Riordan
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- REER-dun
- Origin
- Irish
- US rank, 2025
- #6,799 for boys
Riordan is a boys' name of Irish origin, meaning “royal bard”. In 2025 it ranked 6,799th for boys in the US (12 babies).
What does Riordan mean?
Irish: from Irish O Riordain, 'descendant of Rioghbhardan'
“royal bard”
Rick Riordan is the American author of the Percy Jackson novels.
Is Riordan a girl's or a boy's name?
Riordan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 12 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Riordan in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2002, with 13 boys.
Half of all the boys named Riordan in the UK since 1996 were born between 2002 and 2008. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Riordan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | #4,346 |
| 2023 | 1 | #6,556 |
| 2022 | 1 | #6,413 |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 1 | #6,277 |
| 2017 | 1 | #6,312 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,214 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 5 | #3,446 |
| 2010 | 1 | #6,148 |
| 2009 | 5 | #3,395 |
| 2008 | 6 | #2,906 |
| 2007 | 5 | #3,231 |
| 2006 | 11 | #1,742 |
| 2005 | 7 | #2,292 |
| 2004 | 7 | #2,157 |
| 2003 | 11 | #1,498 |
| 2002 | 13 | #1,252 |
| 2001 | 1 | #4,138 |
| 2000 | 3 | #3,146 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 9 | #1,446 |
| 1997 | 7 | #1,678 |
| 1996 | 8 | #1,506 |
How popular is Riordan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 6,799th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 12 about 1 in 140,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 12 boys in the US were named Riordan, making it the 6,799th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 9,548th. Its busiest year was 2013, with 18 boys. It first appears in the records in 1986.
2025 had more boys named Riordan than any year since 2013.
Half of all the boys named Riordan in the US since 1880 were born between 2001 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
Riordan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #6,799 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 11 | #7,284 |
| 2022 | 11 | #7,256 |
| 2021 | 8 | #8,820 |
| 2020 | 7 | #9,548 |
| 2019 | 9 | #8,209 |
| 2018 | 7 | #9,664 |
| 2017 | 6 | #10,770 |
| 2016 | 7 | #9,659 |
| 2015 | 10 | #7,486 |
| 2014 | 8 | #8,775 |
| 2013 | 18 | #4,978 |
| 2012 | 13 | #6,300 |
| 2011 | 11 | #7,002 |
| 2010 | 8 | #8,797 |
| 2009 | 11 | #7,231 |
| 2008 | 13 | #6,388 |
| 2007 | 12 | #6,618 |
| 2006 | 9 | #7,992 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 10 | #6,970 |
| 2003 | 10 | #6,708 |
| 2002 | 9 | #7,048 |
| 2001 | 12 | #5,660 |
| 2000 | 11 | #5,913 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,036 |
| 1998 | 9 | #6,308 |
| 1997 | 5 | #9,259 |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 5 | #8,861 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 8 | #6,120 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 5 | #7,898 |
| 1988 | 7 | #5,745 |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 5 | #6,715 |
Names like Riordan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ronan, Rowan, Declan, Aiden, Finn, Kian, Caelan, Regan, Ryan, Callan, Rogan, Dylan
More Irish names
Oscar, Rory, Maeve, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Cody, Erin, Connor, Casey, Kennedy, Lennon, Cillian, Kevin, Sloane, Aidan
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, “Riordan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/riordan, updated 20 October 2026.