Rihana
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ree-AN-a
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #4,276 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #6,837 for girls
Rihana is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “sweet basil”. In 2025 it ranked 4,276th for girls in the UK (5 babies) and 6,837th for girls in the US (16 babies).
What does Rihana mean?
Arabic: spelling of Rihanna; probably from Arabic Rayhana
“sweet basil”
Usually linked to Arabic Rayhana, sweet basil; the name became widely known through the Barbadian singer Rihanna.
Meaning borrowed from Rihanna. More on Wiktionary.
Is Rihana a girl's or a boy's name?
Rihana is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls in the UK and 16 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Rihana in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,276th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 5 about 1 in 56,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 15% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 5 girls in the UK were named Rihana, making it the 4,276th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,734th. Its busiest year was 2007, with 30 girls.
Half of all the girls named Rihana in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2013, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 20 girls in the UK were given Rihana or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,359, up from #4,276 for this spelling alone.
- Rihanna 15
- Rihana 5
Among girls in 2025, it was 4,200th in England and Wales.
Rihana in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #4,276 |
| 2024 | 5 | #4,253 |
| 2023 | 5 | #4,251 |
| 2022 | 8 | #3,050 |
| 2021 | 6 | #3,697 |
| 2020 | 3 | #5,734 |
| 2019 | 10 | #2,590 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 5 | #4,250 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,980 |
| 2015 | 10 | #2,629 |
| 2014 | 7 | #3,321 |
| 2013 | 10 | #2,599 |
| 2012 | 10 | #2,666 |
| 2011 | 11 | #2,393 |
| 2010 | 22 | #1,475 |
| 2009 | 24 | #1,330 |
| 2008 | 29 | #1,119 |
| 2007 | 30 | #1,057 |
| 2006 | 21 | #1,319 |
| 2005 | 14 | #1,692 |
| 2004 | 6 | #2,957 |
| 2003 | 10 | #1,954 |
| 2002 | 10 | #1,874 |
| 2001 | 5 | #2,928 |
| 2000 | 6 | #2,554 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 4 | #3,289 |
How popular is Rihana in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 6,837th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 16 about 1 in 100,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 13% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 16 girls in the US were named Rihana, making it the 6,837th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 6,919th. Its busiest year was 2007, with 84 girls. It first appears in the records in 1983.
Half of all the girls named Rihana in the US since 1880 were born between 2006 and 2012, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 143 girls in the US were given Rihana or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,321, up from #6,837 for this spelling alone.
Rihana in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #6,837 |
| 2024 | 11 | #8,941 |
| 2023 | 13 | #8,050 |
| 2022 | 16 | #6,979 |
| 2021 | 7 | #12,201 |
| 2020 | 16 | #6,919 |
| 2019 | 11 | #9,106 |
| 2018 | 19 | #6,244 |
| 2017 | 5 | #15,898 |
| 2016 | 13 | #8,390 |
| 2015 | 8 | #11,830 |
| 2014 | 9 | #10,949 |
| 2013 | 18 | #6,725 |
| 2012 | 25 | #5,396 |
| 2011 | 31 | #4,567 |
| 2010 | 51 | #3,202 |
| 2009 | 62 | #2,825 |
| 2008 | 67 | #2,718 |
| 2007 | 84 | #2,293 |
| 2006 | 60 | #2,887 |
| 2005 | 21 | #5,795 |
| 2004 | 6 | #14,172 |
| 2003 | 12 | #8,500 |
| 2002 | 17 | #6,386 |
| 2001 | 13 | #7,717 |
| 2000 | 10 | #9,156 |
| 1999 | 5 | #14,403 |
| 1998 | 8 | #10,116 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 9 | #8,761 |
| 1994 | 6 | #11,771 |
| 1993 | 13 | #6,615 |
| 1992 | 5 | #13,308 |
| 1991 | 7 | #10,263 |
| 1990 | 7 | #10,187 |
| 1989 | 5 | #12,356 |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 5 | #10,907 |
| 1985 | 8 | #7,560 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 6 | #9,013 |
Names like Rihana
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aisha, Anaya, Prisha, Hana, Amira, Khadija, Safa, Radhika, Inaya, Raya, Yusra, Haniya
Other spellings of Rihana
Names related to Rihana
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Aaliyah, Amir, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Rihana: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/rihana, updated 20 October 2026.