A boy’s name meaning “king” has become increasingly popular in the UK. Although it is a name that is widely recognised across Britain, it actually comes from a completely different language. Recent data has revealed the baby names that have grown in popularity and the ones that are becoming less common amongst newborns in the UK, with this name among the few that jumped quite a few places in ranking.
The boy’s name Ryan proved to be more popular with parents welcoming newborns in 2024 than in the previous year. According to the data shared by Baby Centre UK, Ryan jumped 12 spots in the 2024 list to number 53. It is one of the many names that saw an increase in popularity alongside the likes of Mason, Harrison, Ali, Kai, Archie, Ashie, Louie and Rowan. There were also names that fell in popularity including Alfie, Hugo, Hudson and Michael.
The origins of the name Ryan are quite interesting. The name is derived from the Irish name Ríán, which is still today a commonly heard name in Ireland.
Rían, which is pronounced ree-an, comes from the Irish word rí (ree), which means ‘king’. With its Anglisisation to Ryan, it has become a popular name in many English speaking countries including the UK and the US, and belongs to a number of famous faces such as actors Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds.
The popularity of the name Ryan in the UK also speaks to a growing trend in choosing baby names, as outlined by Baby Centre. They identified ‘last names as first names’ as one of the growing trends of last year.
While it is a first name for many, Ryan is in fact a common surname, especially in its native Ireland. Baby Centre gave a number of other examples of this trend, including Hunter, Hudson, Mason, Harrison and Logan being given to newborn baby boys as first names.
Overall, the most popular name for baby boys born in the UK in 2024 was once again Muhammad, followed by Noah in second place and Theo in third.
For girls born in the UK last year, the most popular names were Olivia, Amelia, and Lily.
Interestingly, Baby Centre also identified the most common names for siblings of babies named Ryan, which are Jack, Luke, Liam, Daniel and Thomas for brothers and Katie for sisters.
