First Name
23k
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
928
in the U.S.
in 2010
Girls
Boys
First
Last
On This Page
  1. Related Names
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Meanings and Origins
  4. Notable Persons Named River
  5. Notable Persons With the Last Name River
  6. Popularity by Year and Gender
  7. Regional Popularity
  8. Ethnicity Distribution
  9. Fun Facts
  10. What Rivers Have Visited This Page?
  11. Name Poster

How to Pronounce River

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name River mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of River

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Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Riv"er
One who rives or splits.
noun Riv"er
Senses
  1. A large stream of water flowing in a bed or channel and emptying into the ocean, a sea, a lake, or another stream; a stream larger than a rivulet or brook."Transparent and sparkling rivers, from which it is delightful to drink as they flow." [Macaulay.]
  2. Fig.: A large stream; copious flow; abundance; as, rivers of blood; rivers of oil.

Etymology: F. rivère a river, LL. riparia river, bank of a river, fr. L. riparius belonging to a bank or shore, fr. ripa a bank or shore; of uncertain origin. Cf. Arrive Riparian

verb Riv"er
To hawk by the side of a river; to fly hawks at river fowl.
Other Dictionary Sources
  1. A large natural stream of water (larger than a creek) ("the river was navigable for 50 miles")
Wiktionary

From river.

  1. A male given name.
  2. A female given name.
  3. (rare) A surname​.
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Notable Persons Named River

River Phoenix

River Phoenix was an actor, musician, and activist. He was most active from 1982 to 1993. River was given the name River Jude Bottom by his parent Arlyn Phoenix on August 23rd, 1970 in Madras, Oregon, U.S. River is also known as River Jude Phoenix. He died on October 31st, 1993.

Popularity:
River Tam

River Tam is a crew member of serenity and serenity (firefly vessel).

Popularity:
River Viiperi

River was given the name River Delfín Canomanuel Viiperi on August 4th, 1991 in Ibiza. River is also known as Canomanuel Viiperi and River Delfín.

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River Alexander

His most notable accomplishments were from 2010 to present. River was born in Southwest Ranches, Florida.

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River Styx

River was born in 1936.

Popularity:
River Allen

River Allen is a soccer player for the Bodmin Town F.C., Plymouth Argyle F.C., Gosport Borough F.C., Truro City F.C., and Gateshead F.C. River was born on November 7th, 1995 in Plymouth, England.

Popularity:
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Notable Persons With the Last Name River

Nate River

Popularity:
Old Man River

Old Man River is a rock music and folk music musician and singer-songwriter. He has had major accomplishments since 2002. Old was given the name Ohad Rein on April 18th, 1979.

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General New River

He died in 1804.

Popularity:
Sol B River

Popularity:
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How popular is the baby name River in the U.S.?

Click Here to Show Chart Data
Year Total Babies Born Girls Born Boys Born
1971 6 0 6
1972 8 0 8
1974 5 0 5
1975 7 0 7
1981 6 0 6
1982 6 0 6
1986 5 0 5
1987 13 0 13
1988 18 5 13
1989 40 0 40
1990 43 10 33
1991 40 12 28
1992 44 7 37
1993 66 12 54
1994 153 12 141
1995 303 25 278
1996 305 36 269
1997 434 45 389
1998 488 53 435
1999 413 55 358
2000 365 51 314
2001 395 72 323
2002 396 67 329
2003 460 72 388
2004 520 100 420
2005 568 92 476
2006 686 181 505
2007 693 229 464
2008 858 248 610
2009 898 280 618
2010 896 262 634
2011 936 292 644
2012 1,129 411 718
2013 1,315 486 829
2014 1,946 706 1,240
2015 2,458 946 1,512
2016 2,965 1,124 1,841
2017 3,114 1,166 1,948
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Where is the name River popular?

View popular names by state or region.

Popularity of River as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name River as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in Oregon, Alaska, or Utah.

Popularity of River as a last name

The map shows the absolute popularity of the name River as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Pennsylvania, New York, or Illinois.

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Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity River U.S.
█  White 52.37% 64.26%
█  African American 12.28% 11.96%
█  Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 2.80% 4.85%
█  American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08% 0.69%
█  Two or More Ethnicities 2.69% 1.76%
█  Hispanic or Latino 28.77% 16.26%

Of Last Name River

People with the last name River are most frequently White, African American, or Hispanic or Latino

Entire United States

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Fun Facts about the name River

  • What name lists does River rank for?
    #86Modern Boy Names
    #24Unique Girl Names
    #196Unisex Names
  • How Popular is the name River? River is the 1,577th most popular name of all time. As a last name River was the 26,313th most popular name in 2010.
  • How many people with the first name River have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 23,001 babies born with the first name River in the United States. That's more than enough people named River to occupy the territory of Caribbean Netherlands (the Netherlands) with an estimated population of 21,133 (as of January 1, 2011).
  • What year were 5 or more babies first named River? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1971 when it was given as a first name to 6 new born babies.
  • When was River first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name River is Monday, October 1st, 1894.
  • What year had the most people named River born? The highest recorded use of the first name River was in 2017 with a total of 1,948 babies. That's a lot of babies named River!
  • Random River Factoid: According to the 2014 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name River ranks 80th in popularity as a baby girl's name in Alaska. Imagine that, 11 babies in Alaska have the same name as you in 2014.
  • Weird things about the name River: Your name in reverse order is Revir. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Iverr. How do you pronounce that?
  • How many people have the last name River? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 928 people with the last name River.
  • How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of River? Chances are, most people haven't met someone with River as their last name since less than 1 person in 323k people have that last name. If you know one, consider yourself lucky!
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What Rivers Have Visited This Page?

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Name poster for River

Name poster for River(click to save the high quality version)

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Most Popular Names

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All Name Lists

  • Sources:
  • U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000 (public domain).
  • U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names, Death Master File (public domain).
  • 1913 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary via the Collaborative International Dictionary of English (License)
  • Other Dictionary Sources: WordNet 3.1 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University (License).
  • Wiktionary: Titles and License.
  • Notable persons via Wikipedia: Titles and License. Click each image for the attribution information.