Rihanna
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ree-AN-a
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,961 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #2,139 for girls
Rihanna is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “sweet basil”. In 2025 it ranked 1,961st for girls in the UK (15 babies) and 2,139th for girls in the US (87 babies).
What does Rihanna mean?
Arabic: probably from Arabic Rayhana
“sweet basil”
Usually linked to Arabic Rayhana, sweet basil; the name became widely known through the Barbadian singer Rihanna.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Rihanna a girl's or a boy's name?
Rihanna is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 15 girls in the UK and 87 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Rihanna in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,961st among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 15 about 1 in 19,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 14% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 15 girls in the UK were named Rihanna, making it the 1,961st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,064th. Its busiest year was 2007, with 327 girls.
2025 had the fewest girls named Rihanna since it first appeared, in 2005.
Half of all the girls named Rihanna in the UK since 1996 were born between 2007 and 2012, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 20 girls in the UK were given Rihanna or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,359, up from #1,961 for this spelling alone.
- Rihanna 15
- Rihana 5
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,892nd in England and Wales.
Rihanna in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 | #1,961 |
| 2024 | 27 | #1,288 |
| 2023 | 39 | #969 |
| 2022 | 24 | #1,406 |
| 2021 | 24 | #1,393 |
| 2020 | 34 | #1,064 |
| 2019 | 27 | #1,285 |
| 2018 | 33 | #1,124 |
| 2017 | 33 | #1,127 |
| 2016 | 47 | #864 |
| 2015 | 39 | #994 |
| 2014 | 51 | #819 |
| 2013 | 73 | #613 |
| 2012 | 90 | #532 |
| 2011 | 160 | #343 |
| 2010 | 157 | #328 |
| 2009 | 194 | #272 |
| 2008 | 321 | #187 |
| 2007 | 327 | #189 |
| 2006 | 219 | #245 |
| 2005 | 47 | #712 |
How popular is Rihanna in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,139th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 87 about 1 in 18,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 16% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 87 girls in the US were named Rihanna, making it the 2,139th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,485th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 1,075 girls. It first appears in the records in 2000.
2025 had fewer girls named Rihanna than any year since 2005.
Half of all the girls named Rihanna in the US since 1880 were born between 2008 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 143 girls in the US were given Rihanna or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,321, up from #2,139 for this spelling alone.
Rihanna in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87 | #2,139 |
| 2024 | 115 | #1,753 |
| 2023 | 165 | #1,361 |
| 2022 | 127 | #1,659 |
| 2021 | 133 | #1,577 |
| 2020 | 144 | #1,485 |
| 2019 | 129 | #1,642 |
| 2018 | 166 | #1,360 |
| 2017 | 162 | #1,409 |
| 2016 | 178 | #1,330 |
| 2015 | 178 | #1,329 |
| 2014 | 209 | #1,173 |
| 2013 | 269 | #938 |
| 2012 | 323 | #831 |
| 2011 | 381 | #724 |
| 2010 | 500 | #587 |
| 2009 | 825 | #389 |
| 2008 | 1,075 | #311 |
| 2007 | 789 | #414 |
| 2006 | 572 | #531 |
| 2005 | 79 | #2,277 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 6 | #13,147 |
Names like Rihanna
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Amira, Khadija, Kiara, Sienna, Hafsa, Liyana, Aisha, Keira, Aaliyah, Rahma, Hiba
Other spellings of Rihanna
Names related to Rihanna
Rhianna, Riana, Riyana, Rehana, Rhianne, Rihan, Rhyann, Ryanna
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Amir, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo, Zainab
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, “Rihanna: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/rihanna, updated 20 October 2026.