never flipped
- The majority has never changed
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 26 | #3,622 (1972) | #4,383 |
| 1980s | 82 | #1,858 (1989) | #4,614 |
| 1990s | 2,023 | #496 (1998) | #1,211 |
| 2000s | 4,449 | #448 (2009) | #543 |
| 2010s | 13,860 | #168 (2019) | #294 |
| 2020s | 19,236 | #105 (2022) | #114 |
All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.
Want to check a specific year?
See where River ranked and which names it was up against. Click a point on the chart, or pick a year: