Boy Names That Start With R
These are the 109 boy names that start with R, have reached the top 500 as a boy's name at some point since 1880, and still go to boys rather than girls today. Ranked by the number of boys given each name in 2025, most common first.
All 109 names
- Roman
- Rowan
- Robert
- Ryan
- River
- Ryder
- Ryker
- Rhett
- Rory
- Riley
- Rafael
- Richard
- Ronan
- Reid
- Romeo
- Remington
- Russell
- Ricardo
- Raphael
- Raymond
- Remy
- Rhys
- Rylan
- Reed
- Raiden
- Rome
- Rocco
- Reece
- Royal
- Ruben
- Rowen
- Rodrigo
- Royce
- Ronin
- Roy
- Rocky
- Roberto
- Reese
- Roland
- Raul
- Ronald
- Robin
- Ryland
- Rudy
- Ray
- Raylan
- Rohan
- Roger
- Ramon
- Rex
- Reuben
- Ricky
- Ralph
- Ronnie
- Ramiro
- Randy
- Rene
- Rodney
- Rogelio
- Reginald
- Rolando
- Rush
- Raheem
- Ross
- Rodolfo
- Randall
- Reynaldo
- Ransom
- Rashad
- Roderick
- Rico
- Reggie
- Robbie
- Raleigh
- Roscoe
- Rusty
- Rickey
- Rick
- Ronny
- Rupert
- Rich
- Rufus
- Russel
- Rudolph
- Rodrick
- Ron
- Roosevelt
- Robby
- Raymon
- Randolph
- Russ
- Rosario
- Randal
- Rodger
- Richmond
- Rubin
- Rolland
- Rowland
- Rickie
- Rollie
- Rollin
- Randell
- Raekwon
- Rob
- Roswell
- Rogers
- Rod
- Rolla
- Rosevelt
Also starting with R, and now given almost only to girls: Ruby, Rose, Ruth
Boy names that start with R in the 2025 data
R is the ninth most common first letter for boys born in 2025: 83,079 of them, 4.9% of every boy in the file. It has climbed from tenth place a decade ago, and its share has grown from 4.4% to 4.9%.
This list holds the 109 of those names that reached the top 500 as a boy's name at some point since 1880 and are still given to boys rather than girls. The most common today is Roman, #42 with 6,162 boys in 2025. 4 of the 109 are in this year's top 100, and 106 appear in the 2025 file at all — which takes at least five births, the point below which a name is left out. Three other names starting with R are left out — Ruby, Rose and Ruth. Each reached the top 500 among boys at some point, but fewer than one in ten children given it over the last ten years was a boy. Together they account for 63,398 of those 83,079 boys — the remainder go to names that have never reached the top 500, each given to a handful of children.
The fastest climber among them is Rome, up from #1,406 in 2015 to #452 in 2025. Rylan has gone the other way, from #241 to #416. The shortest name here is Ray at 3 letters, the longest Roosevelt at 9.
Questions about boy names that start with R
What is the most popular boy name that starts with R?
Roman. 6,162 boys were given the name in 2025, which put it at #42 nationally.
How many boy names start with R?
109 have reached the top 500 as a boy's name and still go to boys today, which is this list. Counting every spelling in the file, 83,079 boys born in 2025 — 4.9% of the total — were given a name starting with R.
Are boy names that start with R getting more popular?
R is gaining ground. It was tenth among first letters for boys a decade ago with 4.4% of births, and it is ninth in 2025 with 4.9%.