River

Primarily a boy's name · 99% boys

Meaning

River is a given name of English origin taken from river, the English word for a naturally flowing watercourse. It is in common use in English-speaking countries such as the United States for both males and females.

From Wikipedia

River first appears in the data in 2014 and has been recorded in 12 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 2025 with 303 babies (rank #65 that year). In 2025 it was given to 303 boys (rank #65). The name has been rising over the last five years.

Numerology of River

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of River yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

9Destiny numberThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
5Soul urgeThe free spiritCurious, restless, energised by change.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
22PersonalityThe master builderTurns visions into structures — a heightened 4.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

1,618

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

303

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Doctor Who: River Song — the Doctor's wife
In Firefly: River Tam — the gifted, dangerous passenger

Famous people named River

River Phoenixfilm actor · b. 1970

Share your River story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near River in 2025

Other boys' names starting with R

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
2014	4	#370
2015	7	#230
2016	13	#172
2017	8	#214
2018	84	#113
2019	90	#119
2020	209	#88
2021	251	#62
2022	250	#55
2023	193	#73
2024	185	#90
2025	303	#65