Ripley
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- RIP-lee
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,690 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,029 for girls
Ripley is a name of English origin, meaning “strip-shaped clearing”. In 2025 it ranked 1,690th for girls in the UK (18 babies) and 1,029th for girls in the US (243 babies).
What does Ripley mean?
English: surname from English place names
“strip-shaped clearing”
Taken from several English villages called Ripley; Ellen Ripley is the heroine of the Alien films.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Ripley a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Ripley has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 18 girls and 11 boys in the UK and 243 girls and 156 boys in the US.
How popular is Ripley in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,690th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 18 about 1 in 15,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 18% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 18 girls in the UK were named Ripley, making it the 1,690th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,587th. Its busiest year was 2018, with 23 girls. 11 boys were also named Ripley in 2025 (2,202nd for boys).
Half of all the girls named Ripley in the UK since 1996 were born between 2014 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2005, 45% of the babies named Ripley in the UK were girls. By 2025 it was 62%, with more girls than boys since 2007.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,892nd in England and Wales and 780th in Scotland.
Ripley in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 18 | #1,690 |
| 2024 | 14 | #2,057 |
| 2023 | 19 | #1,666 |
| 2022 | 19 | #1,667 |
| 2021 | 20 | #1,605 |
| 2020 | 20 | #1,587 |
| 2019 | 19 | #1,651 |
| 2018 | 23 | #1,468 |
| 2017 | 14 | #2,099 |
| 2016 | 13 | #2,224 |
| 2015 | 13 | #2,186 |
| 2014 | 9 | #2,809 |
| 2013 | 3 | #6,003 |
| 2012 | 8 | #3,148 |
| 2011 | 6 | #3,737 |
| 2010 | 3 | #5,938 |
| 2009 | 6 | #3,603 |
| 2008 | 1 | #7,383 |
| 2007 | 9 | #2,543 |
| 2006 | 4 | #4,357 |
| 2005 | 5 | #3,543 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 3 | #4,560 |
| 2002 | 5 | #3,047 |
| 2001 | 3 | #4,156 |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 4 | #3,374 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 4 | #3,289 |
How popular is Ripley in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,029th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 243 about 1 in 6,600 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 18% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 243 girls in the US were named Ripley, making it the 1,029th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,294th. It first appears in the records in 1988. 156 boys were also named Ripley in 2025 (1,263rd for boys).
2025 had the most girls named Ripley of any year since it first appeared, in 1988.
Half of all the girls named Ripley in the US since 1880 were born between 2014 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 257 girls in the US were given Ripley or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #915, up from #1,029 for this spelling alone.
- Ripley 243
- Riplee 14
In 2025, 61% of the babies named Ripley in the US were girls.
Ripley in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 243 | #1,029 |
| 2024 | 187 | #1,242 |
| 2023 | 203 | #1,179 |
| 2022 | 207 | #1,166 |
| 2021 | 171 | #1,317 |
| 2020 | 171 | #1,294 |
| 2019 | 172 | #1,326 |
| 2018 | 192 | #1,219 |
| 2017 | 143 | #1,534 |
| 2016 | 128 | #1,667 |
| 2015 | 97 | #2,025 |
| 2014 | 76 | #2,391 |
| 2013 | 65 | #2,680 |
| 2012 | 56 | #3,005 |
| 2011 | 31 | #4,567 |
| 2010 | 39 | #3,888 |
| 2009 | 44 | #3,618 |
| 2008 | 32 | #4,646 |
| 2007 | 31 | #4,674 |
| 2006 | 28 | #4,952 |
| 2005 | 27 | #4,824 |
| 2004 | 37 | #3,815 |
| 2003 | 22 | #5,414 |
| 2002 | 20 | #5,669 |
| 2001 | 15 | #6,951 |
| 2000 | 17 | #6,202 |
| 1999 | 16 | #6,185 |
| 1998 | 20 | #5,119 |
| 1997 | 11 | #7,737 |
| 1996 | 5 | #13,511 |
| 1995 | 5 | #13,380 |
| 1994 | 7 | #10,563 |
| 1993 | 7 | #10,581 |
| 1992 | 13 | #6,645 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 6 | #10,841 |
| 1988 | 11 | #6,661 |
Names like Ripley
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Riley, Harper, Lainey, Poppy, River, Willow, Ivy, Eden, Ocean, Orla, Lily, Paisley
Other spellings of Ripley
More English names
Evelyn, Hudson, Grace, Violet, Daisy, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Carter, Harrison, Ellie, Frankie, Grayson
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, “Ripley: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ripley, updated 20 October 2026.